Shard feeling s?
They’re no fans of its skyline-dominating architecture, but can Giles Coren and Monica Galetti keep an open mind about the luxury hotel inside?
CRITIC Giles Coren is quite surprised that this latest hotel has agreed to let him in.
It’s the five-star Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard in London – a concept that Giles has been quite openly vocal about.
He says he was dismayed to see The Shard encroach on the London skyline.
“You look at it from wherever you are in London, this lovely old historical city, it makes me feel uneasy,” he says.
“It looks corporate,” adds his co-host Monica Galetti, as the pair of Londoners stare up at Britain’s highest hotel.
AMAZING HOTELS: LIFE BEYOND THE LOBBY BBC2, 9pm
Giles finds a silver lining though. “Once you’re in it, you can’t see it,” he notes.
The pair are greeted by Shangri-La’s General Manager Kurt Macher, who is holding a small dog that seems to be dressed in a tweed coat with a ponytail.
Them they all zoom up 35 floors to the hotel reception in 13.5mph lifts that make your ears pop.
While Giles and Monica will have to lend a hand to the staff, they will also get to stay in the guest rooms, which sit between floors 35 and 52 and range from £450 to £700 a night.
They can also take a plunge in Europe’s highest hotel sauna and infinity pool and ‘swim in the clouds’.
Already it seems the cynical pair are being won over, as they are pleasantly surprised by the attention to the perfect guest experience.
From personal guest messages scrawled on windows, to bath butlers, marriage proposals, themed safari experiences for kids and a LOT of balloons, the hotel is a sky-high resort for celebration.