This hotel is something of a hidden gem, located as it is down a leafy side street near Hyde Park in London. Part of a row of townhouses, La Suite West – a member of the hugely impressive Design Hotels stable – tips its hat to its Victorian heritage by borrowing something of the long-serving monarch’s signature colour scheme.
Black and white is everywhere you look, although there are none of Vicky’s frilly collars on show here – clean, sharp and angular is the order of the day. However the austere core palette, seen from the bed frames to the window frames and Asian-influenced shutters, is overlaid with rich purple textiles in the bedrooms that elevate the tone. The bathrooms, similarly monotone, are lent a luxurious feel thanks to the floor-to-ceiling marble. Still, it’s not what you’d call a flamboyant aesthetic. The lobby might even be described as sterile, were it not for the fire that brings a much needed glow into the space, dominated by a huge marble reception desk.
It’s fair to say, in keeping with its location, that LA Suite West is one for guests of refined sensibilities.