And I can assure you that you’ll feel like you’re there for your entire stay; from the ‘namaskar’ that every member of staff – clad in Indian dress – greets you with, through to the décor which makes you feel like you’ve entered a palace in Mumbai, The LaLiT London offers its guest much more than just a hotel stay – it encapsulates the essence of India, fooling you into feeling like you’ve travelled across the world when you actually haven’t left London.
Housed in what used to be St Olave’s grammar establishment for boys from 1835 to 1968, the hotel is the first international offering from the luxury Indian hotel group The LaLiT. Many of the bedrooms which once used to be classrooms or offices in the grammar school now have super comfortable beds wrapped in Indian fabrics, with tall, hand-embroidered silk headboards in warm cream, white and orange. The original beams add a homely feel to the luxury interiors and the bathrooms come with marble temperature-controlled flooring, Japanese Toto toilets and mother-of-pearls mirrors with an anti-fog system. All the necessary amenities like a minibar, a Nespresso machine and a 40-inch LED TV are there too. Spread across three floors, a few of the 70 individually designed rooms and suites boast Shard views, whilst the Thames Suite offers a stunning view of the river.
During our stay, we popped into the Teacher’s Room (or the bar) for a chai infused cocktail before dinner to prepare our tastebuds for the culinary adventure which Baluchi Restaurant guarantees. The restaurant, which once used to be the school’s assembly hall, has been turned into an opulent, royal blue room which celebrates everything Indian but still nods to the building’s history. Sapphire-tinted glass chandeliers adorn the high ceiling and the wooden floors and wood-clad walls create a warm and intimate ambience.
Food at Beluchi Restaurant is all about modern Indian gourmet cuisine. The carefully crafted menu celebrates Indian flavours, serving a selection of proteins in fragrant sauces, finished off with creatively cooked garnishes. Mains can be paired with a scrumptious selection of traditional naans, rotis or parathas, or of course - rice. Breakfast is served there too and offers a spectacular collection of traditional Indian breakfast dishes, in addition to British and continental staples.
For a more relaxed and quick meal, try The Naan'ery where you can sample four Indian breads, made with seasonal ingredients and paired with a complementing wine. In addition to a 24/7 gym and a small spa that mixes both Eastern and Western therapies, The LaLiT London also offers two meeting rooms (suitable for 8 or 12 attendees).
The LaLiT London enjoys an excellent location for both people who are visiting London for work and travellers - it’s about a five-minute walk from London Bridge and its underground station and a ten-minute walk from The Shard.
For more information and to book your stay, go to http://www.thelalit.com/the-lalit-london/
Located in the City of London area, just a 10-minute walk from St Paul's Cathedral, Apex Temple Court Hotel offers surprisingly quiet rooms for its central location and is a place where you can unwind and recharge after a busy day of meetings. Once you walk through its doors, you enter a peaceful courtyard which immediately feels miles away from the hustle and bustle of London. This is where you can find the alfresco area of Fleet Street’s newest wine bar, The Amicable Society of Lazy Ballerinas. Offering an extensive selection of old and new wines, a menu of scrumptious small plates perfect for sharing and ultra aesthetically pleasing décor, the bar attracts both hotel guests and Londoners popping in for an after-work drink. There are also two private dining rooms, both offering seating for 16 guests, or alternatively, 30 guests for a drinks reception, which can be booked for meetings, events or wine tastings.
Across the courtyard, you’ll find the hotel’s Club Lounge, a relaxed place where you can have a casual business meeting or bring your laptop and work, and Chambers Restaurant, where breakfast is served. Start your morning with continental staples and cooked-to-order classics like Full English, Eggs Benedict and pancakes and come back for lunch or dinner – the a la carte menu offers everything from steaks and burgers, through to lighter options like fish and salads.
For a real taste of luxury, stay at one of the hotel’s suites. Home to every indulgent touch you desire, they boast impressive period features including beautiful fireplaces, huge, squishy beds, a cosy living area and a luxurious, marble bathroom with a walk-in shower and bathtub, complete with underfloor heating and bespoke furniture. With Bang & Olufsen Bluetooth speakers, a vanity mirror TV in the bathroom and two more LED TVs (one in the bedroom and one in the living room), you are spoilt for choice when it comes to entertainment. And if this isn’t enough, thoughtful touches like complimentary arrival drinks, a Nespresso Vertuo coffee machine, Temple Spa products and free-of-charge drinks and snacks at the Club Lounge which all suite guests enjoy exclusive access to will make your stay truly special.
For more information and to book your stay, please go to https://www.apexhotels.co.uk/apex-temple-court-hotel
Set right next to Mansion House station, Vintry & Mercer creates a feeling of grandeur mixed with a little millennial quirkiness. Every little detail is extremely aesthetically pleasing, whilst the ambience is so relaxed and refreshingly un-corporate that it feels more like a luxurious modern home than a hotel right in the middle of London.
Opened in February this year and named after the two commercial wards on the hotel's doorstep (Vintry where fine wines would be delivered from France and Mercer which is the former haunt of noble merchants who traded in high-quality silks, damasks and linens), the hotel’s lavish décor celebrates London’s trading links. Fusing the past with modernity, the 92 sumptuous bespoke rooms and suites (which come in 5 categories) take inspiration from Mercer and feature deep blue, maroon or mustard-coloured velvet headboards, leather door handles, framed London street maps and wallpapered walls. A flatscreen TV, minibar, tea and coffee facilities and an exquisite marble bathroom finish off each room, making it so cosy and homely that leaving it for the hustle and bustle of London feels like a ludicrous idea. And if you do decide to simply stay in, the rooms have a ‘do not disturb’ button (as well as a ‘make up my room’ button) instead of a card to hang on the door – we did warn you that the hotel is brand new and super modern.
For dinner, head down to the ground floor where you’ll find Vintry Izakaya - an Asian tapas eatery where wine plays an important part and is poured straight from large barrels lining the gantry. The menu oozes with bold Asian flavours and offers anything from classic steamed buns and shrimp tempura or Wagyu katsu sandos, through to more inventive dishes like beef rib teriyaki arancini or kimchi and blue cheese fries. Our personal favourites were the miso and sesame seeds Padron peppers and the cooked to perfection sweet miso glazed aubergine. The saddest thing about tapas dinners is that you often order so many small plates of food to share that you could potentially end up feeling too full for pudding, which is a pity when the restaurant offers dangerously inticing desserts like Vietnamese espresso mousse or matcha Opera cake with berry sorbet. All is well though – I suppose this would be a good enough excuse to visit again and hopefully order less this time around. Breakfast is also served at Vintry Izakaya and comprises of a continental buffet and cooked-to-order dishes like traditional full English, but also Asian options like eggs Florentine on steamed bao buns.
After dinner, move to the dimly lit Do Not Disturb cocktail bar inspired by the clandestine bars of 1920s New York and finish off the night with a barrel-aged glass of Manhattan.
Most wow-worthy, however, is Vintry & Mercer’s rooftop terrace and the stunning views it boasts. Filled with light thanks to the glass-panelled roof, the restaurant promises to be a popular dinner spot for Londoners this summer. The menu focusses on modern British cuisine, introducing guests to fresh meat and fish from the British Isles. Dishes include mouth-watering Cornish crab, British asparagus, oysters and lobster, as well as hay-smoked beef tartare and Tomahawk steaks. The atmosphere is vibrant and lively and the décor is ridiculously instagrammable.
For those willing to break a sweat after all the beautiful food on offer at Vintry & Mercer, the hotel also has a small gym equipped with the latest Life Fitness workout equipment — a treadmill, exercise bike, cross trainer and rowing machine, as well as an integrated digital screen with Internet access and an iPhone dock.
And if you need any more reasons as to why Vintry & Mercer needs to be your home away from home when you next visit London (not that you probably do), the newly-built hotel is functioning solely on renewable electricity, sourced from wind, solar and biomass generators. It has solar panels on the roof toe, ensuring a minimal effect on the environment.
For more information and to book your stay, please go to https://www.vintryandmercer.com/
The Vicarage
Set on the outskirts of the sleepy village of Holmes Chapel, The Vicarage offers everything you could possibly desire for a glorious countryside weekend. Housed in a 17th Century Grade II listed building and centred around its cosy restaurant and bar area, the hotel finds the perfect balance between rustic, vintage interiors and contemporary edge. Stunning woodwork, perfectly restored original features and thoughtful details give the inn a sense of place and the general friendly and warm ambiance make you feel at home.
The 26 rooms fall into two categories, standard and signature, and offer supremely comfortable Queen and King-sized beds, Nespresso coffee machines, rainmaker showers and a lovely selection of second-hand books – a nice little touch that adds to the hotel’s charm. For a real treat though, book one of the three signature rooms which are a tad more lush and characterful.
Driven by the gardeners, foragers, farmers and suppliers of Cheshire, everything in the main restaurant’s menu is locally sourced and comprises a number of beautifully cooked classics. Stand-outs include a mouth-watering smoked salmon and caviar starter and a cooked-to-perfection sea bass main. Served in the light, bright conservatory and the restaurant room next to it, the breakfast buffet isn’t huge but covers all the essentials: fruits, yoghurts, cereals and granola, juices, pastries and an impressive toast bar which comes with everything from butter and a selection of jams through to Marmite and peanut butter. You can also opt for freshly cooked to order Full English breakfast (vegetarian option available too), Eggs Benedict, Florentine and Royale, avocado on toast and sweet or savoury pancakes.
For more information and to book your visit, please go to: https://www.thevicaragecheshire.com/
The Courthouse
A renovation of what was previously Knutsford Crown Court is another great base for a weekend escape in Cheshire. Beautifully refurbished to mimic the building’s style and history, The Courthouse is home to Barristers Restaurant, and The Court Room – a popular weddings and events space, as well as the recent addition of three stunning bedrooms.
As one would expect when hearing its name, Barristers Restaurant stays true to the history of the building – barristers’ wigs hanging from pegs, framed pictures of famous offenders lining the walls and a menu that consists of ‘opening statements’, ‘proceedings’ and ‘main evidence’ instead of the more commonly used ‘nibbles’, ‘starters’ and ‘mains’. Why not make the most of what’s already there? Working closely with local suppliers, Executive Chef Steven Tuke crafts traditionally British menus that change with the season and include classics such as slow braised lamb shoulder, smoked cod loin and swordfish steak. And the verdict seems to be that everything he’s doing is working - whether it’s for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner, locals flock to the restaurant for Chef Tuke’s hearty creations.
Earlier this year, The Courthouse opened its first three rooms – the Twin King Suite, the Superior Bridal Suite and the Signature King Suite. However, the owners of Flat Cap Hotels, brothers Dominic and Oliver Heywood, are not planning to stop here and are opening eight more luxury bedrooms in the existing wings of the iconic building. Stay tuned for more from the duo.
For more information and to book your visit, please go to: https://thecourthousecheshire.com/
It’s hard not to fall in love with Cornwall and its long, rugged coastline and hundreds of sandy beaches. It’s also hard not to fall in love with Fistral Beach Hotel & Spa and its perfect location right next to surfers’ favourite Fistral Beach. In addition to sensational views, staying in a room here grants you access to the hotel’s stunning Dune Restaurant, the cosy Bay Bar, excellent spa, pool and an abundance of things to do within a walking distance from the hotel. Should you wish to venture outside of the grounds, the beach and the Quiksilver Surf School are less than 200 yards away, while Newquay is just about 2 miles from the hotel.
The interiors take full inspiration from the hotel’s surroundings – clean lines, Navajo white walls, classic blond wood furnishings and neutral fabrics with pops of aquamarine jazzing up the rooms’ ambiance. All best rooms come with stylish bathtubs right next to floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies with wicker table and chairs – the perfect spot for a quick glass of champagne before heading downstairs for dinner.
After a morning exploring Cornwall, an afternoon in the spa will feel well-needed. Ideal for those seeking relaxation, the spa features a vitality pool, whirlpool tub, sauna and steam room and an extensive list of superb treatments. If you like to work up a sweat even during a relaxing weekend, Fistral Beach Hotel & Spa offers an excellent fitness room fully equipped with all the essential machines for a good workout.
Dune Restaurant’s carefully compiled menu changes regularly to ensure that it makes the most of fresh, seasonal Cornish produce. Perfect for a special lunch or dinner, the atmospheric restaurant celebrates freshly caught seafood and feels very intimate and relaxed. We enjoyed a beautifully prepared three-course meal paired with fantastic wines, while looking out over the sea. Settle on a squashy sofa in the bar after your meal for the perfect end to a truly wonderful day.
Breakfast is served in Dune Restaurant too, where you can find a continental buffet featuring fresh pastries, fruit and a selection of cheese and meats, as well as a menu of hot options.
Fistral Beach Hotel & Spa’s outstanding location, gorgeous food, exquisite spa and friendly staff make it the perfect base to explore one of England’s most beautiful counties. It is the perfect place to escape to – and the perfect place to spoil yourself and the one you love.
Nightly rates start from £80 on a bed and breakfast basis.
For more information and to book your stay:
Phone: 01637 852221
Email: reservations@fistralbeachhotel.co.uk
Website: https://www.fistralbeachhotel.co.uk
With views of both the Mediterranean Sea and the Sierra Blanca mountains from almost every corner of the town and an astonishing 320 days of sizzling sunshine, Marbella is sought after by the most rich and famous from across the globe. Earlier this year, Nobu opened its latest venture set on the Andalusian town’s glitzy Golden Mile. And despite Nobu Hotel Marbella’s central location, its impressive chic restaurants, bar and club scene will make you feel like you’re in the heart of the action without having to leave the hotel’s grounds. 
Stepping into Nobu Hotel Marbella, you instantly feel the weight and stress of your usual daily life left behind as you escape into a very private and exclusive haven that seems to offer everything you could possibly desire. The hotel shares grounds with one of Marbella’s original luxury resorts – Puente Romano, which means that guests of Nobu can make the most of all the Puente Romano facilities, which include a range of restaurants and cafes, three swimming pools, a world-class tennis club (where you can often bump into Novak Djokovic), the Six Senses Spa, lush walkways surrounded by tropical greenery and an elegant beach bar and restaurant with beach club sun loungers and day beds.
Perfectly blending traditional Andalusian architecture with Nobu’s signature SoCal-meets-Asia interiors, each of the 81 rooms and suites in Nobu Hotel Marbella is beautifully decorated – think clean lines, earth tones, natural fabrics and laid-back, refined luxury. Most of the rooms gaze out over the lively central plaza and its electric restaurants and bars, but you can also stay in a quieter block within the Puente Romano estate while still being just a short walk away from the party. With a tranquil balcony overlooking a superbly maintained garden, our room felt miles away from the brimming-with-life square, allowing you the option to disappear from the rest of the world without sacrificing all of Nobu’s luxuries. Bathrooms are spacious and airy, with sublime rainfall showers, his-and-hers sinks and luxe Natura Bissé toiletries. As we’re getting ready for dinner in our Nobu kimonos, two different members of staff bring us a glass of the ‘cocktail of the night’, as well as a slice of an incredibly gooey and decadent brownie. What could be a better way to start the night?
Nobu Marbella’s centrepiece is the hotel’s La Plaza courtyard and its exhilarating variety of restaurants and bars. And it’s not just the unmissable world-class Nobu Restaurant serving exquisite Japanese cuisine mixed with local influences (we’re still obsessing over their padrón peppers with miso dressing and sesame seeds as well as the must-try black cod miso) that makes the plaza a foodie’s dream. In addition, you can also dine in Michelin-starred Chef Dani Garcia’s restaurant, indulge in hearty Italian dishes, freshly made Thai specialties or mouth-watering tapas in a cosy brasserie - all whilst gentle Spanish guitar flows from Nobu Lounge at the centre of the courtyard. Finish the night off with a sake cocktail or head straight into the exclusive La Suite nightclub for a night of dancing.
During the day, laze around Nobu Hotel Marbella’s peaceful pool, sip on fresh coconut water or a delicious cocktail (holidays are for day drinking, aren’t they?) and order a poke bowl from the pool menu, which charming waiters will bring to your sunbed.
Offering a complete experience, Nobu Hotel Marbella’s all about the finer things in life and is the perfect place for all those who could use a break from buzzing iPhones, dull boardrooms and cranky clients. Work hard, play harder.
Nobu Hotel Marbella is part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Hotel rooms start from £521 per night including breakfast.
To book your stay, please visit: www.slh.com/nobumarbella
Written by Katina Hristova
Looking to visit Britain’s capital? Georgian streets, countless cafés and restaurants, convenient location and classy vibes - whether travelling for work or pleasure, London’s fashionable and affluent area of Marylebone is the perfect place for city-breaking. Here is Finance Monthly’s suggestion for the best Marylebone hotel for your trip.
Housed in a converted Edwardian townhouse building, No Ten Manchester Street is an opulent boutique hotel set in the heart of Marylebone and within a walking distance of the shops of Oxford street. Combining truly English charm with a contemporary European vibe, the hotel boasts stylish rooms, a cigar bar and all the comforts you could possibly need to unwind after a long day of work meetings (or shopping).
The décor of the well-appointed 44 bedrooms and suites is elegant, classic and plush, equipped with bespoke Christopher Guy furniture, Richmond Hypnos beds, complimentary Handy phones, Wi-Fi access, 32-inch flatscreen TVs and en-suite bathrooms. Despite its central location, No Ten Mancheter street’s rooms somehow feel miles away from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets – a good night’s sleep guaranteed!
No Ten Manchester Street prides itself to be an official Gold Havana Cigar Specialist, with its Cigars at No 10 bar attracting hotel guests from across the globe. The hotel’s cigar team meticulously maintain the cigar collection, house it in a bespoke D’art humidor, making sure that your chosen cigar will arrive in complete optimum condition – however, the extensive cigar selection will make it difficult to choose only one. The bar is one of London’s finest cigar venues and is a chic place to hang after dinner, whilst sipping on a whisky and indulging in Havanas.
Deluxe rooms at No Ten Manchester Street cost from £148.
www.tenmanchesterstreethotel.com
For years, French wine was considered to be the best wine in the world, while its Californian equivalents were neglected outside of the US; until a high-profile blind tasting transformed the industry.
The year was 1976 and the city was Paris. Wine experts gathered for a blind tasting, now known as the Judgement of Paris, where, for the first time, Californian wines outranked French wines.
Industrialist Sir Peter Michael was a knowledgeable wine enthusiast, who was particularly fond of Californian wine. The Judgement of Paris, which he attended, inspired him to establish a vineyard on a rocky volcanic ridge in the Sonoma Valley, California in 1982. His vineyard in turn was later on the inspiration for the Vineyard Hotel in Berkshire, England. This “Californian wine temple”, holds over 30,000 bottles from around the world and more than 800 Californian wines, as well as a special collection from Sir Peter’s own vineyard.
Among the hotel’s 49 lavishly decorated suites and rooms, all named after wines, the feel is all about refined modern luxury. Stylish fabrics, contemporary designs, views of the garden, and huge marble bathrooms – the rooms are sleek, well-designed and very elegant. The spa in the Relais & Chateaux hotel is also oenophile-oriented, boasting grape-themed treatments combined with a heated pool and a Jacuzzi in a smoothly sumptuous room flooded with natural light.
However, as lovely as the décor and facilities are, the true charm of The Vineyard Hotel lies in the wining and dining experience that its 3 AA Rosette restaurant offers. My partner and I were very excited about trying all the different wines, but the food made it very difficult to focus solely on admiring them. Put simply, every dish was out of this world!
We began our gastronomic experience with a glass of sparkling wine in the garden, making the most of the fact that the British weather was kind to us, and were then taken to our private corner of a softly lit dining room.
We opted for the five-course Discovery tasting menu, and since I’m pescatarian, the restaurant manager thoughtfully proposed a few vegetarian alternatives to replace the meat courses in the menu. And they did not disappoint - I never thought that I’d enjoy a broccoli-based dish as much as I did in The Vineyard Hotel’s restaurant.
But for us, the most impressive dish of the night was the lobster ravioli starter which came in impossibly flavoursome, yet very delicate lobster bisque. Another highlight of the night was the cooked-to-perfection halibut and mussels dish, which was a vibrant celebration of sea food.
Although the food nearly stole the show, our dining experience in The Vineyard was naturally enhanced by the plethora of matching wines that came with each course. Every glass brought by the sommelier was accompanied by a tiny paper ring revealing the provenance of the wine, and complemented each course perfectly. A personal favourite was the Californian Mandolin Riesling that features fresh peach and apricot notes, framed by firm acidity.
The following morning, we were taken on a tour around the hotel’s wine cellars and vaults where we got to learn more about the different wines, the Judgement of Paris, as well as Sir Peter Michael’s vineyard and love for Californian wine.
I’ve always dreamt of visiting the Wine Country in California where I can spend a few days filled with wine tours and tastings, and learning about the science and magic of wine-making. After a visit at the Vineyard Hotel in Berkshire, I feel like I’m one step closer to this dream.
Website: http://www.the-vineyard.co.uk/
