The Luxury Travel Bible remains convinced that Kit Kemp must have a secret stash of design elves. How else do you explain how she has managed to turn out seven hotels of such startlingly wonderful explosions of colour, pattern and quirk? Number Sixteen, set in South Kensington is no exception. Packaged inside the sober mid-Victorian white stucco walls of a terrace, all the rules on mixing pretty patterns with sophisticated stripes are happily thrown out the window. There are 42 bedrooms and suites, all gloriously individual and determinedly British. Guest areas include drawing rooms, a conservatory and a neatly pruned, picture-pretty, private garden with water feature and fountain. Just perfect for an Afternoon Tea that features ribbon sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and carrot cake.

 

These is no official restaurant on site, although it is in a  'just-a-skip-from-Harrods setting'. We reccommend you begin with starters such as Hoi Sin Duck Spring Rolls and shift to mains like Swordfish, Tomato, Bean and Basil Cassoulet from the extensive room sevice menu.