The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is up there with the capital’s most affluent areas. It commands top market prices, but its residents can call some of the UK’s most beautiful buildings home. Structures here range from elegant Victorian townhouses, characterised by stepped porches and wrought-iron gates, to lavish Georgian mansions shrouded by London plane trees. Read on to learn the top rated places to live in Kensington and Chelsea.
HomeViews Top Rated Development ranking takes into account the Star Rating and HomeViews Transparency Rating of every development in the area
A playground for the wealthy, the borough’s shops, bars and restaurants are decidedly upmarket. Days in Kensington and Chelsea can be spent sipping mimosas over brunch on sunny terraces, and browsing the designer boutiques. As for nightlife, in hotspots like Sloane Square, there are fine dining restaurants and also, exclusive nightclubs. As well as this, The pubs round here are fancy, too, with sleek interiors and inventive British menus.
The best high-end stores line up on King’s Road, where even the Oxfam charity store stacks mainly designer wares (hand-me-downs from well-off local residents). In Kensington’s centre, you’ll find luxe high street favourites, such as: L’Occitane and Oliver Bonas. And less than a 10-minute drive north there’s Portobello Road Market, which brags the world’s largest collection of antique stalls.
Some of the capital’s most popular green spaces can be found in Kensington and Chelsea. Head to Hyde Park for concerts, exhibitions, and plenty of space for peace and quiet. Visit Kensington Gardens for its namesake palace and iconic Peter Pan statue – these attract tourists world-over. As well as this, don’t miss Chelsea Physic Garden for a peek at some 5,000 historic and medicinal plants.
The Kensington and Chelsea borough is also a fantastic springboard. Not just for its well-connected train and tube links, but because it’s got London Heathrow Airport on its doorstep. With some 78 million passengers jetting in and out of here each year, it’s the UK’s busiest.
“On the doorstep are stylish rooftop wine bars, members-only haunts, upscale pubs, and a myriad of eateries offering everything from multi-course fine dining to cocktails and cicchetti. The shopping scene is first-class, too. Kensington High Street and its side roads are the area’s retail epicentre, and provide a mix of high-end boutiques with more affordable household names, with plenty of cafés thrown in for good measure.” – HomeViews Property Professional on Courtfield Gardens, SW5
“I like the area because it has charm but is central and walking distance to shops etc.” – Verified tenant at Courtfield Gardens, SW5
“The village feel of Kensington appeals to many, with its history and culture woven into the landscape – there’s a juxtaposition between the bustling high street with its chain stores and huge choice of restaurants, and the quiet leafy side roads of old Kensington.” – HomeViews Property Professional on 19-27 Young Street, W8
The flats overlook a one-way street so very little traffic noise
Huge Tesco nearby, as well as all the shops and restaurants on Kensington High Street
Close to Kensington Olympia overground station, West Kensington tube station for the District Line, 10-15 minutes walk to Baron’s Court Station for Piccadilly Line to Central London and/or Heathrow
The flats are designed to a high standard. The interiors are elegant.
Although it is a new-build, the original exterior has been maintained so the building has got character.
There is a community centre being built, we are yet to see how that looks like.
The common areas are cleaned regularly.
There is secure bike storage.
Take a look at energy ratings before moving in.
Raised an issue with shower door seal which has been fixed.
The range and quality of shops in the area is good. As regards open spaces there is a small park nearby. Sometimes there is loud noisy on the street (people shouting or loud talking). The tube station and several bus stops are just a few minutes walking away.
The building is modern with great facilities, especially the refuse chutes. My only complaint it is that it seems to be designed for winter not for summer. During the hot days the heat remains in the flat. The property has got a good management as far I am concerned.
Nothing really. Maybe that for checking the electricity meter you need to buy a specific key in order to open the door of the place where they are kept.
My property is run by a private agency. I have not met the landlord. No problems have been arisen and reported to the building management.
Overall it’s a great location. There’s plenty of shops and restaurants nearby. Golborne Rd is bustling with cafes, shops and restaurants and portobello Rd is unique. You can walk from the beginning of the road and end up in Notting Hill Gate within 20 minutes.
The closest bus stop is about 4-5 minutes walk and Ladbroke Grove station is less than 10 minutes walk – so it’s easy access to central London. Some weekends when there’s tube disruption, the buses are very close by.
Parking can sometimes be a problem as it’s usually very busy streets….
Bins are collected regularly therefore, the area seems pretty clean. Although, there’s some building work being carried out on faraday Rd to develop a new park and work starts early, it can be a bit noisy.
I live in Faraday Rd, and it’s very quiet, peaceful, I can’t hear any traffic noise at all. The only noise I’ve heard on occasions are foxes.
The design of the building is very modern. The inside of the building is very clean. They are cleaned daily and are spotless. There’s 5 floors and between 2-4 flats in each floor. The lift is really handy and rarely busy. In the bottom floor there’s a parking lot.
For me the best part is the balcony; I’m on the 5th floor and the view is spectacular…
The one bedroom apartment is perfect for 1 or 2 people. Very modern slick and pleasantly peaceful. I also feel very safe in the building. Also, my neighbours are very nice and polite. When the courier leaves a parcel inside the entry door – it can stay there for days and no one will touch it.
The property management offices are around the corner if you need to see them.
Overall, I’m quite happy here and a great location to be in.
I wish I’d known about the limited storage space before I moved in.
If I could change one thing about my apartment it would be to have more storage space.
I guess moving to this area actually shown us that we wanted to live in this area after too. It’s so easy to walk to any restaurants that are located from bottom to top of the portobello road. Also, this area has got this community feeling. Parking is the biggest minus, that’s for sure. Bin collections are happening quite often too.
I think property management gets the highest score as I can people always work and especially during covidtimes, they did extra cleaning, and we’re more cautious. The design of the house is okay but the only issue is with heating as you can’t turn it off on specific floors and then even you switch off the top then the floor is still hot. I would also prefer old-school light switches, but I appreciate that it’s easier to switch out some that are still on upstairs. Little gardens/patios are definitely your USP. Kitchen design and master bedroom bathroom is my favourite
Perhaps, how easy it will be to hear your neighbours next door
Would be nice if our landlord finally fixed the fire alarm that hasn’t worked for months. Considering catalyst weekly sends thousands to have people doing fire patrols, this feels silly. Catalyst should have stricter rules for landlords and safety measures.
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