In this guide
This guide covers Kensington west of the museums: Kensington High Street and the edge of Kensington Gardens, the terraces of Earl’s Court to the south, the Cromwell Road hotels between them, and Olympia on the Hammersmith side. It stops short of the museum streets, which have their own guide. Prices fall as you walk south, from the palace to Earl’s Court.
💡 The Short Version: For Kensington Gardens, The Milestone faces Kensington Palace, at about £550, with a family suite built around bunk beds and a pool guests use free. For a big hotel by the high street, Copthorne Taraad has 833 rooms three minutes from High Street Kensington. On a budget, Mowbray Court in Earl’s Court is about £119, with a lift and air conditioning; The Edwin and Twenty Nevern Square include breakfast. For a kitchen, Ember Locke on Cromwell Road has 121 studios and family suites sleeping four. For a show or trade fair at Olympia, Hyatt Regency London Olympiaad, one minute from the station, at about £220.
Which part of Kensington
Kensington High Street and Kensington Gardens is the north-east corner. Kensington Palace, the Diana Memorial Playground and the Serpentine galleries are across the road in the park, and High Street Kensington station (District and Circle lines) is in the middle of the high street. The Royal Garden, The Milestone and Copthorne Tara are here.
Holland Park is the west end of the high street: the park, the Kyoto Garden and the Design Museum on its southern edge. There is one place to sleep inside it, the Safestay hostel. Holland Park station is Central line.
Earl’s Court is the Victorian grid south of Cromwell Road: garden squares, the most hotels in this guide, and the lowest prices. The station has the District and Piccadilly lines. Earl’s Court Road, Kenway Road and Hogarth Road are London’s Little Manila, with the Filipino restaurants and bakeries in our Filipino food guide.
Cromwell Road is the A4, the main road running east from Earl’s Court towards Gloucester Road and the museums. Its hotels are well placed and loud: ask for a room at the back.
Olympia and West Kensington is the western edge, round the rebuilt exhibition centre, which now has new hotels, a music venue and a rooftop of bars.
Our Kensington area guide covers what to see and where to eat.
Hotels in Kensington, north of Cromwell Road
The Milestone — opposite Kensington Palace
About £550 · 1 Kensington Court, W8 5DL · High Street Kensington 6 min · Breakfast extra · milestonehotel.com
A Victorian red-brick house in the Red Carnation group, directly across Kensington Road from the palace and its gardens. There are 43 deluxe rooms, 13 individually designed suites and six residences with two or three bedrooms each.
A room at The Milestone, and its bathroom.
For families it has a new Family Suite: a main bedroom, a children’s room with bunk beds, and separate bathrooms, overlooking Kensington Gardens. Guests use the resistance pool and gym free. The Stables Bar is in the building’s former stables, and afternoon tea is served in the Park Lounge; our afternoon tea guide reviews it.
Royal Garden Hotel — the rooms that look over Kensington Gardens
2–24 Kensington High Street, W8 4PT · High Street Kensington · Hotels.comad
A five-star at the park end of the high street, next to Kensington Gardens. The room grade decides the view: Garden Deluxe rooms and the Park Suites face the gardens, the Classic and Deluxe grades face the high street, and any grade with “Royal” in its name guarantees a high floor.
A room at the Royal Garden Hotel, and its bathroom.
Min Jiang, the Chinese restaurant on the 10th floor, looks over Hyde Park and serves a wood-fired Beijing duck; Piano Kensington is the piano bar. There is a 24-hour gym but no pool. Our family hotels guide covers its family rooms.
Copthorne Tara Hotel London Kensington — 833 rooms off the high street
Scarsdale Place, W8 5SR · High Street Kensington 3 min · Check-in 3pm, out noon · Hotels.comad
A four-star with 833 bedrooms, including five Family Suites and interconnecting rooms, on a side street three minutes from the station, and the largest hotel in this guide.
A twin room at the Copthorne Tara, and its bathroom.
Bugis Kitchen serves Singaporean and Malaysian dishes, there is a 24-hour gym and shop, and it has on-site parking.
London Lodge Hotel — a family-run townhouse with a lift
££ · 134–136 Lexham Gardens, W8 6JE · Earl’s Court 5 min · londonlodgehotel.com
Two Victorian houses built in 1880 and joined, run by Mandy and Bernard since 1996, on a quiet street between Earl’s Court and the high street. There are steps up to the front door, then a lift to every floor.
A twin room at London Lodge Hotel.
It sells singles and a Standard Triple, rooms have air conditioning, and an extra bed is £45 a night; cots are free for children up to two. Stephanie’s, the ground-floor bar and café, serves breakfast and afternoon tea and is open to non-residents.
Safestay London Kensington Holland Park — a hostel inside the park
£ · Holland Walk, W8 7QU · Holland Park 4 min · Hotels.comad
In the surviving east wing of Holland House, the Jacobean mansion begun in 1605, in the same park as the Kyoto Garden. You step out of the dorm into the park rather than onto a road.
A dorm at Safestay Holland Park.
Private rooms and the female dorms are en-suite. There is no guest kitchen, luggage storage is £3 per item for 24 hours, and breakfast is £8 if you add it at reception. Our hostels guide compares it with the other London hostels.
Hotels in Earl’s Court
Templeton Garden — balconies and a private garden
££ · 156 rooms · 1–15 Templeton Place, SW5 9NB · Earl’s Court 4 min · Hotels.comad
A Miiro hotel of 156 rooms with interiors by the London studio Thurstan. Many rooms have balconies, others look over the hotel’s private garden, and the Templeton Garden Suites have a private garden or open onto the main one. Both suite grades have four-poster beds.
A room at Templeton Garden, and a suite bathroom.
For families, the Full House offer sells a connecting Twin at half price when you book a Classic room. Pippin’s is the restaurant and Sprout the bar.
Templeton Place by Supercity — apartments on the same square
££ · 30 apartments · 17 Templeton Place, SW5 9NB · Earl’s Court 3 min · Hotels.comad
Thirty studios and one-bedroom apartments on the same street as Templeton Garden, some with terrace access, and a residents’ garden. Every suite has a kitchen and a washer-dryer, reception is 24 hours, and cleaning is weekly, not daily. Our aparthotels guide explains when the format saves money.
A studio at Templeton Place.
Twenty Nevern Square — 20 rooms, breakfast in the conservatory
Nevern Square, SW5 · Earl’s Court 3 min · Breakfast included · Hotels.comad
A restored Victorian townhouse overlooking the private gardens of Nevern Square, with 20 rooms furnished in carved wood and silks. Grades run from a single and a small double to a four-poster room and the Pasha Suite. Rooms are cooled by an electric fan rather than air conditioning.
A room at Twenty Nevern Square, and its bathroom.
A continental buffet breakfast is included, served in a glass-roofed conservatory. Reception is 24 hours, and gated parking can be arranged.
The Edwin — breakfast included, and triple rooms
26–28 Trebovir Road, SW5 9NJ · Earl’s Court · Breakfast included · Hotels.comad
A boutique townhouse a short walk from Earl’s Court station. Singles and Compact Doubles are small; there are also Standard Doubles, Twins and Triple rooms with a double and a single bed.
A room at The Edwin, and its bathroom.
A continental breakfast is included every night, served until 10am. There is an open-plan guest lounge that doubles as a co-working space.
Mowbray Court Hotel — a lift, air conditioning, about £119
About £119 · 28–32 Penywern Road, SW5 9SU · Earl’s Court · Breakfast £10 · Hotels.comad
A listed Victorian building on a residential street, with a lift, air conditioning and a 24-hour front desk. Rooms are small: a single is 10 square metres, a double 11 and a twin 12. The Family Room is 20 square metres with a double and two single beds.
A room at Mowbray Court, and its shower room.
On the nights sampled for our budget hotels guide it ran from £85 on a February Wednesday to £176 on an April Saturday.
Premier Inn London Kensington (Earl’s Court) — the family budget pick
About £147 · 11 Knaresborough Place, SW5 0TJ · Next to Earl’s Court station · premierinn.com
Family rooms, a restaurant, and up to two children eat breakfast free when an adult orders it. Across five sampled nights it ran from £85 to £221, and Saturdays were the dear ones.
A Premier Plus room, and its bathroom.
Two things to check. Air conditioning is only in the Premier Plus rooms. And guests on the side facing the railway report hearing the trains, so ask for a room away from it. There is no on-site parking.
Barmy Badger Backpackers — 48 beds and a hostel dog
£ · 17 Longridge Road, SW5 9SB · Earl’s Court · Breakfast included · Adults only · barmybadger.com
A family-run hostel on a residential street, open since 1997, with 48 beds and no bar. Frankie, the hostel dog, is usually about. Dorms are mixed or female-only with four or six beds, and two female dorms are en-suite; private doubles and twins share bathrooms.
A dorm at Barmy Badger Backpackers.
Guests must be 18 or over, and the longest stay is seven nights. Breakfast (7am to 9.30am) and the kitchen are free, and there is a garden. Every room is up stairs. Bring a padlock or buy one at reception for £10, cash only.
Hotels on Cromwell Road
The Rockwell — a garden, a bar and about £120
About £120 · 181–183 Cromwell Road, SW5 0SF · Earl’s Court 5 min · Hotels.comad
An independent Victorian townhouse with a bar, a restaurant and a garden. Rooms run from singles to Garden Rooms and a mezzanine suite; the Garden Room is 28 to 30 square metres with a king-size bed. Sampled nights ran from £105 on a February Wednesday to £190 on an October Saturday.
A Garden Room at The Rockwell, and its bathroom.
Hotel Xenia — balcony rooms, and Marriott points
160 Cromwell Road, SW5 0TL · Gloucester Road · Hotels.comad
A hotel in Marriott’s Autograph Collection, so Bonvoy points apply. The Executive and Deluxe Balcony rooms each have a small terrace with a table and chairs, and the first-floor Xenia Suite has its own outdoor terrace. Some Executive Twins are accessible, with roll-in showers.
A room at Hotel Xenia, and its bathroom.
La Terrazza is the restaurant, with a conservatory and a programme of live music evenings.
Ember Locke — 121 studios and family suites
££ · 202–220 Cromwell Road, SW5 0SW · Earl’s Court · Hotels.comad
Locke’s Kensington aparthotel: 121 studios in a converted Victorian building, from 21-square-metre City Studios to 27-square-metre Locke Studios. Family Suites sleep four in 40 square metres, and interconnecting apartments are available.
A studio at Ember Locke, and its shower room.
EVE, the on-site restaurant, serves New York-style pizza. There is a gym, a co-working space, a garden, a lift and on-site parking, and dogs are welcome. Cleaning is weekly.
Hotels at Olympia
Olympia’s £1.3 billion rebuild opened in stages through 2026. British Airways ARC, a 3,800-capacity music venue run by AEG Presents, opened on 16 June 2026; our live music venues guide covers it. The 1,575-seat British Airways Theatre follows in 2027. The Grand Hall is also where the HYPER JAPAN Festival takes over for a weekend most summers, and where the Ideal Home Show returns every spring.
Check the trains before an event. The District line runs between Earl’s Court and Kensington (Olympia) at weekends only; on weekdays, change at West Brompton for a two-minute London Overground ride. The westbound platform at Barons Court is closed for maintenance from 6 July 2026 until later in the year, and Olympia advises West Kensington, a 12-minute walk on the District line, or Hammersmith instead.
Hyatt Regency London Olympia — inside the rebuilt Olympia
About £220 · 204 rooms · 7 Olympia Way, W14 0EY · Kensington (Olympia) 1 min · Hotels.comad
Opened in July 2026 inside the Olympia rebuild, a minute from the station and the exhibition halls. Some rooms have private terraces. The 1937 Lounge & Bar is the hotel’s own, and the rooftop bars in the complex, Wolves of Tokyo and Bar Arriba, are a short walk away. It also has accessible rooms with level-entry wet rooms.
A room at the Hyatt Regency, and its bathroom.
For sightseeing elsewhere in London, the Earl’s Court hotels have the better Tube.
Premier Inn London Kensington (Olympia) — air conditioning in every room
22–32 West Cromwell Road, SW5 9QJ · Earl’s Court 0.3 miles · premierinn.com
Unlike the Earl’s Court branch, this one has air conditioning in every room. It has family rooms and a restaurant, and children eat breakfast free with an adult. West Cromwell Road is the A4, the main road to Heathrow, so ask for a room at the back. There is no on-site parking. Accessible rooms have level-entry wet rooms with fold-down seats.
A room at Premier Inn Kensington (Olympia), and its bathroom.
Where to stay just outside
For the museums: our South Kensington guide covers the hotels on the Exhibition Road side, including The Ampersand and Astor Hyde Park, and the tunnel from the station to the museums.
For Portobello Road: Notting Hill Gate is ten minutes’ walk north of the high street up Kensington Church Street; our Notting Hill guide covers the hotels there.
For the lowest prices: our budget hotels guide ranks cheap hotels across London, including hub by Premier Inn at West Brompton, one stop south of Earl’s Court. For how Kensington compares with the rest of the city, see the best areas to stay in London.
Getting in and out
Earl’s Court has the District and Piccadilly lines and is step-free. The Piccadilly line runs direct to Heathrow in around 45 minutes and to King’s Cross St Pancras for the Eurostar; the District line runs direct to Victoria, Westminster and, on its Edgware Road branch, Paddington.
High Street Kensington has the District and Circle lines, with Paddington three stops round on the Circle. Holland Park is on the Central line to Oxford Circus and the City. Gloucester Road has the Piccadilly, District and Circle lines.
Kensington (Olympia) has London Overground trains on the Mildmay line between Clapham Junction and Stratford, and Southern trains to Watford Junction.
Heathrow: the Piccadilly line from Earl’s Court, no change. Our Heathrow to London guide compares it with the Elizabeth line and the Heathrow Express from Paddington.
Typical nightly rates for a double, checked 24 September 2026; the £ symbols mark a price band. Walking times come from the hotels where they give them. Prices move nightly, so check your own dates.
Common questions
Is Kensington a good area to stay in London?
Yes, for a calm base with parks on the doorstep. Kensington Gardens, Kensington Palace, Holland Park and the Design Museum are all walkable, the South Kensington museums are one or two stops away, and the Piccadilly line from Earl's Court runs to Heathrow without a change. The trade is the evening: this is residential London, so for theatre and late bars you ride twenty minutes into the West End.
What is the cheapest place to stay in Kensington?
Earl's Court, at the southern end. Barmy Badger Backpackers on Longridge Road sells dorm beds with free breakfast to guests aged 18 and over, and Safestay sells hostel beds inside Holland Park. For a private room, Mowbray Court on Penywern Road ran about £119 a night on typical dates and The Rockwell on Cromwell Road about £120, both a short walk from Earl's Court station.
Which station is best for Kensington hotels?
Earl's Court for most of them: it has the District and Piccadilly lines, direct trains to Heathrow and King's Cross St Pancras, and step-free access. High Street Kensington (District and Circle) serves the hotels by Kensington Gardens, Holland Park (Central) serves the Holland Park hostel, and Kensington (Olympia) serves the Hyatt, with London Overground trains every day and District line trains from Earl's Court at weekends.
Is Earl's Court a good place to stay?
It is the practical choice: the most rooms at the lowest prices in this part of London, a station with two Tube lines and a direct run to Heathrow, and the Filipino restaurants of Earl's Court Road on the doorstep. The hotels vary widely, so book one named here rather than the cheapest listing on the street.
Where should I stay for an event at Olympia?
Hyatt Regency London Olympia, which opened in July 2026 on Olympia Way, one minute from Kensington (Olympia) station and inside the redeveloped site with the 3,800-capacity British Airways ARC. For less money, Premier Inn London Kensington (Olympia) on West Cromwell Road, between Earl's Court station and Olympia, has air conditioning in every room.
How do I get from Heathrow to Kensington?
Take the Piccadilly line to Earl's Court with no change; Templeton Garden, four minutes from the station, puts the journey at around 45 minutes. For the hotels by Kensington Gardens, change at Earl's Court onto the District line for High Street Kensington, one stop north.
