Kensington Badminton Hall in North Kensington: £11 Card Rate

Kensington Leisure Centre is the public sports centre of North Kensington, set back from Silchester Road between Latimer Road and Ladbroke Grove. The current building opened to the public on 2 March 2015 and contains an eight-court multi-use hall, two pools and a spa, run by Better for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. For anyone living in Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove or White City, it is the nearest place to book a full-size badminton court without joining a private club.

The centre replaced an older leisure centre on the same estate, and the new building was designed to serve a dense, mixed neighbourhood. It holds a 25-metre eight-lane pool with a 250-seat spectator gallery, a 20-metre teaching pool with a movable floor, a leisure pool, a large gym, sauna and steam rooms, and the eight-court hall. Better's description lists badminton alongside basketball, football and tennis in that hall, with squash courts and soft play elsewhere in the building.

That mix shapes the way the hall is booked. Better sells the floor in blocks of two or four courts for basketball, netball and volleyball, so on some sessions part of the hall goes to a team sport while the remaining courts stay open for rackets. The centre also runs junior racket bookings at a separate off-peak rate and partners with local schools and swim clubs, so it is a genuinely community building rather than a members-only club, and anyone can turn up with a booking.

Kensington's price list is simpler than most because badminton is a single anytime rate. A court costs £14.70 for non-members and £11.00 for holders of a resident or non-resident Better card, and the same £11.00 applies to the resident concession card. The same prices cover short tennis, squash and table tennis. Junior racket bookings are an off-peak rate of £7.40 for non-members, £5.50 with a card and £4.00 with a resident concession card.

Because the rate does not change between peak and off-peak, the choice of time comes down to how busy the building is rather than cost. If you play more than a couple of times a month, the card pays for itself quickly, since each booking is £3.70 cheaper. Teams wanting more space can book four courts of the hall for basketball, netball or volleyball at £54.90, or two courts at £27.45, which is useful for a club running a mixed badminton and fitness session.

The centre is open Monday to Friday 6:30am to 10pm and Saturday and Sunday 8am to 8pm. The borough's off-peak window runs 9am to 4pm on weekdays and 1pm to 8pm at weekends, and peak covers 6:30am to 9am and 4pm to 10pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm at weekends. For badminton the price is the same throughout, but the off-peak hours are when the hall tends to be least crowded.

The weekend afternoon is the sweet spot. With the building open until 8pm on Saturday and Sunday, you can book a court after lunch, play for an hour, and still have time for a swim. Weekday early mornings from 6:30am are another option for people who prefer to play before work, and the gym and pool open at the same time if you want to combine sessions.

Better asks visitors to arrive at least ten minutes early for fitness classes, and the same habit helps on court, because reception also handles pool and gym visitors. Gym sessions and fitness swims must be pre-booked through the Better app, and booking your court there before you set off avoids a wasted trip on a busy evening. Lockers in the changing rooms take a £1 coin, a padlock or a locker token, and tokens can be bought contactless at reception.

Bring your own racket, shuttles and non-marking shoes. The hall floor is shared by many sports through the day, and the next group will usually be waiting when your time ends. If you want to turn a booking into a longer visit, the Spa Experience on site is open from 10am, and the soft play area makes the centre workable for parents who want to play while children are entertained nearby.

Silchester Road sits a short walk from the northern end of Portobello Road, where the market stalls and second-hand shops stretch south towards Notting Hill. Walk down past the Golborne Road junction and you reach the stretch most visitors know, lined with antique arcades and cafés. The Electric Cinema at 191 Portobello Road, which first opened in 1911 and is one of the oldest working cinemas in Britain, is a good landmark to aim for if you want to make an evening of it.

If one hall is not enough sport for one day, the Westway Sports & Fitness Centre at 1 Crowthorne Road sits under the elevated A40 a few minutes north, with climbing walls, tennis courts and football pitches beneath the motorway. Between the two you have one of London's densest clusters of public sports facilities, all within reach of Latimer Road and Ladbroke Grove stations.

Address: Kensington Leisure Centre, Silchester Road, Kensington and Chelsea, London W10 6EX. Getting there: Latimer Road station on the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines is the closest, with Ladbroke Grove a short walk further. Centre hours: Monday to Friday 6:30am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am to 8pm. Badminton costs £14.70 per court for non-members and £11.00 with a resident or non-resident Better card.

Book through the Better app or better.org.uk. Bring court shoes, rackets, shuttles and a £1 coin for the lockers. Pick a weekend afternoon for the calmest hall and the longest opening hours, and get the Better card if you plan to play regularly. With Portobello Road and the Westway close by, a game here is easy to fold into a weekend in west London.