LONDON: CITY OF VILLAGES
Many communities in the British capital burst with unique flavour
London is sprawling, complex and vibrant. It's also a city of villages. From its historic core, it expanded over the centuries to swallow diverse communities, each with its own unique character. On a recent visit, we were able to explore the city in a different way from the usual tourist paths by staying at three hotels, each of which carries the name and flavour of its neighbourhood.
The Kensington was once the city residence of the Earl of Malmesbury, a grand pied a terre where his family stayed during the society season in the British capital. More than a century ago, the property passed into the hands of hoteliers, who eventually connected seven adjacent town houses to create the luxury hotel of today.
Although quintessentially English in flavour, it is now owned by an Irish firm, The Doyle Collection. “We want our guests to feel true Irish hospitality as soon as they step inside,” general manager Alex von Ulmenstein told me.
We got a taste of it upon arrival when we met Thomas, a Waterford native, who was eager to share stories of the hotel as he showed us to our room, pointing out the grand old mirror on the second floor, where the earl's family checked their hair and makeup before stepping out onto the town.
Our corner room was somehow both extravagant and cosy, with high ceilings, a four-poster bed and wallpaper evoking Japanese themes.
It's a short walk from the South Kensington tube stop, known to visitors as the gateway to London's Museum District, with the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in proximity. The Kensington has connections with the V&A that allow it to source tickets that are otherwise hard to find. In our case, we were able to get into the otherwise sold-out Gabrielle Chanel exhibition, where I was one of few males in the throngs admiring the frocks of the French designer.
South Kensington's streets teem not only with museum-goers, but shoppers sporting Harrods bags that they picked up at the nearby landmark store. Or concert-goers, given the proximity of Royal Albert Hall.
It seems many are popping into The Kensington's bar, named The K Bar, as it ranked No. 1 on Tripadvisor's list of London bars. I visited just before closing time and took the bartender's recommendation by ordering a drink called caoba, a tasty blend of rum from Barbados and chocolate bitters. It was created by the bar's Spanish mixologist Jonathan, who told me he has spent upward of $15,000 on alcohol, which he used developing his own menu of cocktails.
Stop No. 2 was The Marylebone (pronounced Mar-luh-bone) in the heart of the neighbourhood of the same name. Often referred to as a village, it is a tony residential enclave bordered on the south by the bustling shopping area of Oxford Street and Regent's Park to the north. It is also home to The London Clinic, which recently treated both King Charles and the Princess of Wales.
The hotel is of a more recent vintage than the Kensington, as several office buildings were joined together in the 1980s to create the current property. It made for a winding journey through the hallways, past alcoves where patrons were sipping cocktails or working on laptops. We eventually found our way to our elegant corner suite that overlooked the pubs and eateries of cobblestoned Marylebone Lane.
You can enter the Marylebone's restaurant, 108 Brasserie, directly off the lane, making it feel more a part of the street scene than the hotel. We had a spectacular meal, including a memorable black cod fillet with a miso glaze.
The Marylebone takes the village concept seriously by connecting with nearby merchants, with a box of chocolates in our room from the Pierre Marcolini shop and a recommendation to visit the La Fromagerie cheese emporium. It was well worth strolling up Marylebone High Street to peek into high-end shops and to admire one of the city's most beautiful bookstores, the local outlet of Daunt Books.
Hotel No. 3, The Bloomsbury, bears the name of a neighbourhood forever associated with the Bloomsbury Group of artists and intellectuals — people like Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster and John Maynard Keynes, who in the early 20th century thought big thoughts, slept around with abandon and drew darts for their eccentric brand of snobbishness.
It is a rare hotel in that each room is equipped with a thin book of its history, informing visitors that the building dates from the early 1930s, “originally commissioned as the YWCA Central Club, to meet the needs of an increasingly emancipated generation of young women.”
Designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (better known for his planning of New Delhi), it retains that feel of a London club, with lots of dark wood and cushy chairs, along with a nod to the literary heritage of the neighbourhood. A meeting room is dubbed the Seamus Heaney Library, in honour of the Irish Nobel laureate who was a regular visitor.
The Bloomsbury's bar, the Coral Room, is a departure from the clubby decor with walls painted bright pink-orange hue. On our visit, the place was hopping with a mixture of tipplers enjoying a libation after work or before the theatre. Floor manager Georgi took good care of us, recommending an Irish-themed cocktail called Finnegan, a blend of spiced Guinness, 12-year-old whisky and licorice.
The Bloomsbury is only a block away from the timeless treasures of the British Museum and a short stroll to the campus of the University of London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.