London’s Opulent At Sloane Hotel Is a One-Of-A-Kind Retreat in Chelsea

Discovering this dreamy spot was the high point of an otherwise lazy Sunday in London. The new At Sloane hotel debuted in 2023, after a meticulous six-year renovation by French designer François-Joseph Graf, in a 19th-century red brick Cadogan mansion originally created by architect Edwin Thomas Hall. The new London hot spot — mere yards from Sloane Square in Chelsea — is unlike any hotel I’ve seen. It feels both timeless (in the graphically rigorous Craftsman-style that ushered interiors out of the Victorian era) and utterly fresh, as only an artist with a profoundly fluent visual vocabulary could express.

The reception area is a well-appointed library with staff seated at the massive, handsome table that dominates the room — I thought at first that they were attractive guests tapping away on laptops. Muscular clusters of reproduction amphorae lend the room the quality of a connoisseur’s lair. The lower-level bar, down a gently winding staircase, has a sexy and dimly lit speakeasy vibe with a crackling fireplace and its own discreet street entrance for non-guests. Already cozy, the romantic room has jewel-box private alcoves for even more intimate tête-à-têtes.

At Sloane’s restaurant is a series of small, romantic salons tucked away on the sixth floor, where natural light streams through stained-glass windows, illuminating a collection of celadon Chinese porcelain evocative of James McNeill Whistler’s iconic Peacock Room. Here, as in all the hotel’s public spaces and guest rooms, harmonizing textiles are masterfully deployed to give the impression of handsome, unmatched furnishings accumulated over time.

The 30 guest rooms and suites are appointed with antiques; chic black-and-white photography of iconic couples; snowy, luxe linens on cloud-like beds; wood-paneled walk-in dressing rooms; and baths with expert lighting that cossets guests in an ambient glow, some with a prodigious freestanding tub.

Visitors with an eye for such details will appreciate the William Morris wallpapers, antique and custom furnishings upholstered with dozens of different textiles from storied French ateliers, masterful trompe l’oeil painted woodwork and mantels, retro fitted antique lighting fixtures, tilework layered with complementary bespoke Belgian carpets, and an aesthete’s lifetime accumulation of decorative accessories and books. Designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard recently posted on Instagram about At Sloane, calling it a must-stay for anyone who loves high design and unparalleled luxurious spaces. In other words, this is immutable five-star luxury without a lick of gilding in sight.

Rates from £600 to £3,600. At Sloane, 1 Sloane Gardens, London, atsloane.com.