London’s latest hotel – the Franklin – is a home away from home

in the lap of london luxury

Set on a leafy Knightsbridge side street within a cluster of restored Victorian townhouses, the Franklin is British to the core. Still, the hotel’s old-school ambience does not preclude a modern edge, courtesy of a 19-month renovation led by Anouska Hempel and completed last August. The London designer – whose other local credits include the Grosvenor House and the Blakes Hotel – has perfectly balanced the traditional and the contemporary with details like wrought-iron furnishings and sleek Carrara marble.

A residential style pervades throughout: In lieu of a formal lobby, visitors find a host of guest-only retreats, from a plush velvet library to an intimate well-being area with a Turkish hammam. Remaining utterly English, however, is the hotel’s restaurant overlooking the rather secret Egerton Gardens.

The Franklin