HENRY’S TOWNHOUSE, MARYLEBONE
Ididn’t meet Henry when I stayed at his townhouse; he died in 1850. But when he was alive, he was Jane Austen’s favourite brother, and he lived here at 24 Upper Berkeley Street, a 15-minute clip from Marylebone High Street and not much further from Soho, Regent’s Park, or anywhere else in London you might want to visit on a Saturday afternoon. Rescued from years of abandonment and gorgeously renovated by art lovers and antique collectors Steven and Jane Collins, Henry’s is now an ‘ultra boutique’ hotel, bookable by the room or – in my wildest bucket-list dreams – by the whole house. It is (as house manager – and my new best friend – Ann explained over Champagne on arrival) a hybrid of luxury B&B and concierge-managed home from home.
It’s also one of the most delicious-looking places I’ve ever stayed, and delicious is exactly the word since the colours here are almost edible: pistachio and violet in a sitting room, hot peach with mustard in a bedroom and the palest, most delicate sage in another. My room (Eliza; named after Henry’s cousin and wife) is the dreamiest of all, done out in dusky pink with a four-poster bed trimmed in antique lace, and a tented en-suite bathroom with roll-top bath.
Apart from an American couple (more new best friends), we have Henry’s to ourselves. We have aperitifs at 6pm (‘Henry’s Hour’), mooch to dinner at Jikoni – one of Red’s favourite restaurants – and return to nightcaps in The Carriage Snug. Guests at Henry’s can use the gym and steam rooms at nearby Nobu, so while my boyfriend heads there the next morning, I read in the bath before meeting at Monsieur Halavant’s Pantry for breakfast (bacon from Marylebone’s Ginger Pig for him, house granola for me, pancakes for the Americans). Steven pops in before we leave, and we learn about the renovation. Everything – from the books in the snug to the Art Nouveau tiling in Eliza’s bathroom – has a story, and if Ann doesn’t know it, Steven does. We leave this bolthole of all boltholes with a granola takeout and a list of every paint colour used throughout (thank you, Ann). It’s magical, romantic and unique; please do go! ALEXANDRA FRIEND ROOMS FROM £595
WITH BREAKFAST. HENRYSTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK