Honestly, when I first walked up to 30 Porchester Terrace, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a “large 3 bed apartment” listing – you know how those descriptions can be pretty generous sometimes. But this place actually delivers on the space promise, and the location is just ridiculously good if you want to feel like a proper Londoner for a week.
The apartment sits right on the edge of Kensington Gardens, which means you’re literally a two-minute walk from Hyde Park’s northwest corner where all the dog walkers congregate in the morning. I mean, I’d open the windows and hear actual birds instead of just traffic, which in London feels like winning the lottery. The Porchester Terrace area is one of those gorgeous white stucco streets that makes you feel fancy just walking down it, but it’s not stuffy – there’s a brilliant little Tesco Express around the corner on Westbourne Grove, and honestly, that matters more than you’d think when you’re staying somewhere for more than a couple nights. The Lancaster Gate tube station is maybe a seven-minute walk, which puts you on the Central line straight into the city center.
What really sold me on this place was how it felt lived-in rather than sterile – the kind of apartment where someone’s actually put thought into having proper cooking equipment (not just a sad little kettle) and where the beds don’t feel like they came from a budget hotel supply catalog. The three bedrooms are genuinely spacious enough that you’re not bumping into each other constantly, which is rare for London. You’ve got Paddington Station within walking distance if you’re doing day trips, and Notting Hill is right there too – though honestly, skip the touristy bits of Portobello Road and just wander the residential streets behind it for the real charm. The area gets a bit busy during summer weekends with all the park foot traffic, but evenings are surprisingly quiet. I’d definitely book this again, especially if you’re traveling with friends or family and want somewhere that feels more like borrowing someone’s lovely London life rather than just passing through.