The 110-year-old Strand Palace as undergone a multi-million pound transformation and the results are pretty incredible. The 786-room hotel has been brought up to the 21st century, with some art deco touches adding to the charm. I checked in on a Friday night, with a friendly man greeting us on the door. The lobby had a cool contemporary feel with polished floors and wood-pannelled walls. There was also modern art dotted around the place, keeping my eyes distracted. Check in was swift and we were directed to a newly-refurbished superior king on the 8th floor. Despite it being a king, the...
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In less than an hour I'd landed into Gatwick, railed into London, settled into my hotel room and was indulging in a brief respite in my robe. I'd checked into The Nadler Victoria on a Thursday evening after flying back from Venice and it was proving to be the perfect little post-airport stop. The chic 73-room hotel is located a hop and a skip from the main train station, where the Gatwick Express pulls into, and it's on the doorstep of Buckingham Palace if the royals are your thing. I'd been given a king double room on the second floor, room 204. After navigating the very dark corridors ...
Read more →I have a list of my favourite places to stay in London which I regularly share with friends coming to town. And now the Kimpton Fitzroy has edged its way towards the top. This 334-room hotel offers everything you could want; style, sophistication and great service. Its central location is another major plus and it's right by Russell Square tube station, with major attractions such as the British Museum and Covent Garden on the doorstep. Even from the outside, this place impresses with an elegant 19th century facade. The building was built in 1898 and designed by Charles Fitzroy Doll - w...
Read more →Venturing to Lidl for some swashbuckling fun might sound random but stay with me on this one.... Experimental maestros Bompas and Parr have come up with a new venture to keep you on your toes - or certainly within grasp of your poncho. The creative geniuses have teamed up with Captain Morgan rum to take Londoners on a nautical adventure to an underground paradise: the Lost Lagoon, which is now revealed to be deep in the earth in Shepherd’s Bush. Without revealing too much, we ventured down to their immersive experience on a Thursday evening and were left in a state of bewilderment. It was ...
Read more →Department stores generally have an old fashioned dusty connotation but London's Selfridges offers so much more than your bog-standard shopping emporium as one of its newest ventures - courtesy of Richard Caring's Caprice Holdings - proves. On walking into the Brasserie of Light on the first floor you're transported away from the bright lights of the shop floor to an enchanting world of flying bejewelled horses (Damien Hirst's 24-foot jewel-encrusted creation dominates the main dining space) and cool club beats. Think a shiny chocolate box crossed with a fairground carousel ride, with a scat...
Read more →I’ve lived in London for more than a decade but there’s always new things to discover. Last month, on a walk through the historic area of Clerkenwell, I stumbled across the Malmaison hotel and a few weeks later I decided to check it out with a friend from out of town who was visiting. The guesthouse boasts a lovely location, overlooking a small grassy park with plane trees yawning high into the sky. It’s just a stone’s throw from Farringdon tube station, but its leafy surrounding makes it feel a world away from the bustle of London. From the outside the Malmaison looks a little unapproacha...
Read more →I found two return tickets to Bordeaux with Ryanair for £40 and that was that. On a Wednesday, after a 1 hour 40 minute flight, I'd landed in the French capital of wine. My travel buddy had found a beautiful Airbnb in the heart of the city. So after taking a fairly swift and cheap bus ride into the centre from the airport, we went to check into our homestay. A friendly local lady met us and showed us around the apartment, which oozed of old-school opulence with high ceilings, polished wooden floors and elegant fittings. With not much time to spare, we had a quick freshen up and bounced ou...
Read more →I felt pretty rock 'n roll carrying Cava up to my room at the Sir Adam hotel in Amsterdam. It had just hit midday, I'd checked in and found a bottle of bubbly at reception, so I poured myself a glass of vino and headed off to explore. My headed started to spin a little as I got in the lift to my room on the 4th floor. There was a giant disco ball and the floor was flashing in different colours. Some funky music was playing too. The doors opened and it was very dark. I felt like I'd entered a secret bunker as I tried to crack the code for the key card-activated door with my Cava wobbling aw...
Read more →If you're a fan of gin then Gintonica in Notting Hill is a MUST. The restaurant is part of a unique distillery-hotel complex, which is brimming with character and west London low-key flair. Expect a chilled atmosphere, tasty tapas and top notch drinks. We hit the upstairs eatery on a Sunday evening. The sun was streaming into the double height ceilinged room and we took a table next to one of the windows overlooking the quaint bricks of Portobello market below. The music was good, there was a nice buzz and the open-air kitchen was a visual delight, as was the corner bar with libations con...
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