Tony McKinstry samples some country-house splendour in the heart of London

WALK up the few steps at the entrance of the 54-room Gore Hotel and step into London luxury... eccentric, amusing, pleasing and expensive. The solid, six-floor Victorian town house at 189 Queen's Gate, Kensington, is a living museum crammed with possibly one of the largest collections of art and antiques of any hotel in the capital.

It has more than 5,000 pictures and prints. To find wall space for new acquisitions they would have to build one.

The Gore just exudes the laid-back luxury you would expect from a hotel that has played host to celebrities such as 19th-century theatrical diva Dame Nellie Melba, conductor Sir Malcolm Sergeant, Tony Hancock, Dorothy Tutin, Dame Edith Evans, Lord Miles, founder of The Mermaid Theatre, plus a large swathe of Europe's aristocracy.

These days even rock stars, seeking a break from the you-could-be-anywhere-in-the-world sameness of modern hotels, are guests who savour the plush, oak-mellow atmosphere of the Gore.

And this is not fake old-world charm, it's the real thing. All the highly-individual rooms feature solid, Victorian furniture. Well almost. In our Tudor Room - huge sofa, comfortable matching high-winged armchair and four-poster - I smiled as I looked at the genuine, roaring gas-log fire that greeted us on a dank afternoon last Thursday. I dare say you can't hack down trees in nearby Hyde Park and fling logs in the grate these days.

Only a fiddle-bow throw from the Royal Albert Hall, the Gore's most expensive suite, The Tudor Room (£275 a night with Continental breakfast) was peaceful despite the London traffic two floors below.

The beamed room had a tiny minstrel gallery and finding the wardrobe space was a hoot. Set in a wood-lined hallway to the bathroom, I first had to spot the hinges, prise the other side of the panel open to find the prize... coat hangers! None of the wardrobes had handles! Probably so as not to spoil the fine lines of the wood.

The bathroom was amazing. A big, deep, free-standing old-fashioned tub with a dual faucet that spouted a Niagara-like torrent when the hot and cold water joined forces. Just the sort of place you don't mind going all pink and crinkly in before facing the traffic-polluted streets of London.

The nearby loo was a wooden, commodious, high-backed throne with arms, raised on its own little dais. Country-house splendour in a city setting.

Then it was out to hob-knob in Kensington High Street where Princess Diana shopped, not far from the Gore. Had we turned left at the top of Queen's Gate, Harrods and Harvey Nick's were just ten minutes' walk away. Kensington High Street was less threatening to the plastic and I even had a decent pint of draught bitter at just a few pence more than I pay in the centre of York.

The evening was taken up with a magnificent meal in the Firebird Tsarist Russian Restaurant in Mayfair's Conduit Street.

Foregoing the Royal Beluga caviar at £60 a dollop, I started with a delicious smoked fish plate (£13) while my partner, who had strangely metamorphosed into Lara from Dr Zhivago after a couple of real Russian vodkas (£7 a shot), tried the herring, potato, sour cream terrine, mustard and cress. Our main courses of Fillet Of Veal Orloff (£21) for me and Pan Fried Sea Bass (£24) for her were both sumptuous.

The Gore and the Firebird both rank as extra special treats if you can splash the cash.

Our capital night was rounded off by an apology from the GNER conductor when our return train stopped a few hundred yards from York station.

"Sorry for this slight delay," he positively purred, "but we are four minutes early and are awaiting platform clearance."

Oh, joy!

Fact file

Accommodation ***** (excellent)

Food *** (very good)

Value **** (yes, if you have it)

Things to do ***** (plenty for all the family)

More information: The Gore Hotel, 189 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5EX. Tel. 0171 584 6601. The cheapest double/twin room starts at £150 a night B&B and the least expensive single is £115 (both excluding VAT)

Fantasy rooms such as the Dame Nellie, The Venus Room and The Miss Ada Cook Room cost around £245