Sign in with FacebookAbsolute perfection
From the room, to the employees, to the location, and including the best scones and cream tea The Cranley Hotel was absolutely wonderful. There is nothing that we would have changed, and we highly recommend it.
Cranley Hotel
Hotel Class: 
4 Stars - 1 Review and 247 Opinions
10-12 Bina Gardens, South Kensington, London, SW5 0LA, United Kingdom
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RedheadfromTX
- Reviews: 6
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Romantic, Charming and Friendly
The Cranley was my home for about a week a few years ago. I chose to stay in 2 different rooms and their penthouse suite, with had a great view of the city, and which I could have happily lived in forever. The staff were very friendly, nice ammenities, good location and beautifully decorated. it was also very quiet, a nice feature for a small hotel in a bustling city. It is also very romantic. The price I've listed may be a bit out of date - you should check for current rates.
Unique Quality: Beautifully restored rooms in an old townhouse, each with its own character and charm.
- Opinion of Price: about average
- Related to: Romantic Travel and Honeymoons, Luxury Travel
Cranley Hotel Photo: I stayed in the room; very cozy - room 39
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A+ Experience
Just returned from a four-night stay at the Cranley Hotel, traveling with my teenaged daughter. Our twin-bed room was lovely, comfortable, and well-maintained. Adjoining bathroom was roomy, nicely decorated, and stocked with high-end amenities. Accommodations were quiet, with luxurious and cozy public rooms, and the staff were universally friendly, professional, and very welcoming. Room service club sandwiches were delicious, and complimentary tea with scones enjoyed al fresco was a delight! We'll definitely return for more stays here; I recommend this hotel highly. (One caveat: I found the stairs -- four flights to our room -- daunting, but also an inspiration to get back into shape when I got home.) Location was very good, about a 10-minute walk from Gloucester Road tube station...
An Excellent Experience
This is a lovely hotel. My husband and I recently spent four nights here during an unexpected heat wave in London. The rooms at the Cranley are climate controlled, unusual for the city. It was a blessing.
The beds at the Cranley are large and very comfortable. The sheets are fine and are ironed - which makes sleeping a blissful experience.
My favorite thing about this hotel is that it is quiet, again, unusual for the city. The service is helpful and unobtrusive.
We are the types who like to spend all day out touring and then return to the hotel early for the evening. The Cranley is perfect for this, affording a quiet respite from a hectic city.
Just to reiterate about the afternoon tea and the evening refreshments - they don't appear by magic. You have to ask for them, but the staff is more than willing to have them ready for you.
The South Kensington and Gloucester Road tube stops are really not that far! My husband and I aren't in the greatest shape and the tubes were an easy walk for us - and they take you through some nice neighborhoods, as well.
I would recommend the Cranley to a almost any one, although I think families with small children might feel more comfortable elsewhere.
Our London Home
I just returned from a stay at The Cranley with my love, and we are already dreaming of our return visit. We did a lot of research before deciding on The Cranley (including here at tripadvisor---, which is one of the finest travel information resources I've found), and our expectations were very high. The realization exceeded the anticipation in every possible way, however. The staff was incredibly helpful, informative, and friendly at every stage, from before our stay until after we checked out. They really do make you feel at home, and they are The Cranley's greatest resource. Our room was absolutely beautiful with a breathtaking bay-window view of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and all the amenities were top-notch. Our four-poster bed was the most comfortable that I've ever experienced, almost dangerously so: on more than one occasion, we planned on taking just a short evening rest in the room, but upon laying our weary bodies on the bed, we found it impossible to leave its warm embrace. The neighborhood was quiet, peaceful, and absolutely beautiful: it became OUR neighborhood, Gloucester Road became OUR tube station, and The Cranley became OUR London Home. Every night as we made our return through the quiet residential streets, it truly was as if we were returning home. There is absolutely no way we will stay anywhere else in London.
I would also like to second another reviewer's recommendation of the LuxuryLink--- auction package for The Cranley. We took advantage of this package, and it was an incredible deal.
Perfect!!!
I found "The Cranley" absolutely perfect for my needs.
A stunning nice, clean, cozy big house recently became a top level small hotel.
everything was brand new and at his place. Warm and luxury room, even a bit small. Amazing bathroom. Superb service and room cleaning.
Lovely location, close to the underground station, in the heart of south Kensington.
Lovely
We spent four days (28 June till 1 July) at The Cranley with my wife over a long weekend in London (went to see a rock Concert in the Royal Albert Hall). Our whole stay was marvellous.
Everything was as stated by other reviewers or even better.
We arrived to the hotel, and the check-in process was very fast, being the staff very polite. Our fist surprise was that we were upgraded at no cost from our executive room to the Penthouse Suite in the 4th floor (elevator is only available until 3rd floor).
The room was perfect, with a marvellous and comfortable bedand a plasma-LCD TV. Everything was very clean.
There was one living room (with a two person sofa, desk, armchair, and one table. It even had a small terrace, plus a plasma or LCD Thin TV
Breakfast Room service was great, you ordered breakfast for 9:30, and they deliver on time.
We decided to go for the club sandwiches for dinner, as it was definitely cheaper than going out for dinner. Never missed the scheduled timetable for delivery, even if my wife changed one of them (the day of the concert) three times.
Location is very good, we love the South Kensington area.
We will go to another rock concert on August, and we will stay on the Cranley for sure.
outstanding hotel in perfect location
My husband and I stayed at The Cranley for eight nights in early September, and found the hotel to be everything these Trip Advisor reviews report and more.
The location is excellent. Kensington is a wise choice for your London hotel unless you have some specific need to be elsewhere. The walk to the Gloucester Road tube stop is very short (turn right on Wetherby Gardens and walk directly to Gloucester Road and left to the tube instead of going north on Ashburn Place to Courtfield Road and around to the tube, which your map may imply as more direct). It's also a nice walk along the Old Brompton Road to the South Kensington tube. Most important, both Gloucester Road and South Kensington are served by the Circle, District, and Piccadilly lines, which should send you off to most destinations without a train switch. Trains are amazingly frequent.
The area around the hotel is quietly residential, and you can forget about those horror stories of bleating traffic disturbing your sleep. There are a good number of restaurants in the area, plus a laundry and little market at the corner of Bina Gardens and Old Brompton Road. We tried the Indian food at Kare Kare, very close to the hotel, on our first night and enjoyed it. The Duke of Clarence pub and several others allow you to make an evening of it on the Old Brompton Road. Near the Gloucester Road tube stop, the Stratford Arms pub was lively and welcoming.
The room we had (102, on the second floor) wasn't huge, but the high ceiling and nice furnishings made up for it. It was plenty big enough, and had a writing desk which I always find especially valuable. You will love the bathroom: marble walls, a handsome mirror, nice sink with enough stowage space for a traveler, fine shower and bath, and Penhaligon toiletries. (Apparently the hotel was once the location of the perfumer's start-up, so Penhaligon it ever more will be.)
The linens were exquisite, and our half-canopy bed was beautifully dressed. The room had a flat screen telly, which was a fortuitious application of the technology in a space that's none too big. Watch some English football!
The service was excellent, and the staff genuinely engaged and helpful, from my first e-mail to the concierge and on to check out. We arrived at 9:00 am and a room was ready for us after a nice cup of coffee in their lounge. It's a small enough hotel that they will soon know you by sight if not by name, and make you feel quite comfortable. It very much feels like coming home each afternoon or evening.
Rooms are made up very nicely during the day, and the bathroom remains spotless. We visited during that happy period of warm weather in September and were grateful for the air conditioning, but most nights we relied on opening the window a bit. It's nice to have operable windows.
Now some advice. If you book through Expedia as I did, you will find Expedia thoroughly vague on the matter of your B&B breakfast. It's -not- included, which was a disappointment we had to face on arrival. Luxury Link is probably a better deal if other reviews are correct. We coped with this by going out to local cafes or the Waitrose supermarket near the tube for breakfast ingredients each day. I'm sorry to say that the £10 Cranley breakfast struck us as too dear to sample.
As another reviewer noted, do bring your own power converter, and also bear in mind that English outlets are often switched, so merely plugging in doesn't send any juice flowing.
We loved our stay and will definitely choose the Cranley again. The location, the quiet, the impeccable furnishings, the exquisitely comfortable bed (with good reading lights!) all made our time in London especially good.
They've Got It Right
This is how you run a hotel, folks. This is how it's done. Total Class. Understated, elegant, charming...And guests are treated as just that--"guests". Booked through Expedia and expected the usual "Room Only" discount treatment, but instead we were met with complimentary afternoon tea (they even got the scones perfect), complimentary Champagne and canapes.....and friendly smiles! It's as if they're actually glad to have you staying with them. You're even invited to have a seat during check-in. It's customary for them to retain a cc # for incidental charges such as phone, room service, etc. Told the lady at the desk all I had was a debit card with nothing in the account, and she waived the whole procedure. No deposit, no nothing--they trusted me! Everyone there did more than they had to, gave more than was required, and treated us better than we expected them to. We were made to feel welcome, respected and appreciated. That the rooms and baths are so lovely is almost an aside...it's the people that make the Cranley what it is. And what it is, I said at the beginning and I'll say it again--Total Class.
Loved it, but...
We chose this hotel based on the tripadvisor reviews. Most of what has been said is true. What I would specially highlight is the excellent (and non arrogant service). They were extremely helpful and nice, unbooked and booked restaurants for us... offered us tea upon arrival, the afternoon tea was really nice as well as the champagne with canapes...
We had a superior room in the ground floor -where the rooms are supposed to be the largest. The room was indeed spacious, comfortable, clean and decorated with some beautiful (and some not so beautiful) antiques, the bathroom was quite small. All and all I would not go into superlatives about the room. We payed over 400 US $ per night... and I think that this is quite a bit of money for what you get. But I guess accomodation in London is just extremely expensive....
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Beautifully restored rooms in an old townhouse, each with its own character and charm.
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Cranley Hotel
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- Cranley Hotel London
Address: 10-12 Bina Gardens, South Kensington, London, SW5 0LA, United Kingdom