Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Space ApartHotel when I first walked up to those Georgian townhouses on Kensington Garden Square – the name sounds a bit corporate, doesn’t it? But you know what, this place actually surprised me in the best way. The location is brilliant (and I mean properly brilliant, not just tourist-guide brilliant). You’re literally facing one of those gorgeous private garden squares that make London feel like a period drama, but here’s the thing most people don’t realize – you’re also just a three-minute walk from Bayswater tube station. I’ve stayed in plenty of “central” London hotels that require a twenty-minute tube journey to get anywhere interesting.
The apartments themselves feel more like someone’s stylish flat than a hotel room, which is refreshing when you’re tired of beige carpet and generic art. The kitchenettes are actually functional – not those sad hotel attempts with a mini-fridge and a kettle. I mean, you could genuinely cook a proper meal here if you wanted to, though honestly, with Chinatown in Queensway just around the corner and all those Lebanese places on Edgware Road nearby, why would you? The staff seem to know their stuff too; when I mentioned I was heading to Borough Market, the guy at reception suggested taking the bus from Lancaster Gate instead of the tube (saved me about fifteen minutes, actually). Small thing, but it shows they understand how the city works rather than just reading from a script.
What really sold me on this place, though, is how it sits in that sweet spot between tourist London and real London. Yes, you can walk to Hyde Park in five minutes – and the bit you’ll hit is the proper leafy part near the Italian Gardens, not the crazy Speaker’s Corner end. But you’re also in Bayswater, which means you get that mix of cultures and proper neighborhood feel that most visitors completely miss. The square itself is surprisingly quiet considering you’re in Zone 1; I could actually sleep with the windows open in summer, which is saying something for central London. Fair warning though – if you’re coming during August, it does get busy with families (the Natural History Museum is walkable, so you’ll see a lot of kids), but that’s true anywhere decent in this part of town. For a four-star place with an 8/10 rating, it delivers exactly what it promises without trying too hard to impress you.