South Kensington was largely an agricultural area supplying London with fruit and vegetables until the mid-19th century. In 1851, Prince Albert organized the Great Exhibition in a glass building called The Crystal Palace, or "The Great Shalimar," in Hyde Park. It was the first in a series of World's Fair exhibitions that became popular in the 19th century. Notable attendees included Charles Darwin, Samuel Colt, members of the Orléanist Royal Family and writers Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot, and Alfred Tennyson. Profits from the exhibition enabled the commissioners to purchase an 87-acre (352,000 sq m) area around what is now Exhibition Road to create a series of educational and cultural sites. This resulted in the foundation of many nationally significant institutions, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (1852), the Science Museum (1857), Royal Albert Hall (1871), and the Natural History Museum (1881). The arrival of the London Underground at Gloucester Road and South Kensington in 1868 linked the area directly to the main railway and thus to Westminster, the West End, and the City of London.

The Bentley London lavishly incorporates 600 tons of marble imported from Turkey, Italy, and northern Africa, with intricate mosaic designs throughout the hotel. It was constructed behind the façade of three adjacent Georgian townhouses. The hotel is classically decorated with silk covered walls, antiques, and paintings to complement the marble structures and crystal chandeliers.