3 minute read
Hotel Café Royal London
BACKGROUND Opened in 1865, Café Royal was a wine store, restaurant and the space for the city’s most illustrious events. The haunt of famed patrons, including Oscar Wilde, Muhammad Ali, Winston Churchill, Princess Diana and David Bowie, Café Royal was an established and iconic landmark on the British capital’s social scene for a century and a half. In its recent reincarnation as Hotel Café Royal, it remains a favourite for locals and ‘in-the-know’ travellers. It’s part of The Set Collection, a carefully curated portfolio of luxury hotels, located in exceptional locations globally
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Sophisticated, elegant and steeped in history, with original Café Royal design features sensitively preserved, from the stunning staircase to the beautiful elevators. Sta are professional and chatty and continue the property’s legacy of excellent hospitality and the art of dining.
WHERE IS IT? On Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street, with the main entrance discreetly situated on Air Street. It’s within walking distance of London’s finest shopping streets, tourist attractions and theatreland.
ROOMS There are 159 guestrooms and suites, including seven signature suites, with contemporary yet refined styling. We stayed in a Regent Suite, which felt like a spacious apartment, featuring a generous hallway and dressing area, a separate living room with sofa, dining table and TV, and large bedroom with Regent Street views – a great place to people watch. The Carrara marble bathroom featured a rainfall shower and double sink, complemented with high-quality Diptyque toiletries with a gorgeous fragrance. If felt like a home from home. There was a butler’s pantry with a Nespresso co ee machine and microwave, plus complimentary access to holistic wellbeing concept, Akasha, featuring a spa, 18-metre lap pool, gym, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room, with the lift to the facility next door to the suite.
BEST FOR A weekend urban retreat
DON’T MISS The Van Gogh package
PRICE The Van Gogh package is priced from AED 3,954
CONTACT +44 (0)20 7138 9072; reservations@hotelcaferoyal. com; hotelcaferoyal.com
FOOD AND DRINK We tried the new Van Gogh themed afternoon tea, with sandwiches, pastries and teas inspired by the famous Dutch painter’s works. The hotel’s Head Pastry Chef, Michael Kwan, the UK pastry team president in the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie 2019, has meticulously crafted each item on the menu, from the crab and dill sandwich on lemon bread (based on the 1887 piece, Two Crabs) to Vase with Twelve Sunflowers (sunflower seed praline, salted caramel); The Starry Night (pink grapefruit compote, orange marmalade) and a pecan crunchy, co ee mousse and taro sponge Van Gogh Self-Portrait, served on its own easel. The afternoon tea is served in the stunning Grade II listed Oscar Wilde Lounge, the room, dating back to 1865, where Oscar Wilde fell in love with Lord Alfred Douglas, Aubrey Beardsley debated with Whistler, David Bowie retired Ziggy Stardust, and Mick Jagger, the Beatles and Elizabeth Taylor danced the night away. Decked out in ornate gold detailing, mirrored walls and painted ceilings, this is a special place to spend an afternoon in London.
BUSINESS Regal event spaces include the Pompadour Ballroom (up to 250 people) and the Queensberry Suite (150 people), four elegant meeting rooms and the historic Domino Room for private dining. If you want to follow in the footsteps of Bowie, book the Oscar Wilde Lounge for a private event.
LEISURE The hotel is o ering a Van Gogh package including an overnight stay in Superior Room; an entry ticket to London’s resident exhibition, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, which I have visited and thoroughly recommend for visitors of all ages, including children; the Van Gogh Afternoon tea in the Oscar Wilde Lounge; and access to the Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre.
VERDICT With its discreet entrance, this feels like one of London’s best-kept secrets, yet inside, a wonderful world of exquisite dining and hospitality awaits. Highly recommended for business or leisure – or both! Gemma Greenwood
