We checked in at the Artist Residence hotel on a chilly Sunday night just a few months after they opened. This is the third in a series of small but well-established boutique hotels in England – the first in Brighton and the second located in Penzance.

Partners Justin Salisbury, 27, and Charlotte (Charlie) Newey, 28, have a great sense of style. Both having backgrounds in art, they built their new hotel concept around a network of prolific artists that provide a steady stream of new work to AR’s rooms and hallways.

The ten room hotel with street-level restaurant and basement bar dates back to1852 and was designed by architect Thomas Cubitt as a public house. Cubitt was the architect for many of the grand buildings around nearby Belgravia square.

Entering the hotel is a lot like visiting a friend’s apartment. No lobby, per se, just a simple check-in desk, and up you go to one of AR’s ten rooms. The rooms all differ in size and style, but all are spacious and well-appointed. We especially like the bathroom details; a quirky mix of old and new, with contrasting distressed and smooth materials for walls, counters and floors.

Need a quiet space to hang out or get some work done? The lounge area on the garden level with large leather sofas and an adjacent coffee bar will fit the bill.

Opposite the lounge is a windowless dimly lit bar with lots of cozy seating. If you want a taste of what a secret Prohibition-era bar might have been like, this must come close. Prohibition never quite made it to the UK. The closest they came was when Parliament passed the 1854 Sale of Beer Act, restricting alcohol sales on Sundays. It was quickly repealed after widespread rioting. The lesson here, don’t get between an Englishman and his pint. I guess the Americans were not as committed to their refreshments, allowing Prohibition to continue for 13 years.

While roaming the AR’s gallery-like corridors we meet owner Charlie and barkeep Max Curzon-Price, designer of the bar’s interesting mix of cocktails. Chatting with Charlie and her all-under-30 crew, you are taken in with their enthusiasm for the hotel business and their unique vision for art-inspired hospitality.

The restaurant, Cambridge Cafe, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is open to both hotel guests and the public. In charge of the kitchen is head chef Radek Nitkowski who previously worked at Dean Street Townhouse, another of our favorite London accommodations.

Artist Residence is a great value. The accommodations are roomy and comfortable and you are a stone’s throw from Victoria Station for connections to overland trains, the tube and buses. To extend your art-themed stay, you are easy walking distance from the Tate Britain and the Thames where you can take the boat down to the Tate Modern and the south bank theater district.

Pimlico has long been the place of small tattered hotels and B&B’s for a pretty penny. Well those days are over, there is a new kid in town. Artists Residence is a lovely and inspiring place to stay, produced and run by lovely people with a passion for their customers’ comfort. What’s not to like?

< More fascinating vacation destinations await. Let’s go.

Details

For room rates and directions go to; www.artistresidence.co.uk

And to eat at the Cambridge Street Cafe; www.cambridgestreetcafe.co.uk

Many thanks to Artist Residence for inviting us to come visit.

Photography and story by Daniela Stallinger

Article last updated on: May 16, 2017