They say 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' but who would dismiss a timely little nip and tuck? The London EDITION has performed a little maintenance to its Lobby Bar menu, without sacrificing familiarity, featuring a raft of new drinks and bar snacks... WE'LL DRINK TO THAT! With head bartender Robyn Wilkie at the helm, the Lobby Bar’s creative team has concocted an inspiring array of new cocktails, featuring the perfect mixture of fresh new recipes and returning classics. Highlights include the Havana Moon: a thoughtful twist on the popular classic, made with Havana 7, caramel stout and waln...
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On walking into the Philippe Starck-designed Faena hotel in Buenos Aires you’re immediately transported into another world. Thick Alice and Wonderland meets a sexy dragon’s lair and you’ve got it in one. Triple-height ceilings give way to dramatic draped curtains and the place is dripping in blood-red swathes of fabric, from the carpet to the scatter cushions. Outdoors, the rouge theme continues and there is even an over-sized gold crown erected defiantly at one end of the swimming pool. I taxied over to the 105-room Faena hotel on a Friday night, to catch on of the best tango shows in the A...
Read more →Newly opened and hotly awaited, The Mandrake is an independent hotel tucked away in Fitzrovia. Owned by Beirut-born businessman Rami Fustok, the RIBA-award winning converted hotel is a five star sensory experience whose hedonistic properties seep from every nook and cranny; from the eclectic art curation and bamboo-clad garden terrace to the polished hotel suites and Michelin-star restaurant that lie within its walls. Waeska Bar at The Mandrake is located on the ground floor at the heart of the hotel, surrounded by an opulent collection of taxidermy, a luxury red velvet booth and miscellaneou...
Read more →I don't usually start a hotel write-up beginning from the bathroom. But this time around I am, after stepping into the charming world of Hazlitt's in London's Soho. On walking into our room's large and lofty bathroom I was left pretty speechless on casting my eyes on the loo. There, next to the grand free-standing tub and shower unit, was one of the quirkiest hotel toilets I'd seen in a while. A carved dark wood bench-cum-church pew stood waiting to be investigated. I went over and lifted the lid to find a toilet bowl hidden there. It was accompanied by a discreetly-placed flush handle on...
Read more →Staying at the Marbella Corfu was a luxury experience from start to finish and dining in their restaurant Platea was no exception. The hotel is home to five restaurants and Platea is their traditional Greek offering. They serve a range of refined local dishes, alongside an extensive wine list.
Read more →Recently we found ourselves in the bustling Burmese city of Yangon, which is home to more than 7 million people. With 48 hours to spare, here's a lowdown of some of the things we got up to: ROOM WITH A VIEW We checked into enormous Sule Shangri-La, which is one of the oldest hotels in Yangon. Located in the centre of the bustling metropolis, it is a stone's throw from the gleaming Sule Pagoda and the colourful Bogyoke Aung San market. We found ourselves on the 21st floor in a spacious room with views over the jam-packed city. A tip is to get a room at the Sule Shangri-La above ...
Read more →If you've not explored The Ned in the heart of the City then you must. On walking in, the scale of the place is guaranteed to shock you into a silent state of awe. The former bank has undergone the ultimate makeover in the hands of Soho House stalwart Nick Jones, in collaboration with the supremely slick New York-based hotel group, Sydell. It is now a 252-room hotel, part members club and food emporium, boasting an impressive nine restaurants. On a Wednesday night - with a friend from New York - I checked into Kaia, an Asian-inspired eatery on The Ned’s ground floor. I was glad we had boo...
Read more →If you're a bit of a boozehound, which admittedly I am, The Distillery on Portobello Road, Notting Hill is your hotel dream come true. You can drink, eat, drink some more, and sleep on the same spot. The quirky multi-level venue is the world's first-ever hotel on the site of an alcohol distillery, the libation in question being gin. Albeit, it is very small - there are only three rooms - and the night we visited, two couples had travelled from Manchester and Lincoln to check the place out. My friend Mary Lou and I checked into the hotel's corner room, which boasts beautiful views of the qu...
Read more →Victoria in London features a hotchpotch of bizarre hotels. I walk past one that tells me it has 'hot and cold water' - which one would hope - and another advertises the fact that there is central heating. But peel away the spread of bizarreness and you'll unearth and absolute gem of a place, the Artist Residence. I checked into the boutique homestay on a Monday night before catching an early flight from Gatwick the next morning. The sleekly designed residence is conveniently positioned just a hop away from Victoria station, where the fast train to Gatwick runs every ten minutes or so. It ...
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