Marylebone, London, UK ~ Dorset Square Hotel

Europe 5 Minutes

February 2026

We were staying at the Raffles OWO for the first part of this London visit; why did we move?

The Raffles was amazing — and we would have happily stayed there forever — but we also love London’s neighborhoods and have been wanting to return to Bethnal Green in East London and a hotel with fond memories for us: Town Hall Hotel. But when it came time to make the booking at the Town Hall, it wasn’t available; we figured this was our sign to try something new.

Okay, so why Dorset Square?

London has so many wonderful hotels; it really is an abundance of riches, and it can be hard to make a choice. Rather than looking to our go-to sources, we started with the idea of visiting a property connected with the hotel that gave us the original idea for our blog: the Crosby Street Hotel in New York. We don’t have a full entry for the Crosby Street because hoteling.org didn’t exist yet, but we chose a picture of the hotel for the featured image on hotelling’s home page, and we mention it in our “Past stays and reminiscences” entry where we note the hotel is one of our top 3 (it was on our list of favorites for a long time).

Crosby Street is a Firmdale hotel, one of (now) three in the U.S. The Firmdale brand is the brainchild of Ken and Kit Kemp, whose company includes 11 hotels. The very first property the Kemps opened is — you guessed it — Dorset Square. Since staying at Crosby Street, we have wanted to try another Firmdale hotel, and we thought it would be fun to check out the original.

We spent 10 days in Marylebone last year; was the Dorset Square neighborhood and the hotel itself familiar?

We thought we knew Marylebone pretty well, as we spent a lot of time exploring the neighborhood last year, but we’re pretty sure we had not previously come across the hotel or even the lovely residential square (the hotel’s namesake) that it sits on. With that said, even if we had walked by, it would be easy to miss the hotel. It is housed in an attractive Regency building that blends in with the townhouses that surround the square. Only a small sign at the doorway identifies the hotel.

We arrived on a rainy day, walking from the Baker Street tube station. What did you think when we arrived?

Dorset Square is understated and petite — a definite contrast to the grandeur of Raffles, but they both feel sumptuous, just in quite different ways. We arrived early in the afternoon, so our room wasn’t quite ready. We were invited, however, to linger in the drawing room, which featured a fireplace and honesty bar, or to visit the hotel’s restaurant, The Potting Shed, which the staff member at reception took us down to see.

The hotel’s design felt similar to Crosby Street, even though the properties are quite different. The Firmdale website says the 11 hotels encompass “modern English style, exceptional personalised service and an unrivaled attention to detail.” Our first impressions of Dorset Square reinforced this mission.

I’ll also say the aeshetic of the hotel — while not something I would probably want to use in the interior design of our own home — just makes me happy. Dorset Square (the square itself), is now a private garden but was originally a cricket ground, and the hotel plays on the cricket and garden themes throughout. Coming to London in January from Minnesota where winter was in full force, we were happy to see all the references to trees, flowers and sporting of the outdoor type.

Tell me about your impressions of the room.

While it would have been tempting to sit down and relax as preparations for our room were completed, London called, so we left our bags and headed out. By the time we returned, it was evening, and the housekeeping staff was doing turndown services. We found bottled water at each bedside, a small bottle of RikRak pillow spray (which smelled amazing) and tube of hand cream, a welcome note and a piece of cake.

Our room was on the smaller side, but it had everything we needed; the same could be said for the bathroom, which was floor to ceiling marble and felt luxurious despite its size. The bed — the primary feature of the room — was tall and fluffy and oh-so comfortable.

The combination of patterns, textures and colors in the room was a feast for the eyes, and, as we remembered at the Crosby Street, everything was impeccably maintained — not a scratch or nick to be found, even in the closet, which was painted a high-gloss white. We wouldn’t be surprised if touch-ups are done after every guest.

I particularly loved the large painting of a dog in silouette, but the room had lots of smaller details to enjoy as well, including the knobs on the closet door, the selection of drinks and snacks in the minibar, and the colorful canvas bag we were invited to take with us.

My only small complaint was that our window had frosted squares on the bottom half that impeded our view. We could see that our room looked out to some mechanicals for the building, so we understood the purpose of the frosting, but it made me feel a little claustrophobic when we were in the room during the day. If we were to return, we’d book a room with a view of Dorset Square.

What was most memorable about Dorset Square?

I loved feeling, for a few days, like I was a resident of a stylish townhouse in Marylebone. The hotel gave us a key to visit the private square, and we met the gardeners who had recently been hired to look after the square. It was beautiful, and we couldn’t get enough of the blooming bushes and bulbs. We also discovered (or rediscovered) Marylebone Station, which is both a tube stop and an overground station serving destinations to the northwest operated by Chiltern Railways. The station is as charming as the hotel and is now my favorite in London. I also appreciated the low-key but completely competent service at the hotel. We felt like we were in the good hands of staff members who authentically cared about their guests.

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