After a two-year face-lift, The Franklin has reopened in London’s tony Knightsbridge just around the corner from a clutch of local institutions like the V&A and Harrods. Its Italian owners Starhotels enlisted hotel doyenne Anouska Hempel to carve out 35 rooms from a trio of Victorian terrace buildings that back onto Egerton Gardens.
These days, Hempel is busier than ever, and her eye for studied opulence remains as sharp as ever. For The Franklin’s interiors, the echo of Venice looms large by way of velvets, alabaster, etched mirrors and Canaletto prints of London, mixed with ikats and silks. In particular, she channels her trademark love for grey and patterns by swathing the ground floor with limestone and Carrara marble, and the rooms with Frette bed-linen, oak floors, and mirrored furniture.
The best rooms in the house look out onto the garden and majestic stands of London Plane trees and, weather permitting, there’s something to be said for taking afternoon tea on the terrace lined with espaliered pear trees and Indian water bowls.
Meanwhile, the mirror-lined bar stocks seven champagnes and 22 gins, which might just leave you with enough steadiness to make your way to dinner in Michelin-starred Alfredo Russo’s dining room.
ADDRESS
22-28 Egerton Gardens
-
Fendi celebrates 100 years with all-out runway show at its new Milan HQIn the wake of Kim Jones’ departure, Silvia Venturini Fendi took the reins for a special co-ed A/W 2025 collection marking the house’s centenary, unveiling it as the first act of celebrations within Fendi’s expansive new headquarters in Milan
-
‘Leigh Bowery!’ at Tate Modern: 1980s alt-glamour, club culture and rebellionThe new Leigh Bowery exhibition in London is a dazzling, sequin-drenched look back at the 1980s, through the life of one of its brightest stars
-
Inside the unexpected collaboration between Marni’s Francesco Risso and artists Slawn and SoldierNew exhibition ‘The Pink Sun’ will take place at Francesco Risso’s palazzo in Milan in collaboration with Saatchi Yates, opening after the Marni show today, 26 February
-
London's coolest design-led coffee shops for your Fashion Week fixCoffee shops are the heart of London’s neighbourhoods, discover those fusing speciality beans and stylish interiors for the perfect brew
-
Shakara is a stylish new addition to London's West African dining sceneShakara, a new Marylebone bar and dining room, adds to the city's ever-more impressive high-end West African dining scene
-
First a fishmonger then a restaurant, how Applebee’s became a Borough Market stapleIn line with the London seafood restaurant’s 25th anniversary, Applebee’s is reopening with a new menu and a new look courtesy of design studio A-nrd
-
Mayfair restaurant Silva is a dainty ode to the MediterraneanEnvisioned by Studio Wren, Silva is a dynamic, textural restaurant that reflects nature’s rhythms through its cuisine and design
-
Peek inside Heathrow’s new VIP terminal: exclusive travel from door to departureThe Windsor is Heathrow’s newly refurbished private terminal boasting a private gallery, cuisine from a Michelin-starred chef, and butler and chauffeur services
-
Night at the museum: the best art hotels to book nowSleep amid surrealists at London’s Broadwick Soho, or wake up to contemporary favourites at New Hotel in Athens – indulge in an immersive art hotel experience
-
London’s Piraña restaurant combines Japanese-Peruvian fusion with lavishly moody surroundsPiraña restaurant wraps a delicious Japanese-Peruvian fusion menu in an alluringly moody atmosphere in central London’s Mayfair
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Park Hyatt London River Thames: ‘Luxury meets the skyline’Tour the long-awaited debut of the Park Hyatt brand in the UK, soaring within a KPF-designed sleek glass tower in Nine Elms
