The Five-Star City Centre hotel
Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill
Taking a sip of my Mojito, I smiled. ‘Delicious,’ I smiled, looking for my husband, who’d been here just a second before. His Johnny Walker Red with a splash of water was still sat on the table, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Then I heard laughter outside and walking onto the terrace, I spotted Alexio with a small crowd gathered round him, taking photos.
‘We shall fight on the beaches,’ he said, his Italian accent making the famous words sound like song lyrics. His arm was wrapped around a statue, sitting on a bench – and he jumped up when he spotted me.
‘Look it’s my best friend,’ he said, pointing. ‘Sir Winston Churchill.’ The great wartime prime minister was wearing Alexio’s scarf and seemed to be having a great time frozen there among the hotel guests and tourists.
I wasn’t surprised to see Mr Churchill – or my husband hugging him. Alexio’s ancestors had been part of the Italian resistance during WWII and he admired the man who had led Britain during the evacuation of Dunkirk and the fall of Mussolini.
And we were in the Churchill Bar and Terrace at the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, a swanky five-star in the capital that pays homage to the famous leader.
Churchill never stayed here. In fact, the hotel created by developer Sir Eric Miller wasn’t finished until 1970, five years after the Statesman died, but there are nods to him throughout the 440-room property.
Miller was a fan and there are plenty of artefacts here for history buffs to love. There are books from Churchill’s own collection in the library and works of art he created on the walls. In the bar, there are love letters from Clementine to Churchill, and, in fact, the family work with – and stay at – the hotel to keep the leader’s legacy alive with personal photographs, artefacts and even cigars (real in the bar and chocolate ones in the suites).
Everything has been carefully curated to be just as Churchill would have liked it – the curtains and carpet match the Herringbone pattern he had on his suits, there are ‘glimpses’ of his ginger moggy Jock the Cat – in reality artwork on the walls of the halls – and even excursions to his former home, Chartwell House in Westerham, Kent, from the hotel.
A giant black and white portrait of Churchill dominates the reception, and there’s another of him with his wife by the same artist Paul Wright next to The Montagu Kitchen restaurant.
But it’s not just the Churchill memorabilia that makes this hotel special. The Churchill, in Portman Square, Marylebone, is tucked behind Marble Arch – Oxford Street and Regent Street are just a few minutes’ walk away with Selfridges within spitting distance – but it’s like being in a leafy village rather than in the centre of the capital.
Hotel guests even have exclusive access to Portman Square Garden which has a tennis court and private garden for some quiet contemplation.
There’s no need to leave the hotel as it seemingly has everything – a spa (a signature massage here had me relaxed within seconds), round-the-clock gym, and for those staying in the Club rooms or suites there are even two all-day Regency Club Lounges to choose from on the eighth floor. One is just for families, but both serve complimentary breakfast buffet, drinks and canapes between 5.30 -7.30pm.
‘Don’t go crazy,’ I told Alexio as we sipped glasses of fizz and tucked into snacks on our first night. We had a chef’s tasting menu in The Montagu Kitchen and couldn’t arrive full.
Needless to say the dishes were delicious. The chef catered for the vegetarians among us (the mature cheddar and mushroom arancini with truffle mayonnaise were melt in the mouth) as well as the meat-eaters, and the wine pairings made for an explosion of flavour.
The Montagu Kitchen is the only restaurant at the hotel and so serves breakfast, lunch (with a Sunday roast at the weekend), afternoon tea and dinner.
Highlights included peas and shallots ravioli with lemon and butter for me while Alexio tucked into baked dover sole with Provençale Sauce, Capers, Black Olives, Shallots, and Tomato and a dry-aged tomahawk steak.
More cocktails in the Churchill Bar and Terrace followed before we finally made it to our Club room. The super king size bed meant we could starfish without touching and the bathroom was one of the best I’ve been in - all marble with a rain shower, bath and his and her Molton Brown products.
But it was the toilet that was the star of the show. It had buttons that squirted water in all different directions, blew hot and cold air and would probably make you a triple cheese toastie if you asked it to. The only other place I’d seen anything like it was on a trip to Japan – and that one came with musical options. This toilet was silent, but it didn’t stop my husband and I rushing to try it seemingly every hour, on the hour.
We emerged from our room the next morning having had one of the best sleeps of our lives, ready for breakfast at The Montagu Kitchen. There is a hot buffet for a full English breakfast, or you could order a la carte (or both). I opted for avocado and poached eggs followed by Belgium waffles while Alexio went for eggs Benedict and scrambled eggs and smoked salmon (‘well I have to try everything!’) washed down with coffee.
We needed our strength for a day’s shopping, and exploring Marylebone village, before heading out to watch Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre, a 15-minute taxi ride away in the West End.
The show tells the story of Tina’s struggle to overcome her humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee to become a global superstar. The gripping plot and the toe-tapping classic songs came thick and fast before we were treated to a five-song encore at the end that felt like we were at a Tina Turner concert.
‘Did you like it?’ my husband asked after the show ended. I nodded, taking his arm. ‘It was simply the best,’ I replied. And I wasn’t just talking about the theatre, but the hotel too. Churchill would have been proud.
Staying There: A room starts from £400 with breakfast included. hyatt.com
The Luxury Serviced Apartment
51 Basil Street, Knightsbridge
When it comes to London, there’s arguably no better address than Knightsbridge – and a luxury apartment with a view of Harrods must surely be the ultimate des res for a stay in the capital.
In fact, 51 Basil Street has everything even the most discerning guest could want: a luxury central London home away from home with White Company products in the Carrera marble bathrooms that feature underfloor heating, a Nespresso machine, air-conditioning and Burberry, Gucci and Bottega Veneta on your doorstep.
But even with the kind of desirable designer stores that would make Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw drool, it’s hard to tear yourself away from such a sophisticated apartment.
Owned by the same family that can boast London’s most prestigious five-star hotels as part of their personal portfolio – Royal Lancaster London, The Landmark and K West – 51 Basil Street is a collection of just eight upmarket serviced apartments. Ranging from one bedroom to three, they can be let for short stays and long lets.
Staying here not only ensures you’re in a shopaholic’s dream location – and close to the major attractions including the Natural History Museum, which is just a short stroll away –but it feels more personalised, as if you’re staying at your own city flat rather than a corporate hotel.
Our apartment had two bedrooms and two bathrooms which could accommodate six guests using the sofa bed in the open plan living room/diner, large TV with Chromecast and Sky TV, a fully-fitted kitchen with a washer/dryer machine and dishwasher and a large balcony. It also had free WiFi, daily housekeeping, a 24-hour reception and use of the facilities from their sister properties, such as the state-of-the-art gym at The Royal Lancaster or request an in-room spa treatment or private chef from The Landmark.
It also came with a welcome breakfast hamper containing lots of Waitrose goodies including croissants, Nutella, jam, marmalade, honey, Dorset cereal, eggs, bread, milk, dark chocolate and a bottle of fizz chilling in the fridge.
‘Nice,’ my husband said, looking around and taking in the stunning artwork and high-end décor and furnishings, while my teenage daughter vanished into one of the bedrooms and started taking selfies. The boutique apartment certainly had the wow factor.
And we were in the heart of the capital with Buckingham Palace and the Royal Albert Hall within walking distance, the Kings Road, Sloane Square and Hyde Park nearby. I could practically feel my credit cards begging to be let wild.
‘What do you want to do?’ I asked and my 16-year-old daughter pointed out of the window. We were opposite exclusive Hans Crescent, which houses all the major designers and has some of the most gorgeous cafes and stores there.
So we sauntered over there – and were soon lost among the residents and tourists shopping in one of London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods. The air was heavy with the scent of chocolate, perfume – and money. Everyone seemed to be dressed from head to toe in designer, and carrying the latest It bag – men as well as women – and I suddenly felt like a country bumpkin.
‘I think I need to go home and change before going in any of these shops,’ I whispered to Alexio – and then I laughed. As an Italian he’d dressed for the occasion with a Burberry classic raincoat and a scarf with a knot just so. Even my daughter looked like she was going for a job interview rather than window shopping. My leggings and baggy top just weren’t going to cut it in swanky SW1.
Back in our apartment, I showered, changed and did my make-up. I’d forgotten how ‘dressy’ London was but it was fun for a change. ‘Now we need to go out,’ I declared. There was a restaurant called Crazy Pizza just over the road so we went there. ‘A table for three please,’ Alexio said over the noise. The place was packed.
‘Do you have a reservation?’ the waitress asked. We shook our head. ‘We’re just staying here for a couple of nights,’ Alexio explained.
‘Sorry,’ the woman said. ‘We’re fully booked – you need to book weeks in advance.’ We could see why. There were pizzaiolo – men throwing giant pizzas in the air and swirling dough above their heads to the cheers of tables of women – and trays of cocktails being delivered.
The pizzas looked delicious though. ‘Can we get some to take away?’ Alexio asked and the waitress smiled. ‘Sure,’ she said. It was so busy we had to wait half an hour, but once our delicious-smelling boxes arrived we rushed back over the road to our apartment and ate our pizzas while sipping the champagne in the fridge.
‘Incredible,’ I muttered between mouthfuls, while Alexio and our daughter just nodded. We were happy. Who needed to eat in a Michelin-star or top restaurant when we had everything we needed right here? Our apartment was cosy, comfortable and chic - and came with one of the best postcodes in the country.
Staying There: A two-bedroom apartment at 15 Basil Street starts at £650 in low season, £875 to £1200 mid-season and £1700 in high season. 15basilstreet.com
The industrial chic East End hotel
The Gantry, Stratford
Hip, happening and handy – bizarrely – for Heathrow and the centre of London is Hilton’s industrial chic hotel, The Gantry in Stratford.
This previously neglected part of East London became the glitziest new neighbour to Canary Wharf after being chosen for the 2012 London Olympics and has been on the up and up since then.
The Gantry, which opened in 2021, is now a glittering design-led food and drink ‘destination’ hotel boasting the highest rooftop venue in East London with STK steakhouse. With floor to ceiling windows, the restaurant is literally setting the bar high, serving up its dishes with some of the most iconic views across the city.
Inside is all exposed concrete walls, industrial windows and neon signs, which means the hotel – which is part of the Hilton’s Curio Collection upscale brand – wouldn’t look out of place in New York.
I smiled when I entered the lobby via the revolving glass doors. It’s huge, bright and like everything else around here, sparkling. But I actually gasped when I was shown to my room – or should I say apartment-style deluxe suite.
‘Gorgeous,’ I kept uttering as I explored the living room, bathroom and enormous bedroom. There are 291 room across 17 storeys and I was at the top with floor to ceiling windows to showcase panoramic views across the Olympic Park.
The industrial chic décor was in evidence here with angled lamps, dark parquet floors, a chaise lounge, big squishy sofa, even bigger TVs seemingly everywhere I looked and a double ended bath. There was also a Dyson hairdryer, a rainfall shower, Grown Alchemist toiletries, and 300 thread count sheets on the – again – giant bed.
It was a shame I was only staying one night before flying out of Heathrow to Majorca. That’s why I’d chosen this hotel as it is on the Elizabeth line – which connects straight to the airport. St Pancras is just six-minute train ride away, and Westfield shopping centre is literally on your doorstep for some retail therapy.
Foodies will love this hotel though as it has Union Social, an all-day restaurant that’s open late and serves Italian-inspired dishes that are delicious and made for sharing.
The Stack & Match menu from Sicilian Executive Chef Salvatore Coco includes crowd-pleasing mac n’ cheese with rustic chips with rosemary, with white chocolate panna cotta with berry granella or a crepe with chocolate sauce and walnut crème – all washed down with a Mojito or two.
For drinks only there is Coupe, the hotel’s sparkling bar, which is perfect for a glass (or two) of Champagne, Prosecco or Sussex (they have Rathfinny available). There’s even a unique sparkling tea if you’re after an alcohol-free tipple. Head up to the roof-top bar for a genuine city scape view with your sundowner.
There’s a gym at the hotel for working off the extra calories which would be a good idea before breakfast – served in Union Social – as it’s a grand buffet with everything hot and cold on offer. It opens early, which was perfect for me as I had a morning flight.
The Gantry is an impressive hotel that’s convenient for shopping, City Airport and Heathrow, as well as the centre of London. It is impeccably designed with that cosmopolitan New York flavour that makes you feel on holiday even if you’re staying there on business. I wished I could have stayed longer – and already have it on speed dial for my next stay in the capital.
Staying There: A standard room starts at £189 + VAT including breakfast. hilton.com
The British Museum Backstage Tour Hotel
The Montague on the Gardens, Bloomsbury
Harry Potter fans would love it – if they could find it, and to be honest, that’s pretty impossible. Unless they have laser vision or the odd £950 to spare.
I’m talking about the hidden door that leads from a seemingly innocuous corridor into the Enlightenment Gallery at The British Museum.
Even after I stepped through it and heard it click behind me, I couldn’t spot it as it’s so cleverly disguised as part of a floor to ceiling bookcase.
But then that is just one of the secrets I discovered during a ‘backstage tour’ of Britain’s most visited tourist attraction.
A staggering six to seven million people a year visit the museum– and as if to prove it the queues were already forming as we were led past them at 9am, an hour before it was due to open.
We passed the grand façade – with its eight Corinthian columns – and are ushered round to the side and through a small door. I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t a dingy grey corridor with doors leading off it every which way.
But then one of them was opened and we stepped through – straight into that enormous gallery that wouldn’t look out of place in Hogwarts. Strewn with the most revered relics – a Piranesi vase plucked from Hadrian’s ruined villa in Tivoli or the Sloane Astrolabe (one of the oldest and enigmatic mathematical instruments in the medieval collection – I wanted to run round to touch and gaze at everything.
But, of course, I didn’t. This was no Night at the Museum after all. But it was a private ‘Conflict and Conservation’ tour that takes place an hour before the museum is open to the public.
It’s the first time visitors have been allowed behind the scenes to see how the British Museum protected its priceless collection of artefacts during the Second World War – and it’s only available to guests staying at the Montague on The Gardens – a four-star hotel in Bloomsbury that’s literally over the road. The hotel and the museum share a special relationship and so this new tour has been created that is bookable with an overnight stay at the Montague.
I’d stayed there the night before in a duplex suite that resembled something you might find at the Palace of Versaille than in Bloomsbury.
As a red carnation hotel – renowned for decadent luxury and opulent décor including using rich fabrics on the walls instead of paper – I was expecting the wow factor. But it was still a delightful surprise to step into a scarlet room with a ginormous crystal chandelier, red velvet curtains and a bathroom bigger than most London one-bedroom apartments stocked with Floris products.
A very expensive bottle of white wine was on ice, next to a British Museum inspired cake, and down a set of stairs was a small-but-beautiful lounge.
The entire hotel is spectacular. Created from a set of seven Grade II-listed connecting Georgian townhouses and overlooking the Duke of Bedfordshire’s private gardens, there are antique hanging tapestries, a traditional afternoon tea in the conservatory terrace, and the iconic Leopard Bar Terrace which is wall to ceiling leopard print.
In the summer, guests can sip cocktails in The Beach Bar outside which comes complete with surfboards and sand.
So after an amazing night’s sleep and an early but hearty breakfast, we were off to the British Museum for the tour where our knowledgeable and engaging Blue Badge Guide Matt Harrison explained how the museum swung into action to preserve the eight million artefacts from Hitler’s bombs, chemical attacks, fire and looting, moving whatever it could to other locations outside London.
The evacuation took place in August 1939, a week before war broke out. Incredibly, it only took ten days to clear the museum of what they could carry. Some treasures, including Egyptian statues, were too heavy and had to be left and sandbagged, while books and manuscripts were stashed underground.
We heard how British Museum staff lived on site as the war raged outside, guarding against looting and fire during air raids and sheltering from bombs in the labyrinth of underground passageways.
Of course, most of London was damaged or destroyed during the Blitz and the British Museum was hit during the evening of May 10-11, 1941, with part of its roof gone and interior flooded. You can still see the scars of bombing attacks on the museum’s façade.
But, our guide explained, it was rumoured that Hitler had designs on Senate House, which was just north of the museum, as his headquarters once the Luftwaffe had helped him conquer Britain, and so Bloomsbury wasn’t targeted like the rest of the capital.
As the clock struck 10am and the doors opened, we were surrounded by crowds eager to discover the treasures and history within this cultural icon. But it’s thrilling to know that you can see so much more – and enjoy a wonderful stay in Bloomsbury – if you book into the Montague on the Gardens.
Staying There: The Conflict and Conservation tour of the British Museum is £950 for groups of up to 12 staying at The Montague on the Gardens where double rooms start at £276 including breakfast. montaguehotel.com/experiences/conflict-and-conservation-tour
