How to get the best of London on a ‘lean luxury’ budget
Truffle crumpets, old-world service and top-hatted doormen make you feel like you’re in a soothing Miss Marple episode.
Ada, Ian, Kenny and I are racing around Buckingham Palace as though in a go-cart, ducking and weaving between black cabs and lumbering red buses in pursuit of London’s underbelly on a private “Cops, Robbers and True Crime” tour.
Ada is a classic 1998 Mini Cooper, Ian our expert driver and guide, and Kenny, my tall son, is folded into the back seat like a collapsible card table. We are learning all sorts of things about this great city where crime has a very long history. Along Oxford St (once Tyburn Rd), Ian reminds us, the condemned were marched or dragged to gallows behind Marble Arch to be hanged and perhaps drawn and quartered. And I’d thought it was all about the shops.
We recall the attempted 1974 kidnapping of Princess Anne on the Mall, before scooting into a handy parking spot in front of The Star Tavern in posh Belgravia, where the 1960s beau-monde rubbed shoulders with gangsters and Britain’s most famous heist, the 1963 Great Train Robbery, was planned in an upstairs room. Then to 46 Lower Belgrave St, home to the notorious Lord Lucan.
I am a devotee of British crime drama in all its guises, from Luther to Poirot and, despite the slightly grisly nature of this tour, feel much safer in London than, say, the villages of Midsomer. We cover a lot of territory in little Ada, from Mayfair to Soho, zooming around Seven Dials to spot the last remaining policeman’s coat hook (from a time when bobbies directed traffic).
On to the City (lots of crooks here I bet) and across the Thames more than once (remember when “God’s Banker”, Roberto Calvi, was found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge?). We zip along a rare street of intact housing in the East End that’s featured in countless films (cue the Kray brothers) and finally to the graffiti-daubed Leake St tunnel under Waterloo Station. Banksy kicked off this impromptu gallery in 2008, but in the 19th century it was home to the spooky Necropolis Railway, transporting the dead and mourners to cemeteries outside the corpse-choked city.
What to do in London
For first-time visitors to London, or those who haven’t visited the capital for a while, the Small Car Big City outfit offers a brilliant means of getting your bearings while making an awful lot of people smile as you zip by. These little cars seem to spark pure delight, and what could be more British? Other tours are themed around food, art and music.
Crumpets at Claridge’s? Holly Golightly found solace gazing in the windows at Tiffany’s. I take comfort from Claridge’s immutable old-world service and top-hatted doormen, all as soothing as an episode of Miss Marple.
The lobby and reading room are stuffed with oversized vases of spring blossoms, and in the hotel’s renovated and relaunched restaurant, the sun streams through beautiful stained-glass skylights. Previously outsourced to the likes of Gordon Ramsay and more recently Daniel Humm, the Claridge’s restaurant operation has been brought back in house following an extensive makeover.
One end of the elegant rooms is dominated by a stunning bar of violet Calcutta marble, huge Art Deco lights are overhead; elegant leather banquettes and well-spaced tables make for a convivial long lunch, even on a Monday.
The menu is classic British: plump Orkney scallops, Dorset lamb, and Norfolk chicken stuffed with brioche and lemon and expertly roasted and served beside an incredibly rich sauce. Service is seamless, the sommelier never more than a discreet nod away, and as for those crumpets, they’re piled high with shaved truffle.
Across town in Covent Garden, Jamie Oliver is back in the restaurant business with an easygoing menu inspired by his parents’ Essex pub and his early years at River Cafe. The relaxed room at Jamie Oliver Catherine St has art from the chef’s private collection (including a photo portrait of his wife, Jools), comfy banquettes and large pendant lights reminiscent of petticoats. The food is fresh, fun and tasty, and suppliers are mentioned with many dishes. A perfect scotch egg with oozy yolk?
Thank you, the happy hens at Cacklebean. Highly recommended are the Loch Duart salmon gravlax, cured with beetroot and vodka, and the whipped, smoked tofu served with tiny crisp radishes. There are steaks, Jamie’s dad’s chicken recipe and of course pasta – silky smooth venison pappardelle and truffle fettuccine. An accessible wine list has bottles from £25 ($47).
Where to eat in London
I’m back in London for the first time in five years and wine prices seem to have soared (especially when the lame Aussie dollar is factored in). You might find nursing a cocktail or mocktail better value; try the delightfully clubby Scarfes Bar in the Rosewood London not too far from Jamie’s. It’s the perfect spot on a rainy afternoon.
Tucked into the bowels of the Borough Market precinct, with a pared-back industrial vibe, Akara is a new restaurant serving contemporary African fare. The small menu is loaded with heat, try the delicious barbecue king oyster mushrooms or Lagos chicken. Expect a pretty cool crowd in this part of London, and make time to visit the lively market during the day (a fish finger butty at Fish! is essential).
In Soho, lunch is booked at an under-the-radar institution, especially handy if you have a novel in want of a publisher. Andrew Edmunds is an intimate 18th-century townhouse filled with publishing types seated at small tables crowded cheek by jowl, the simple menu scribbled on paper. Founded by the late art dealer Andrew Edmunds in the 1980s, this charmingly atmospheric bolthole is considered a last, rare slice of “old” Soho.
That arty energy associated with this storied neighbourhood is celebrated at the new 57-room Broadwick Soho hotel. The compelling interiors are by Martin Brudnizki, a current darling of the hotel design scene, whose schtick is maximalism with an unerring eye. It’s all rather down the rabbit hole. A blink-and-miss hotel entrance is flanked by oversized pots of flowers. The reception desk is teeny.
A nattily dressed concierge whisks me into The Nook, a private guests’ lounge where people are actually reading newspapers. A pot of tea appears as I admire the room’s unabashed opulence of layered fabrics, wallpapers, patterns, tassels, mirrors and colour. The lamps appear to be wearing couture. There’s a large Venetian mirror in the lift, the brass doorknobs resemble cockatoos. Downstairs in the Dear Jackie restaurant, bordello reds and crimsons prevail.
In room 408 the decor is lighter. Pale pink bedhead, matching pleated lamps, an armoire that’s an artwork, painted with an Arcadian scene, the base fringed with tassels. The TV is gilt framed, the luxurious bathroom papered in blue leopard print and provisioned with Ortigia products from Sicily. Glasses are crystal and there are jars of gummy bears and the most delicious cream-stuffed biscuits. It’s a gorgeous room, comfortable and glamorous in equal measure.
Where to stay in London
London has welcomed several big-ticket hotels in recent months, including Raffles at the OWO and The Peninsula, but the boutique hotel scene is just as dynamic. Just off Oxford St on Marylebone Lane, the recently opened BoTree Hotel pursues its own singular design vision by Amsterdam-based outfit Concrete. Natural timbers, loads of greenery and gelato pastels prevail in the sleek ground floor lounge and reception where the young staff, dressed in peppermint green, roam the floor.
Technology here is state of the art. Pop into the lift and there’s momentary confusion. No floor buttons. Because swiping my room card before entering automatically sends the lift to my floor. Control panels in all 199 guestrooms (including 30 suites) are motion-sensitive, illuminating with a wave of the hand. Room 317 is one of seven suites with a narrow wraparound balcony (quite a treat in London), floor-to-ceiling windows sliding open onto a busy street view.
The room has a lovely restful palette with plush sage-green carpet, a bar of green marble, gorgeous Jasper Conran teacups in green chinoiserie, even a forest-green Alessi kettle. In the bedroom, a wall upholstered in swirly pastel pink and purple recalls the swinging ’60s. The bathroom is enormous and deeply luxurious, as is the dressing room, equipped with a Dyson hairdryer and handheld steamer.
Alongside the whiz-bang technology, The BoTree sets a pleasing green agenda. Bathroom unguents are sulphate, paraben and cruelty-free, bathrobes made from 50 per cent recycled polymers, even the bedding is a blend of recycled plastic and Tencel, a natural cellulose fibre derived from plantation timber using much less water than cotton.
For travellers on a tighter budget, the new Ruby Zoe Hotel & Bar on Notting Hill Gate brings a touch of urban cool and “lean luxury” from the Munich headquarters of the rapidly expanding Ruby hotel group.
The location is brilliant, a minute’s walk from the tube, five minutes from Portobello Road Market. There used to be a Marks & Sparks here, my cabbie muses as we draw up to the front door early in the morning. Check-in is at the bar, where tattooed young staff are firing up the coffee machine.
Bar and restaurant double as a live music venue and have a pleasingly raffish vibe, scattered with an eclectic collection of furniture, inspired by the Portobello Rd of the ’70s. Upstairs, room 523 is bijou indeed but with a floor-to-ceiling window offering engaging views across the rooftops.
Although small, the space feels light and airy thanks to whitewashed timber floors, cherry wood panelling and crisp white bedding. Space is at a premium, so a glass-walled rain shower (with modesty curtain) is tucked into the corner. The washstand is opposite in the main part of the room.
“Lean luxury” means no fridge, kettle or coffee machine but on every floor there’s a hot beverage and snack station that sees me padding down the corridor in my jimjams every morning. Despite the privations associated with a lack of an in-room kettle, I like this hotel and the location is wonderful. And given the anaemic Aussie dollar, it’s affordable.
The charming Ampersand Hotel is not new but a well-priced alternative, located in the heart of South Kensington, less than a minute from the tube, and I can hear, very faintly, a distant train rumble somewhere far, far below.
My room is enormous, with soaring ceiling and large bay window and lots of homely touches including a gratis minibar (soft drinks and snacks) and small library of books to read in the deep tub. Opened just over a decade ago in a converted Edwardian townhouse with 110 guestrooms, the hotel benefits from the old building’s proportions, its broad corridors daubed with references to the nearby Natural History and Science museums.
Afternoon teas in the pretty ground-floor drawing room continue the theme. There’s a Jurassic tea (brilliant for children), also a science-based repast, which this adult thoroughly enjoys, as waiters deliver pipettes and beakers and, through a haze of dry ice smoke, I mix my own concoctions and tuck into little cakes shaped like planets.
There’s always something fresh to explore in London, but some things remain reassuringly unchanged, from afternoon tea and crumpets to bookshops, museums, and the endless diversions only this great city can provide.
In the know
Broadwick Soho is at 20 Broadwick St
in the heart of London; rooms from £509 ($967) a night.
The BoTree is at 30 Marylebone Ln;
rooms from £361 a night.
Ruby Zoe Hotel & Bar is at 164 Notting Hill Gate; rooms from £190 a night.
Ampersand Hotel is at 10 Harrington Rd, South Kensington; rooms from £276 a night.
Exhibitions, shows and food festivals
Celebrating its bicentenary this year, The National Gallery draws together some of Van Gogh’s best-loved works in a “once-in-a-century” exhibition; from September 14.
Until September 29, Kew Gardens is home to 17 striking stainless-steel and bronze plant-inspired sculptures by artist
Marc Quinn.
Taste of London runs June 12-16 in Regent’s Park with stalls courtesy of some of the city’s hottest restaurants.
High-end antiques from British and international exhibitors at The Treasure House Fair, Royal Hospital Chelsea, June 27-July 2.
Missed the Chelsea Flower Show? Check out the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, July 2-8.
Buckingham Palace opens to visitors from July 11-September 29.
Theatre highlights for 2024 include David Oyelowo as Coriolanus, Olivier Theatre September 11-November 9; David Tennant and Cush Jumbo in Macbeth, Harold Pinter Theatre October 1-December 14; and Steve Coogan in the first stage adaptation of Dr Strangelove, Noel Coward Theatre October 8-December 21.
Christine McCabe was a guest of Visit Britain.
If you love to travel, sign up to our free weekly Travel + Luxury newsletter here.
