The Problem may be is about expectations....
anyway, would you arrive at the Blakes by black cab and no one come to help you with the bag and say welcome bla bla bla..?

would you step in carring your heavy luggage by yourself and see at the desk a blond busy receptionist dressed with a plain black t - shirt checking you in with a visible "in hurry" acting with no explenation of the Restaurant, the Court Yard, the Location, The hotel facilities...?

would you be taken onto your room by a nice concierge and discover you room is very small with a portable and not working air conditioning with the pipe that you must keep open?

Would you extra pay all the items from your minibar which is place on the floor and it is dated 10 years ago?

I do belive that Hanuske Hemple is a really great stylist with amazing ideas and she is divine, unfortunately the people from the blakes to me don't have a vibe as Mrs Hemple style has.

By the way the restaurant is amazing with a great style and such good stlish food.

Unless you are willing to fork out £700 a night for a room here then expect a dark, depressing, claustrophobic room with a tiny fuzzy tv last furnished in the mid 80's with a bathroom to match.

My girlfriend and I planned to stay here for 4 nights but could not wait to get out of there by the second night.

We checked in at 8pm on the Saturday into a 'director’s double' at a rate of £420 a night. By midnight we were suicidal. Any energy or life we had in us was sapped up by the dark red walls and carpets, the black furniture and the small uncomfortable bed. You could not walk around the room with bumping into a wall, table, chair or lamp.

We called the useless night manager at midnight and explained to him our discomfort. He advised us that he had 3 other rooms into which we can move. 2 of the rooms were, although designed differently to ours, equally dark, dingy and unimpressive. The other room was a much larger suite costing £700 per night.
We therefore had no choice but to take the suite however we were told that had to pay an extra £280 even though it was midnight and the manager could see our discomfort and annoyance. The following day, we asked for a 1pm check out but were told that that was not possible as they needed the room.

Blakes has had its time and is in desperate need for a refurb. With so many other beautiful, comfortable 5 star boutique hotels in London this should be last on your list of choices. Do not make the same mistake I did.

We could only afford to stay for 1 night for my birthday, but are very glad we did! This is a hotel to STAY in!

On arrival, the smoky glass doors open and you step into a lobby filled with the scent of grapefruit (candles), bowls of oranges, warm wood floors & soft candle lighting. Even the reception area seems mysterious, hidden away behind a set of key cubbyholes. The concierge, an enthusiastic young New Zealander, showed us to our room, around our room & organised tea in the Chinese room.

Having got their early, we were given an outside lower level room - part of the section of Victorian terrace that the hotel takes over. It was accessed by going outside of the hotel, had its own front door and kitchenette - but I was concerned about potential noise on the road on a Saturday night & it didn't quite have that 'decadent' feeling. Also - not being famous(!) - we didn't feel we needed to be so secluded from the rest of the hotel! So, we asked if we could move to a room within the main body of the hotel itself facing inwards.

That was the best move. Our room was luscious - reds, blacks & golds. Could never get away with those colours in our own home but it worked. Orchids adorn the rooms, the sofas are sinkable, the bathrooms luxurious and the beds sumptuous. Dupion silk lined the walls - who needs boring old wallpaper!?

The concierge was wonderful - i've never had such service - he offered to go and rent us DVDs from the shop to watch, and to go out to the local pharmacy to get us bath salts we wanted. The tea served in the Chinese room was laid out in moroccan-style silver pots with a plate of homemade lemon, chocolate and vanilla shortbread biscuits.

The hotel is so cosy that you fail to see any other occupants - even when full. When we ventured down to breakfast at 10am on Sunday, there was no-one there! But why would there be? The room service menu was the best i've ever seen by far - chinese dim sum, delectable cocktails, sumptuous desserts - and breakfast in bed is an option.

The downsides.

It was very expensive. We got a good deal on a director's double but it is still somewhat overpriced - probably because of the celebrity guests. For such expense, I would expect bath salts and nicer bathroom 'condiments' instead of typical hotel-style bottles of shampoo.

It's a 10 minute walk from the tube station - so with heavy baggage that's a bit of a pain. I would ask them to pick you up from the station.

Overall though a great place to hide away in for a few days!

I stayed at the Blakes between Dec 19th and 22nd with my wife and we liked the atmosphere, location and decor. Unfortunately if you have to access the Internet be prepared to pay 20 pounds per day ($40!), which is a little bit too much...Overall though a positive experience.