WHERE TO STAY
INHABIT QUEENS GARDENS A body-mind reset when you need it, is just a stone’s throw from Paddington and everywhere you want to eat in London
Travel isn’t glamorous, and anyone who says it is has never flown economy class. And they have definitely never had their British Airways Airbus delayed for hours on the runway at OR Tambo before hearing: “One of the crew has been taken ill”. The crew member was the captain and the flight was cancelled, which meant getting 450 passengers off the plane and shuttled to various accommodations in the middle of the night. To say it was one of the worst travel experiences of my life is an understatement. When we eventually did depart, I’d missed my interview with iconic chef Ruth Rogers CBE and my first night at Inhabit Queens Gardens in Bayswater.
Fortunately, after 45 unpleasant hours of travelling, Inhabit Queens Gardens is exactly where you want to end up. Billed as a “restorative, environmentally and socially conscious place to stay”, walking into this oasis of Scandi-design calm felt less like arriving at a typical London hotel and more like a private residence. I honestly felt like I was home. Or, at least, the home I feel I deserve.
From the serenity of my room, I was within walking distance of Paddington Station and within easy access of all the restaurants I planned to visit – in Mayfair, Fitzrovia and Marylebone. It is, quite simply, the perfect London address, without the prohibitive price tag (rooms start at £170 a night).
But wait, there’s more. “Inhale at Inhabit”, their wellness centre, offers a treatment suite, fitness centre and yoga studio, for starters, and their on-site restaurant is a collaboration with the award-wining Devon health retreat, Yeotown. The restaurant serves a Californian-inspired, meat-free menu, which naturally means the ultimate avocado-smash toast with poached eggs (my recovery choice after eating airport food for two days), plus feel-good dishes including blue spirulina pancakes and the signature “Bounce back” burger. The dinner menu does include fish and, if all of this wasn’t enough of a recommendation, the sommelier is a vocal fan of South African wines. British Airways owes me at least a week’s stay. I feel it’s only fair.