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A smaller version of The Vicarage and right next door to it, the Abbey House is a more diminutive version of its five-storied neighbor. With about three floors, and many more hidden staircases, this Victorian structure, which dates to the 1860s, definitely has that home-away-from-home feel. This makes sense, as the Abbey House has been run by the same family for a few generations.
Everything about the decorations -- the paintings, flower arrangements, and china plates behind glass-door cabinets -- yells Victorian Britain! Double rooms have private bathrooms and come with their own televisions, desk and chair, too. Strangely enough, the paisley patterned curtains, which we'd consider to be a style error anywhere else, seem to fit right in here.
There are no private facilities in the Abbey, though rooms have their own sinks. Bathrooms, either just next door to the rooms or down the hallway, relatively small, the facilities are plain and functional, though given the high standard of the rooms, ourselves wanting a bit more from the bathrooms! However, with Horse & Hound styled dining areas, the English Experience is very much at your fingertips nonetheless.
The Abbey House, understandably, inspires a lot of repeat visitors, and keeping things economical seems to help. The owner and other staff member are pretty much the only ones that keep this house maintained: quite the achievement, and no doubt making them almost family during your stay.
Once again, the drawback here is that the guesthouse is not an obvious walk from the nearest tube stop. But, the same attractions as The Vicarage lie close by such as Kensington Palace, Kensington Palace Gardens, Hyde Park, Notting Hill, Portabello Market.
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