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Published: September 24th 2007
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For any American, London is drenched in character with its fancy dwellings and sophisticated speaking styles making home feel like a pair of sweats on a lazy Sunday. Piccadilly Circus and Soho are the main attractions in Westminster known for its masterpieces of decorative awnings, spiraling shopping centers and intimate restaurants with contorted names like The Slug and its Lettuce.
I think I’ve found my Westminster home away from home here in Covent Garden. I am encompassed with the West End theatres and Trafalgar Square. My abode is known as St Martins Lane. While a street, it is also the name of my hotel. You may be imagining a traditional British style palace with baroque furnishings and waiters dressed in 3 piece suits by its name, but this urban retreat is anything but traditional.
St. Martin’s Lane happens to be a sister boutique hotel to The Mondrian in Hollywood (check out my earlier review on this one). With the same use of white as its canvas, this one features splashes of color to bring about an eclectic but cool personality in your 260 square foot room. Yes, these rooms are tiny, but they offer an experience like no other.
To control the mood of your white down full size bed with soft sheets there is a light dial to convert the hue from green, to yellow to red. And to compliment your mood choice, a skinny rectangular desk reflects the same choice of color through a marble table top. Your bed faces a floor to ceiling window overlooking rows of brick buildings. And your bathroom features wall to wall marble, with a marshmallow slab sink and a touch toilet flusher. It’s simple, petite and monochromatic.
You may be surprised to learn that London is packed with boutique hotels. If white is not your idea of comfort, then head across town to the darker side of designer urban retreats until you find The Baglioni Hotel. This Italian version of urban design will capture your more emotional side. The Baglioni hotel is situated in front of the world famous Hyde Park and is a member of the Leading Small Hotels of the World. Enter the lobby and drown in the sound of the designer marble slab fountain and high chair back seats of its chic restaurant. Up the elevators you will encounter the 7th floor suites. These rooms feature a
living room, office, walk in closet, large lu and bedroom all divided with just one 4 foot wide wall slab encasing a flat screen TV with two faces for bedroom and living room viewing. Pen striped walls, oversized dark wood framed mirrors, and candle lit reflections all work together to compliment this brilliant use of space.
The Baglioni receives an A+ for one of a kind style and décor, but has earned a low C for service. This imbalance however, should not keep you from visiting, but just keep you from requesting new sheets to replace the rough 150 ct. fabric that pollutes your designer bed or perhaps deter you from ordering in room dining service that will surprise you with an $80 bill for one healthy breakfast.
If you prefer the boutique experience then you must have at least one shopping adventure per trip. If time is limited, your one stop should involve Harrods. Harrods is perhaps the most famous shopping Mecca of London. And literally “Mecca.” Wealthy hijabis populate the registers and the owner is Mohamed Al Fayed, the father of Dodi Fayed who died with Princess Di in the car crash back in 1997. Harrods
is a department store divided by designers. My new favorite designer is Vivienne Westwood. I visited her section and tried on what is now known as my “don’t touch me suit.” 1,800 pounds later I now have my own Harrod’s experience at the expense of my generous husband’s wallet and his passion to make me smile the way I did when I first tried on this feminine alter of style and elegance.
While London has an endless supply of international restaurants, you rarely find one that provides excellent food and flavor to go along with the ambience. Since my camera often takes priority over my tummy, ambience is what drew me into many of these intimate settings. But with that, not only did we pay the price of two times any meal in America, we paid the price of taste as well. Either the Indian was spice’less, the French food was rich but the experience was all too stuffy or the British cuisine too fried and chalky. It was only after one late night following our theatre experience of Chicago did I decide that there had to be a restaurant that would satisfy my craving of the moment: French
Vietnamese. With a roll of my husband’s eyes and a willingness to walk in Piccadilly Circus, we landed at Suzie Wong’s: A far-east version of French food. This was our best London moment ever devouring dishes of glass noodles, seasoned with lemon grass over crepes and pates.
Let your cravings take priority on your dining journeys in London while you leave your thirst for ambience to your hotels. London is a boutique city ready to always please your view and rarely your tummy or wallet.
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