CAFÉ SOCIETY “H
Stay at the most fashionable address in London, made famous by rockstars and royals. By Natasha Kraal.
ear no evil, speak no evil, and you won’t be invited to cocktail parties,” Oscar Wilde famously uttered, perhaps the reason why the celebrated wit was top dog at every soirée. The wildest shindigs in 19th-century London, so we hear, was at a famous gilded bar on Regent Street, where his truly flitted, fluted, and certainly flirted with the hi-so at the Café Royal outpost; amid the Louis XVI décor, he also penned his infectious prose, and fell tempestuously in love with Lord Alfred Douglas. The Grill Room has also welcomed a wide repertoire of thinkers from Aubrey Beardsley to Winston Churchill, and stars from Elizabeth Taylor to David Bowie, who retired his Ziggy Stardust persona at the mirror-panelled salon in 1973 with his legendary ‘The Last Supper’ party. Such is the stuff of legends that it was renamed the Oscar Wilde Bar, when the “The Café” was converted from a celebrated 143-year-old bar-restaurant to a luxury five-star hotel in 2012. These days, it’s aptly gone the route of ‘High Society Tea’, while the parties have moved to the Green Bar on the other side of the establishment, where you can imbibe in the artistic intellect’s drink of absinthe (among the impressive array of botanicals and tonics) while rubbing shoulders with the likes of David Gandy one side, and handsome Arab princes, the other. Ah, what’s a little scandal, if not, to quote dear Oscar, only “gossip made tedious by morality”.
Today, Hotel Café Royal remains the exclusive celebrity haven, weekend residence of the Euro elite, and fashion editor’s favourite, particularly the gorgeous people-watching café Papillon that serves a delicious seasonal menu du jour and the most Insta-gorgeous desserts by executive pastry chef Sarah Barber. During our summer stay, we had her rainbow croissants for
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Fbreakfast while watching the London Pride parade make its way down Regent Street through the dramatic floral-décor windows. This is London at its ultra-fashionable. And so is the aesthetic of the rooms, created by David Chipperfield Architects as a Café Royal signature, in the gorgeous neo-Regency style of high shine marble, jewel-toned accents, and luscious coloured leathers that create utterly glamorous and romantic spaces, offset by English fumed oak flooring, Portland stone walls, and Carrara marble bathrooms to bubble away in. As for the suites, there’s the three-bedroom Dome Penthouse that opens out to a spectacular “Mary Poppins” view of London, and at night converts into your own party space complete with DJ sound system and LED lighting. On the other end, the original Tudor Suite of handsome wood panelling and Elizabethan elegance gives you that aristo-English experience; while the gorgeously lofty Oscar Suite inspires great thinking or two scandals of your own ... Hotels come with their stories, secrets, and stars who elevate the space with their scintillating glamour. The legend of Café Royal actually began with the founder, French merchant Daniel Nicholas Thévenon, and his wife Celestine, who fled from creditors in Paris for London in 1863, and within two years opened this meeting point and restaurant, reputedly with the greatest wine cellar in the world. Plumly positioned at the confluence of the theatrical Soho, blue-chip Mayfair, and the business district of St. James, attracting and synergising all three circles, gives it such a unique position. There are many stars in situ, while “some of us are looking at the stars”, to paraphrase Oscar, that the cosmic energy of writers and artists, to rockstars and royalty, makes Café Royal more than a beautiful heritage hotel; it’s the place to think, dream, and be. 68 Regent St, London. Tel: +44 020 7406 3333. www.hotelcaferoyal.com
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... Fashion Now, a personal shopping experience Hotel Café Royal created in collaboration with Matchesfashion.com for guests. Get on a call with a stylist, even before your stay, to give your requirements, and have an entire wardrobe set up in your suite upon arrival. This takes shopping to a whole new level.
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