Opening its doors in 1971, The Portobello Hotel quickly became the spiritual home for the fashion, music, and show business crowd. An astonishing roster of guests have made the hotel their home in the past, including the Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, U2, Johnny Depp, Kate Moss, and many more besides. Today, the hotel’s association with the annual Portobello Film Festival attracts filmmakers, so anyone after being talent-spotted may well find it worthwhile grabbing a drink or snack in the elegant sitting room.
Location
Set in the heart of vibrant Notting Hill and a stone’s throw from Portobello road, the Portobello boutique hotel has made a name for itself over the past 40 years as London’s most discreet and decadent hang-out for the fashion and music crowd.
Style & Character
A Curious Group of Hotels owners took over the running of this unique hotel, keeping The Portobello Hotel’s quirky charm and eclectic spirit with a loving revitalization of the property that will reflect its past whilst refreshing and modernizing the hotel.
The design maintains the spirit of the original hotel with its renowned bohemian feel. As the lead behind its design, Jessica Frankopan has kept key pieces of furniture such as the infamous round bed in room 16, free-standing baths, and other items from the hotel’s decadent past.
Rooms
The hotel has 21 redesigned bedrooms and public spaces. Guests can also expect the usual touches found across A Curious Group of Hotels that makes the group’s hotels feel like a home away from home. There are trademark full-size Green & Spring bath and body products, the Group’s own brand, in all the rooms.
Rooms range from tiny but beautifully colored attic rooms to No 16, with its glorious Victorian bathing machine and 8ft circular bed and where Kate Moss and Johnny Depp filled the bath with Champagne and where Alice Cooper kept his boa constrictor (also in the bath), and No 13, with its enormous four-poster bed that requires a set of steps to reach. The Portobello is well worth its rates, and the perfectly formed compact attic rooms are affordable and among the hotel’s most appealing rooms.
Service & Facilities
The London property is the fourth hotel addition for A Curious Group of Hotels and fits perfectly into the group of boutique hotels for the culturally curious, which includes Cowley Manor (Cotswolds), L’Hôtel and the Michelin-starred Le Restaurant (Paris) and Canal House (Amsterdam). While it offers a boutique setting, thus lacking in facilities like swimming pools, it’s homeliness and history make it worth staying here.
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