The Capital Hotel at 55: Basil Street's Grand Hotel in Miniature
In May 1971 a small hotel opened on Basil Street, a quiet side road a few steps from Harrods, and described itself as a grand hotel in miniature. Fifty-five years later The Capital is still there, still independent in spirit and still one of the most personal places to stay in Knightsbridge. In a summer when the neighbourhood is full of new rooftop bars and headline openings, it is worth looking at a hotel that has quietly done things its own way for more than half a century.
The hotel that claims to have invented boutique
The Capital makes a bold claim about its own history: that it coined the term boutique for a hotel of its kind. Whatever the truth of that, the description fits. Its restaurant made history early too, winning a Michelin star in 1973, which made it one of the first hotels in London to hold one. The hotel's own history and news page tells the story, alongside details of its rooms today.
Today there are 72 rooms, hosting up to 164 guests, ranging from classic rooms to junior suites and the 88 square metre Hyde Park Suite, which has two bedrooms. For longer stays, which suit visiting families in the summer months, there are apartments with fully equipped kitchens, from studios up to a three-bedroom option of 157 square metres. Being able to cook a simple breakfast while staying round the corner from Harrods is a luxury of its own. The suites, meanwhile, are pitched at guests who want to be just moments from Harrods without the scale of the neighbourhood's larger hotels, and the hotel's modest size gives it something closer to the feel of a private house than a large hotel, which is exactly what its regulars come back for each summer.
Tom Brown at The Capital
The star has returned. Tom Brown at The Capital, the chef's restaurant on the site where he first made his name when it housed Outlaw's, focuses on modern British seafood and seasonal ingredients, and the hotel reports that it earned a Michelin star less than a year after opening. Lunch is served Thursday to Saturday from 12.30pm to 3pm, and dinner Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm to 9.30pm, according to the restaurant's page. Breakfast is served daily, from 7am on weekdays. For a fish-led lunch after a morning's shopping, there are few better options within walking distance.
The bar and afternoon tea
The Capital Bar is open from midday to 11pm and specialises in rare spirits, vintage pours and signature cocktails in a quiet, velvet-lined room: a good antidote to the crowds of Brompton Road on a summer afternoon. Traditional afternoon tea is served from 12.30pm to 5pm.
Getting there
Basil Street runs behind Harrods, a couple of minutes' walk from Knightsbridge station on the Piccadilly line. Book Tom Brown well ahead for Saturday lunch, the only weekend lunch service, and ask about apartment availability early if you are planning a longer stay in August.
Lead image: HerryLawford via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
