When looking for a peaceful hotel in London, Earl’s Court – with its bustling tube station and accompanying shops and pubs – might not be the first area that springs to mind. But while newly opened Templeton Garden is just a couple of minutes’ walk from the tube, it’s a million miles away in terms of tranquillity.
The hotel is named after the garden available to all guests, a green haven in the centre of town, which reminds you that the area was once a leafy London suburb and home to Agatha Christie, Beatrix Potter and Alfred Hitchcock. Astonishingly after the car horns and general hullabaloo of the tube environs, all we could hear was birdsong.
My friend and I started our exploration in the garden-view Sprout cocktail bar, where we sampled non-alcoholic beverages including a tomato highball, a sweet pea spritz and a radish margarita, created by bar director Will Meredith, whose philosophy is that mixology has become too conceptual, so he wanted to bring it back down to earth with traceable, seasonal and, where possible, local ingredients. Bar snacks included executive chef Liam Fauchard-Newman’s take on crispy chicken wings with King’s caviar and spiced shrimp toasts.
Thirsts quenched and gastro curiosity piqued, we headed for Pippin’s, the hotel’s modern British restaurant, where we started with a flavour-filled baby vegetable salad with garden herbs followed by a super-refreshing line-caught sea bass ceviche with caviar and an apple and green shisho pickle.
Next was the chef’s take on chicken and chips: tarragon-stuffed chicken thigh with chicken-fat chips that took fries to a whole new level of crispiness. After this was a rhubarb ramos made by the team at Sprout served with an Earl Grey tea custard tart with stem ginger, every dish as creative and scrumptious as the last.
The hotel also has a café-meets-deli named Pip’s, a state-of-the-art gym and 156 beautifully appointed suites and rooms, many with balconies and some with direct access to the garden. There is an additional Refresh room (a Miiro signature feature) with changing rooms, showers and charging points – ideal if you arrive before the usual check-in time and your room isn’t ready or, after check out, you want to prepare for a long-haul flight.
Off we headed into the bustling city night, bellies full of superb food, dreaming of the peaceful garden where Agatha, Beatrix and Alfred might once have listened to birdsong while they contemplated their next plot twists.
Templeton Garden, 1-15 Templeton Place, London SW5 9NB. Prices start at £290 per night for a Classic room.Opening on 15th April, Templeton Garden is the latest offering from Miiro, which in 2024 launched Borneta in Barcelona, Le Grand Hôtel Cayré in Paris and The Mansard in Gstaad. For more information, please visit www.miirohotels.com.
Photos by Anton Rodriguez
