Need to know
Rooms
Six, including two suites, or the house can be hired in its entirety.
Check–Out
10.30am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
More details
Rates include a fulsome breakfast feast of artisan breads, Gail’s pastries and jams; British charcuterie and cheese platters; granola; yoghurts; Press smoothies; Fire & Flow coffee. And, minibar goodies and an evening apéritif are free.
Also
There are all the trappings of Georgian interior tranquillity here: a reading room, snug styled like a vintage train carriage (with a drinks cabinet), a drawing room with tented sofas, velvets, a sound-system and concealed TV, and – a London rarity – a terrace for taking cocktails or simply enjoying the sunshine.
At the hotel
House manager, terrace, pantry, snug, reading room, charged laundry service. In rooms: flatscreen TV, free WiFi, writing desk, minibar with luxury British products, Nespresso coffee machine, Prince & Sons teas, air-conditioning, selection of chic magazines, Dyson hairdryer, bathrobes, La Bruket bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Each of the six rooms are named after a member of the Austen family, and tell different stories through colourways, portraiture, antiques and tactile fabrics. The stay’s not trapped in time though, TVs pop out from cabinetry or rise from the foot of the bed, and there are Nespresso machines and phones to summon the house manager. So, whose life will you step into? Perhaps Jane’s sister Cassandra’s, whose duck-egg blue room has a sparkling chandelier and dramatic padded headboard. Or James (a clergyman), whose studio-style suite has a four-poster, fireplace and chessboard. Phylly has perhaps the longest mattress in London at seven foot; but our favourite room might be the Eliza (Jane’s larger-than-life sister-in-law). This boudoir has mother-of-pearl tiling behind a bath tub housed in theatrically tented silk canvas; there’s a Chinoiserie writing desk, frilled four-poster, chaise-longue and glittering and gilded things – ideal for romantics or blushing brides-to-be.
Spa
Squeezing a spa into a Grade-II-listed Georgian townhouse was a bit of an ask, but guests can get preferential rates at a gym and Pilates studio just a few minutes’ walk away. Request when booking.
Packing tips
Bring some era-appropriate literature to immerse yourself in the surrounds – the first-edition Austens in the snug feel far too precious to flip through (even if you’re allowed). And, maybe throw in some Arthur Conan Doyle – Sherlock Holmes’ ‘residence’ at 221B Baker Street is close by.
Also
You get a ceramic-bisque, cameo-emblazoned candle as your Smith Extra, but if you gotta catch all the Austens there’s six varieties. And you’ll notice miniature portraits hanging from your keys as well.
Children
Booked exclusively and with older children (there are many stairs, and this is a time-bomb of antiques, first editions and delicate fabrics), this is a wonderful family city escape. The team can arrange pretty much anything for you too.
Sustainability efforts
The townhouse was in a much sorrier state when owners Steven Collins (director of Chelsea Harbour Estate) and Jane Collins (owner of cult Sixty 6 boutique) – who also both oversee Temple Guiting Manor hideaway in the Cotswolds – first discovered it. Alongside Brit designer Russell Sage and architects Feix & Merlin, they set about writing a new chapter for it, rescuing wood-panelling, joinery, secret jib doors (camouflaged in the walls) and cornicing, and furnishing it with the grandeur Henry and his socialite wife would expect, but through a modern perspective, mish-mashing eras and styles. And, in addition to conserving this piece of history, the hotel is concerned with locality – its fridge and snug bar are filled with best-of-British wines and spirits, and the generous breakfast spread is made using goodies mostly from Marylebone.