London, United Kingdom

Lime Tree Hotel

Price per night from$215.35

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP170.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Allotment-garden glam

Setting

Belgravia’s prettiest street

If you’re after a flavour of British hospitality without breaking the bank, the Lime Tree Hotel is that rare flower: an affordable family-run stopover with spot-on service just steps from Buckingham Palace, the V&A and Tate Britain. Set on the corner of stucco-fronted Ebury Street and Elizabeth Street – the so-called prettiest in London – this is pure Mary Poppins’ territory, where the queen’s horses sometimes trot. But there’s a rural twist: green-fingered staff have applied allotment know-how to the hotel’s lawn-covered garden, supplying their homely Buttery restaurant with ingredients for re-imagined ploughman’s lunches and classic cocktails. And, with Victoria station around the corner, you won’t need a magic umbrella to descend on this perfectly practical address.

Smith Extra

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A bottle of Bramley body wash

Facilities

Photos Lime Tree Hotel facilities

Need to know

Rooms

26.

Check–Out

10.30am, but flexible, subject to availability. Check-in from 2.30pm; an earlier guaranteed check-in at noon is available for £20.

More details

Rates don’t include breakfast but it’s worth forking out for the cooked-to-order dishes including Clarence Court eggs on sourdough, smashed avocado on toast, traditional English or vegetarian cooked breakfast, and Nutella French toast.

Also

Inspired by nature’s reclamation of towns and cities during the 2020 pandemic, Charlotte is keen to invite wildlife to the hotel’s allotment-style garden. She’s installed numerous birdhouses and a handsome-looking beehive around the garden’s perimeter.

At the hotel

Private walled garden, restaurant, basement event space. In rooms: TV, free WiFi, desk, Bramley toiletries, tea- and coffee-making kit (on request).

Our favourite rooms

Rooms are spread evenly across the two townhouses, with the ‘comfy’ category on the higher floors (there’s no lift, so factor in some stair-climbing the higher you are). The twin room on the ground level makes fantastic use of the snug space and has a patio door out to the garden. All rooms exhibit Matthew and Charlotte’s magic eye for detail, such as the pitch-perfect metro tiling in bathrooms, but the generous doubles have that little more space to show it all off.

Packing tips

A Paddington bear-style duffle coat or brolly to pre-empt those famous London downpours (the rule is: if you bring them, it won’t rain).

Also

There are several steps up to the entranceway and no lifts in the building. That means lots of stairs, making this hotel not very wheelchair accessible and also more challenging for some elderly visitors.

Children

Under-fives aren’t allowed to stay; children over six can stay but this Grade II-listed building doesn’t lend itself particularly well to families.

Sustainability efforts

This is a Grade II-listed building, so significant infrastructure work hasn’t been possible. However, Charlotte and Matthew use a waste company that sends nothing to landfill, they’ve phased out single-use plastic and installed super-efficient boilers. And it doesn’t get much more local than herbs and veg sourced from their garden.

Food and Drink

Photos Lime Tree Hotel food and drink

Top Table

For caffeinated catch-ups, seat yourself in prime people-watching position by nabbing the banquette in the corner facing Ebury Street. Or, for a more intimate affair, steal away to a secluded corner to the back of the Buttery overlooking the garden.

Dress Code

Relaxed, with a pashmina shawl if you’re eating in the garden in spring or autumn.

Hotel restaurant

The Buttery extends from the street-side of the hotel to its garden-facing rear, a place where the soft textures of velvet and wood evoke country-kitchen calm. In defiance to its central London location, the hotel’s allotment garden has a dual role of providing gorgeously green outdoor eating and supplying plenty of fresh ingredients to the menu: courgette and mozzarella salad with chorizo dressing; the Belgravia ploughman’s lunch; the already near-legendary allotment breakfast (served until 2.30pm), starring grilled halloumi, avocado, poached or scrambled
egg, mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and baby potatoes; are just a few of the highlights.

Hotel bar

The Lime Tree Hotel has amassed a string of regulars, drawn by its London-roasted coffee from the Gentlemen Baristas and its selection of classic cocktails (peach bellinis taste that little bit sweeter when sipped in the walled garden).

Last orders

Breakfast is served between 7.30am and 11am, followed by lunch between 11.30am and 2.30pm.

Location

Photos Lime Tree Hotel location
Address
Lime Tree Hotel
135-137 Ebury Street
London
SW1W 9QU
United Kingdom

Not only is the Lime Tree Hotel on an adorably London-esque street, but as a first-time visitor, it puts you conveniently within walking distance of many tourist tick-box locations, such as Buckingham Palace, the V&A, Hyde Park and Harrods.

Planes

Heathrow airport is 17 miles away – a 45-minute drive. You can take the Piccadilly line from the airport to Gloucester Road or South Kensington (a journey of around 50 minutes), and then switch to the District (green) or Circle (yellow) line for a few stops to London Victoria station.

Trains

The major underground and overground station, London Victoria, is just a couple of blocks from the hotel, with services connecting to Kent, Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Surrey and other UK destinations; King’s Cross is about 20 minutes away by Tube, with services to Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and other British hubs.

Automobiles

Leave your car at home: the Lime Tree Hotel is perfectly located for getting around on foot or by bus, Tube or train.

Worth getting out of bed for

If you want to be ‘in amongst it’, then Lime Tree is the place to be. Within just a 25-minute walking radius you’ll come upon museums (the V&A, Natural History Museum, Science Museum), galleries (the Saatchi and Serpentine), shopping areas (Knightsbridge, home of Harrods; and Kensington High Street), and some of London’s finest greenspace (Hyde, Green, St James’ and Battersea parks). With those tourist tick-box highlights out of the way, there are lesser-known but no less thrilling delights to be found nearby, such as the apothecaries’ 350-year-old Chelsea Physic Garden. And that’s not even mentioning the chic boutiques, bars and restaurants in the hotel’s immediate Belgravia ‘hood, such as Peggy Porschen’s world-famous designer cake shop (literally across the street, so you can people-watch Instagrammers taking cake-filled selfies), and Bayley & Sage, the local deli bursting with homemade treats.

Local restaurants

You’re spoilt for choice in Belgravia but The Thomas Cubitt on Elizabeth Street is a cherished local pub with a dash of Dickens’ wit – if you’re in the area on a Sunday, its roast dinner is one of the most show-stopping around (with some great ales and a fine wine list to boot). Wild by Tart is a slightly calmer affair set in a former power station and coal store, serving modern Brit sharing plates such as mackerel with tomato and fennel, spiced lamb and feta flatbreads, and wood-roasted peppers.

Local cafés

Get swept up in Carole Bamford’s passion for British produce at Daylesford Organic, one of her famous farmshop cafés.

Reviews

Photos Lime Tree Hotel reviews
Verity Pemberton

Anonymous review

By Verity Pemberton, Fashion-forward polymath

There’s nothing like being a visitor in your home city to give you a fresh perspective on it. And that’s the situation I found myself in when I was lucky enough to stay at the Lime Tree Hotel for two days, where I fully embraced being a Belgravia resident. 

The hotel – self described as a ‘boutique bolthole’ – is set on Ebury street, a mere 10-minute walk from Victoria. The super central location is second to none; whether you’re visiting for work or pleasure, you can whizz around London seamlessly without feeling like you’re caught up in the hustle of its streets. Where Lime Tree sits is quiet, residential and relaxed, encased by a Belgravia bubble. And the hotel feels the same within. The Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse is a small and homey, with just 26 rooms spread across three floors. 

The entrance was lined with a trail of daffodils on the spring morning when I checked in, in the main reception area are sofas strewn with Ikat-print cushions and stacks of magazines and books I actually wanted to read, and I received a friendly welcome from Laura at reception who greeted me as I checked in. My twin room, where I was staying with a platonic fellow Mrs Smith, was the perfect spot for a highly overdue girls weekend. Double French doors opened onto our own terrace in Lime Tree’s garden, which is perfectly manicured, framed by jasmine trailing up the walls. It was chilly when we arrive, but in the summer this tucked-away green space must really come into its own. It’s a lovely spot for relaxing in the evening with a glass of wine, and it makes a serene breakfasting spot too – I made a note to return for what turned out to be a very good breakfast as soon as I spy some rays.

My room’s green-velvet headboard, Klippan wool throw and stacks of pillows adorning the bed made it feel extra cosy. Never one to shy away from a house tour – and curious to see if the grass/headboard is greener elsewhere – I asked to see some of the other rooms. I don’t want to pick favourites, but, if you're lucky enough for them to be free when you book, number 42 is a generously sized double set on the first floor, with large sash windows looking out onto the street; or you’re green-fingered, you may prefer number 18, a spacious double with a garden view. 

I can’t put my finger on it, but there was something about Lime Tree that made me feel  like I’d been transported to the Cotswolds. Maybe it was because every Saturday at the  end of the street there was the upscale Pimlico Road farmers' market selling homemade produce and treats. At this near distance, I didn’t feel like I was in the London I know; maybe because this two-day rest made me feel like I’d been whisked away to the countryside. It could also be the magnificent breakfast served at the Buttery, the café joined to the Lime Tree, where there’s shakshuka, filled brioches, various morning fizzes and even baked cookie dough on the menu.

Breakfast is not included in your stay, but you’d be a fool to miss it. Book your spot ahead of time, as many other people staying seemed to be in agreement; even early in the morning on a weekday the café is full, with both guests and non-guests, many transfixed on the menus, trying to narrow down their order. I too found it hard, but decided to go for the full veggie breakfast, while my friend had Nutella French toast, which arrived decorated in edible flowers and raspberries. It looked slightly too beautiful to eat, however my friend bravely managed it, leaving only a spotless plate as evidence. 

The Lime Tree is the rare London hotel that truly feels like a home from home, a space  where you instantly feel relaxed. When my life as a fake Belgravia local came to an end, I  was rather sad to leave my little adopted enclave behind. However, I can’t quite bear to leave it – or the breakfast – behind for too long, so I know I’ll be back. 

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Price per night from $215.35