So you’re travelling from Dubai to London and you want to stay in a hotel close to easy transport links and close to all of the London attractions, where do you start looking?
Well we’d recommend starting right in the heart of London and discovering the unique and boutique The Ampersand Hotel in the centre of South Kensington. It was actually my ‘right leg’ Laura (of Mums the World) who discovered this hotel for us after we were discussing the options for an easy one-night stop in London. We wanted to be surrounded by nice places to eat that were close to museums and also a place that gave us the possibility of an easy walk to access the infamous Big Red Bus – The Ampersand Hotel ticked every box!
After our arrival at Euston train station, we used our new downloaded Uber London App to schedule a lift. At this point I should say that I am not great at taking The London Underground AND we had forgotten the stroller on our trip for my two year old that does NOT walk anywhere at the moment – oh the joyous terrible twos! Although I think the London Underground is a fantastic and cost effective way of getting around the busy streets of London, I am far too claustrophobic and find it quite stressful with children and prams to enjoy the benefits. This has made travel around London quite expensive and time consuming in the past so I was delighted when I used Uber London for the first time and it cost only 4 pounds more to our destination than the London Underground tickets would have cost – without the stress!!!
We arrived at The Ampersand Hotel in the warm glorious sunshine and were met with equally warming smiles by the staff. The hotel is small and beautifully decorated with each tier of room having its own theme. On entering you are met by what my children called, flying fairies, which lit up the grand staircase beautifully! The decor was modern, contemporary and colourfully dramatic, adding to the quirkiness of the cosy boutique setting.
Our Deluxe Studio had lots of space that brimmed with botanical back drops and floral decor. My eldest son and I appreciated the king-size bed and the sitting area was large enough to hang out and do work in the evening with a bottle of vino whilst the children slept in the bed and the additional cot provided.
We were conveniently located outside the lift on the first floor and once we were given a full run down of all the mod cons in the room and given our famous Ampersand rubber ducks by the Concierge, we rested with a soft drink from the complimentary mini bar beside the bed! The bathrooms were amazing and elegantly decorated in shiny black tiles, branded towels and a welcoming heated floor. The children enjoyed a Disney inspired bubble bath during their stay, which they found so exciting!!!
The staff were fabulous and on hearing of my buggy problem on arrival, searched high and low (on a Sunday) to find us a spare one for the remainder of our stay. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful however we were so grateful that they even tried. They also suggested a few places to eat – we have to highly recommend BYRON Proper Burger restaurant on the adjacent road to the hotel. Their burgers, milkshakes and prosseco was lovely and on top of kid’s table activities, they were attentive and treated them so well!
That night we all slept like babies and were completely swallowed by, what was like a bed of marshmallows! The rooms had fabulous black out curtains, which meant we all slept until 10am the next morning! After nearly missing breakfast due to our unexpected lie in, we had it delivered to the room. After filling our boots, we were then ready for our day at the Natural History Museum.. which did I mention, was conveniently located around the corner ….
It was a great day and for as much as my two year old took in of it, she will most definitely remember how she felt when she saw her first 50 ft. Dinosaur skeleton! We were so impressed by the museum, and aside from it being free, there was just so much interesting stuff to do and see! I have to point out that you should try and take sandwiches out for the day if you visit or maybe grab them from the high street around the corner because a couple of ice creams , 2 hot dogs and burger set us back about 25 pounds whilst we enjoyed the sunshine afterwards on the grass outside! With that and the 7 pounds entry EACH to the additional Butterfly exhibition, plus a donation to the museum, what you think will be a free day out, can turn quite expensive…
After our exciting excursion we headed back to The Ampersand Hotel and whilst waiting for our Uber London to collect us to take us to Paddington Station, we enjoyed some down-time and a completely award winning cappuccino in the The Drawing Rooms next to the lobby of the hotel.
After being graciously helped to our car by the door staff, we were off and actually sad to say goodbye. Our stay was most definitely too short. We highly recommend the Ampersand as a luxury boutique hotel for children. I enjoyed not being surrounded by gimmicks for children during a short stay away, and The Ampersand certainly gave me the chance to feel completely pampered whilst keeping the children comfortable too. We will be back and next time, I want a bath!
Thank you to the whole team!
Journey well..
Love,
Dubai Based Travel Bloggers
For more of our Reviews when Travelling with Children click here.