I’ll be honest – when I first walked up to the Hyde Park Radnor on Sussex Place, I wasn’t expecting much from what looked like another converted Victorian terrace. But you know what? Sometimes the best finds are hiding in plain sight, and this little B&B actually surprised me in the best way possible.
The thing about staying here is the location – and I don’t mean that in the usual “convenient location” marketing speak. I mean you’re literally a two-minute walk from Hyde Park’s northeast corner, where all the early morning joggers disappear into the tree line and the whole city feels like it’s still waking up. Sussex Place itself is one of those quiet Westminster streets that tourists usually rush past on their way to Marble Arch, but honestly, that’s what makes it perfect. You get the authentic London residential vibe without the chaos, plus the Tube station is right there when you need it. The rooms themselves have that proper B&B character – mine had this lovely old sash window that looked out over the street, and while the décor isn’t going to win any design awards, everything felt clean and well-maintained. The breakfast situation is actually pretty solid too, though don’t expect anything fancy. Just good English breakfast basics done right, which is sometimes exactly what you want after a day of trudging around London.
What really won me over was the staff – they genuinely seem to care about getting the details right, which you don’t always find at this price point. The woman at check-in knew the area inside and out (she pointed me toward this brilliant little pub around the corner that I never would have found otherwise), and when I mentioned I was meeting friends in Notting Hill later, she gave me the kind of specific walking directions that only come from someone who actually lives here. Sure, the building’s got some quirks – the stairs creak a bit, and the shower pressure varies depending on what time of day you’re using it – but these feel like character traits rather than real problems. I mean, it’s a Victorian building in central London; perfect modern efficiency would almost feel wrong. The 7.7 rating seems about right to me – it’s not trying to be the Ritz, but for what it is, it delivers. If you’re looking for somewhere genuine to stay that won’t blow your budget but still puts you right in the heart of things, this place gets it right.