A CALM SPACE AMID THE CAPITAL’S CHAOS tr avel report LONDON

long in the memory.

That’s all gone now, with the ground-floor space being occupied by the one Michelin-starred Ametsa with Arzak Instruction - described as “a unique collaboration between Elena Arzak – voted Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef in 2012 – along with her father Juan Mari Arzak, and Mikel Sorazu, Igor Zalakain and Xabier Gutierrez.”

It is a Basque restaurant of some repute, but our stay this time, alas, did not include time to enjoy the full experience.

We did however, savour the unusual Amesta take on the Afternoon Tea, which replaced the usual cakes and sandwiches with an astonishing collection of savoury tapas and desserts.

It was a magnificent experience - almost a mini fine-dining tasting menu, in which the presentation of the food gave little away about what might happen once it was in your mouth.

It was the kind of food that has you nodding and grinning in approval as you wordlessly attempt to express how it feels to eat it.

Even the descriptions on the menu gave little away - Ham Croquette, Duck and Shallot Skewers, Broken Eggs on Waffle - and were frightfully understated and ridiculously undersold the experience.

Even if you don’t stay at the hotel, and even if you do - you should at least try the Afternoon Tea... and honestly, if the restaurant’s full menu is as good, I’m not sure I could handle it.

Just as the inside of the hotel soothes and refreshes, once on the outside you could not be in a better location.

Nestled amid the glorious Georgian splendour of Belgravia, you have Knightsbridge and Mayfair round the corner, Hyde Park on your doorstep, and the West End a pleasant stroll away on the other side of Green Park.

The hotel itself is around a threeminute walk from Hyde Park Corner’s Underground station. There are literally no downsides. So, some 10 years after my first visit, and after a long decade of wanting to go back, I was gratified to learn one thing about my first impressions: I was right. And this is still one of the best hotels in London.