DREAM ESCAPES
It’s a capital destination for Fashion Week fans, culture vultures and staycationers alike – so what’s new in the big city?
London STAY
With idyllic acres stretching out behind it and scrawlings from Winston Churchill in the guestbook, the recently restored Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park endures as one of the capital’s finest addresses. The all-marble lobby is a sight to behold, suites feel unbelievably spoiling (3) and stays are soundtracked by the clip-clopping of the Household Cavalry, who trot past the windows each morning.
TASTE
Brand new subterranean speakeasy Soma pours creative tipples (try the tart gooseberry chaat margarita) on Soho’s Denman Street, while popular New York bistro Buvette has finally landed in Notting Hill. Then, from smoked confit chicken with marrowbone and pickled walnuts to braised celery with girolles, truffle and cider apple, the dishes at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at the Mandarin Oriental take cues from historic gastronomy.
Snap up a garden terrace table (2) for knockout views of Hyde Park.
INDULGE
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental is an oasis of calm, with an artfully lit pool for languid posttreatment laps. The Oskia Warm Oil Massage lulls bodies into a state of bliss, while the Biologique Recherche facials promise to perk up even the most city-stressed complexion. For shopaholics, Arddun Stores – on nearby Harvey Nichols’s fourth floor – majors in covetable textiles and jewellery, and Nordic and Japanese finds line the shelves at Motcomb Street’s Pantechnicon.
EXPLORE
At Frith Street Gallery the latest exhibition from Tacita Dean features screen prints alongside a gargantuan eightpanel photogravure inspired by the artist’s impending work for The Royal Ballet. Elsewhere, Yoko Ono’s justopened Mend Piece for London ( 1) brings an immersive experience to the Whitechapel Gallery.