Talk of the town
With its enviable location and luxury, the revamped Sheraton Grand is fab. By
More tea, madam?” Don’t mind if I do, and the waiter re-fills my cupful of elderflower blossom darjeeling. Then – while grazing on tiny sarnies with the crusts cut off, scones, and cakes including a red velvet sponge with orange butter – we play guess-the-tune as the resident harpist strikes up a... the Beatles? Van Morrison?... number.
We’re having Jazz Afternoon Tea in the gilded and luxurious central Palm Court Lounge at the five-star Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, which celebrated its 90th birthday earlier this year and has undergone a two-year-long multi-million-pound renovation to spruce up its authentic Art Deco interior.
Upstairs, we’ve taken up residence in a lush and glossy Park View Suite, with a vista of Green Park.
On a sugar high, it’s big enough to Charleston around, with a living area featuring plummy velvet chairs, a dining space to seat seven and a huge bedroom with pillows so soft that I’ve since bought one from the Sheraton website.
There are suitably modernist chrome lamps, and sunburst mirrors. So shiny. I feel as glam as Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby . As they said in the Twenties (when bored with “the bee’s knees”), this place is “the caterpillar’s kimono”.
Oh, and all the trimmings, like double sinks and Molton Brown smellies.
Downstairs, there are more eating options, including their Caffe Musetti, bar Smith & Whistle, and the relaxed and affordable Italian eatery, Mercante (breakfast is served here), with its Italian map wallpaper and buttercup yellow banquettes.
The highlights of their dinner menu include a secondi of pan-fried ricotta cheese with asparagus purée, garlic chives and toasted almond, or mustard and honey glazed lamb chops with wild dandelion, garlic, chilli and pecorino cheese custard.
However, before eating ourselves into matching comas, we decided to leave the hotel and explore. After all, as the oft trotted out Samuel Johnson quote goes, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”.
I’m not a man, and I’m not fed up with the Big Smoke, but I do find that sometimes I get a bit bored with the Tube and Google Maps, and prefer to cast my net a bit closer to home. Just as well that the hotel is just a short stroll to the Serpentine Gallery, where we trundled round an exhibition, and thought about hiring a boat.
You’re also near Regent Street, where all the best shops are – & Other Stories, a jumbo COS, Uniqlo, Topshop, Liberty...
On our visit, we were too early to track down the new stores from the ever expanding H&M Group. By the time you read this, the street will feature a flagship shop from cool men and women’s brand Arket, as well as younger casual clothing line Weekday.
If you want to spoil yourself further, without straying too far, the Hotel Cafe Royal boasts Akasha, aka the best and quietest spa around, where you can get a Bespoke Massage (50 minutes for £110) to stretch you out, while Zen music plays on the stereo and thousands of feet pass over Piccadilly Circus just a couple of floors up. There’s also a swimming pool surrounded by loungers, Jacuzzi, and a steam room.
And back to the eating, because we also had an appointment to visit Veeraswamy. At 91, it’s the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK.
Family legend has it that my husband’s granny, who lived in Mumbai for a while, visited this place to buy impossible-to-find-elsewhere
Clockwise from main: The Palm Court; the Park View Suite; the exterior of the Sheraton Grand Park Lane
spices from the chef, probably back in the Fifties. We had to pay homage.
Our favourite option was probably their tandoori monkfish that had been given bionic super-powers as far as smoky flavours go. We also liked the venison mutta kebab – aka a venison and quail Scotch egg topped with sticky sweet tamarind sauce.
I’m not sure what drew us to the side dish of fresh pineapple curry, it’s not my usual genre, but it was the sweet savoury dish of my dreams.
The best Indian food I’ve had, so I ate to capacity and was relieved not to have strayed too far...
As my other half ’s grandmother used to say, “Carry me home, don’t bend me,” or, in this case, gently steer me in the direction of our caterpillar’s kimono of a jazz-era hotel. ■
You are also near Regent Street, where all the best shops are
Tickets from Edinburgh to London start at £25 for a Standard Class Advanced Single, www.virgintrainseastcoast.com, 03457 225 225. Rooms at the Sheraton Grand Park Lane (Piccadilly, Mayfair) start
from £250 (room only), www.sheratonparklane.com, 0207 499 6321. Veeraswamy, Victory House, 99101 Regent Street, London, www. veerswamy.com, www.regentstreetonline.com, 0207 734 1401.