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The Milestone: A monument to the Aesthetic movement
17/03/2011
The Milestone Hotel, an outstanding example of a house built under the influence of the Aesthetic Movement, is celebrating the forthcoming ‘Cult of Beauty’ exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum with a special package that pays homage to its architectural origins.
Running from 2nd April to 17th July 2011, ‘Cult of Beauty’ is the first major exhibition dedicated to the Aesthetic Movement, a theme that dominated artistic and intellectual life towards the end of the 19th century. The Milestone Hotel near Kensington Court features distinctive architecture and magnificent interiors demonstrative of that period. The ‘Cult of Beauty’ package includes:
- One night’s accommodation in an aesthetically stunning room or suite
- A glass of chilled Champagne for both of you on arrival
- Traditional afternoon tea for two in the Park Lounge
- Two tickets to the “Cult of Beauty” exhibition
- After a wonderful night’s sleep, a traditional English breakfast
Prices start from £366.67 per night (excl. VAT) based on two adults sharing a Deluxe King room for one night. This package is offered subject to availability. Additional nights are at our Best Available Rate. Terms and conditions apply. Bookings must be made a minimum of 10 days in advance.
The exhibition celebrates all aspects of the influential movement, including superb artworks from the traditional high art of painting, to fashionable trends in architecture, interior design, domestic furnishings, art photography and new modes of dress.
The Milestone was designed by Sir Thomas Jackson Bt., RA (1835 – 1924) for his client Athelston Riley (1858 – 1945), a prominent Anglo-Catholic, educationalist and traveller who was married to The Hon. Andalucia Molesworth, daughter of Lord Molesworth. It was the first building in Kensington to manifest the enthusiasm of architects in the 1880's for Flemish buildings of the 15th and 16th centuries. The front, facing Kensington Road, has a tall shaped gable, blank panels of cut-brick tracery and reliefs of winged putti in terracotta below them. On the side, there is a pretty ground-storey bay window, capped by a vigorously sculptured group of sea monsters, derived from the spire of the Exchange at Copenhagen.
The interior included a library, dining-room and a tiny cedar-paneled oratory on the ground floor. The original drawing–room, now a bedroom suite overlooking the park, retains a small corner chimney-piece inset with exquisite tiles by the famous ceramicist William de Morgan (1839 – 1917). In the Tudor suite there is a curved and cantilevered music gallery with a low plaster relief of putti (originally on a blue background) across its width, by the celebrated sculptor Sir George Frampton (1860 – 1928), best known for his famous statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and the Edith Cavell monument outside the National Portrait Gallery.
Situated in the heart of Kensington, overlooking Kensington Palace and Gardens, the quiet and understated elegance of The Milestone is celebrated for its style, comfort, and exalted levels of personal service. This Grade II listed showpiece of the Victorian era, rescued and painstakingly restored ten years ago by Bea Tollman, President and Founder of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection, now represents its former architectural splendor. Today it is home to a five star hotel that offers 56 individually designed rooms and suites and six two-bedroomed apartments, all lavishly decorated with the finest fabrics and furnishings. Boasting 24-hour butler service, Cheneston’s fine dining Restaurant, Park Lounge for traditional afternoon tea, Stables bar and fitness centre with resistance pool and spa treatment, this exquisite Kensington hotel is a short stroll to the Royal Albert Hall, and within easy reach of Knightsbridge and the West End. The Milestone is part of The Red Carnation Hotel Collection, a family run collection of boutique hotels, and a member of The Leading Small Hotels of the World.
