The Franklin Restaurant by Alfredo Russo: Knightsbridge's hidden gem

Sequestered behind the bustling Brompton road in Knightsbridge and a stone’s throw away from the Victoria and Albert Museum lies a piece of piccolo Italia. Interpolated as part of four Victorian houses in a 19th-century serpentine terrace in Egerton Gardens, The Franklin is a dark, moody, sultry and sensual boutique hotel with its deft arrangement of mirrored surfaces. Velvet and silk fabrics offset Carrara marble flooring, creating an ambience that radiates an Italian art deco style, which is no surprise considering the hotel is part of the Florence-based Starhotels Collezione group, headed by Elisabetta Fabri who has quietly been building up a British portfolio with the acquisition of the The Gore and The Pelham in the last few years. On arrival guests are warmly greeted by a smart and sophisticated attendant who sits at a round marble table in the lobby before they are escorted to one of the 35 rooms. With no formal reception to see to, this type of welcome makes you feel like you’ve stayed many times before, which is only a trait the Italians seem to pull off with their approach to hospitality. Each space is masterfully decorated in saturated palettes of greys and whites with precise proportions and historical details intact. It is in fact the work of interior design guru Anouska Hempel, whose other famous projects include Blake’s in South Kensington, which is widely considered to be the first boutique hotel when it opened in 1978.