You know what? I wasn’t expecting much from the Signature Townhouse when I first walked up to it on Lancaster Gate – honestly, the name sounds a bit corporate and there are so many cookie-cutter boutique places around London these days. But this one actually surprised me in a good way. The building itself is one of those classic white stucco Victorian terraces that line this part of Bayswater, and while it’s not going to blow you away from the outside, there’s something reassuring about staying somewhere that feels properly London rather than like it could be anywhere in the world.
The location is what really sells this place, though they don’t make nearly enough fuss about it. You’re literally a two-minute walk from Hyde Park – I mean, you can see the trees from some of the upper floor windows – and Speaker’s Corner is right there if you fancy watching someone rant about conspiracy theories on a Sunday morning. What I love is that you’re close enough to all the tourist stuff (Oxford Street is maybe fifteen minutes on foot) but Lancaster Gate has this residential feel that most visitors never experience. There’s a proper local pub called The Victoria just around the corner, and the little Tesco Express nearby saved me more than once when I realized I’d forgotten phone chargers or needed late-night snacks. The Tube station is practically next door too, which is brilliant because you can get to pretty much anywhere in central London without having to change lines.
Inside, it’s what I’d call comfortable rather than fancy – the kind of place where everything works properly but you’re not paying for marble bathrooms or turndown service. The rooms are a decent size for London (which, let’s be honest, isn’t saying much), and mine had this lovely old sash window that actually opened, unlike those sealed boxes you get in chain hotels. I will say the Wi-Fi was solid and the shower had proper pressure, which matters more than thread count when you’re actually living somewhere for a few days. The staff seem to genuinely know the neighborhood too – the guy at reception gave me directions to a fantastic Lebanese place on Edgware Road that I never would have found otherwise. It’s not the fanciest four-star you’ll ever stay in, and sometimes you can hear the buses rumbling past in the early morning, but there’s something honest about it that I really appreciated. If you want to feel like you’re staying in London rather than just visiting it, this hits the sweet spot.