A city which, as Samuel Johnson put it, offers “all that life can afford” was never going to let a little thing like the most disruptive event in living memory scupper its indefatigable hospitality scene. As we enter a phase closer to normality than anything we’ve seen for two years, these are just three of the hotels which are hungry for the ever-burgeoning London hospitality scene to start bustling again.
Fancy a restrictions-free staycation? We suggest picking between these three rejuvenated gems…
The Dilly: A Hip Microcosm Of London’s Mojo
Resembling, viewed from the air, the squared-off neck and jaws of a crocodile, peering past the Eros statue and down Shaftsbury Avenue – its right flank stretching down Piccadilly, its left up Regent Street – the building that houses the Dilly Hotel is no architectural wallflower. Seen from street level, with all the arch-shaped recesses and imperious colonnades requisite to Neo-Baroque architecture based on 17th century English Palladian, it’s a positive show-boater.
Originally opened as The Piccadilly Hotel in 1908, before being purchased by Le Meridien in 1986, The Dilly reopened its doors to operate as an independent establishment earlier this year, with a single-minded objective: “To be the place to see and be seen in Piccadilly as it once was,” as Alex Pritchard, director of Axiom Hospitality, which is managing the property for owners Archer Hotel Capital, puts it.
It’s an aim which asserts itself the moment the visitor enters a stunningly appointed lobby in which Hague Blue paintwork mingles with maps of London, flecks of coloured light projected via stained glass and an imposing “Dilly” lettering sculpture hanging from the ceiling, all overlooked by a mezzanine area, Balcony at The Dilly, which serves drinks – Chapel Down fizz, London-distilled Bimber whisky, Camden Ale – for suite guests.
To the right, elaborate floral garments flank a small outlet of Pulbrook & Gould: the Buckingham Palace Road-based florist to which services Windsor Castle and The Houses Of Parliament (referring to suppliers and partners for the hotel, Pritchard says: “We want to find those that can give The Dilly a really special, local feel, which we believe is a new concept for London, whether it be with flowers, guest amenities, food or London sourced drinks.”).
On the opposite side, leading to a space once occupied by Marco Pierre White’s Oak Room, is the entrance to one of the many lustrous jewels in the hotel’s crown: Madhu’s at The Dilly, the hotel’s very own fine dining restaurant offering Punjabi cuisine with a dash of Kenyan influence. The experience begins – having waited for your table in the company of a cocktail with an Indian twist (the Tamarind Martini is popular amongst a growing legion of regulars) – with a series of delectable sharing starters, presented on trays hung from a kind of sterling silver, SUV tyre-sized Ferris wheel (the Tandoori salmon is as exquisitely textured and spiced as any you’ll taste). When it comes to mains, the signature dish – Nyamah Choma, prime cuts of lamb rib marinated in chilli and lemon – is another firm favourite amongst those who now know the staff by their first names.
The other major dining area, where an excellent breakfast buffet is served, is two floors up: a vast hothouse and terrace area overlooking Piccadilly, that has barely changed since the building was erected (although reports about the hotel from jazz-era American newspapers, lovingly archived by the hotel for posterity, depict the space as poolside revelry location of choice for fashionable London society).
The pool area now is in the basement, along with spacious gym, steam room, a dance studio (lessons are available), a Spa by Yoma and two squash courts: extraordinary, when you remember precisely where you are.
There’s plenty more to recommend The Dilly: the pleasantly appointed but only subtly opulent 255 rooms and 28 suites; the fuss-free but attentive service and concierge offering (Director of Guest Experience Paul Whittle is fabulously connected when it comes to ticket acquisition, and his past experience as a photographer is handy for the Insta-inclined); the small touches, such as the classic British red phone box fashioned from marzipan, the centrepoint of the sweet treats that greet newly arrived guests.
And, a soon-to-open bar promises to cement this spot’s growing reputation as a major centre of gravity for well-healed revellers who, whether visitors to or denizens of London, want to feel the city’s very essence seeping from ever brick. And without a hint of pastiche, too.
The Dilly Executive Suite starts from £409 (about RM2,240) per night. Visit their website for details.
The Churchill: A Newly Refreshed Paean To Britain’s Wartime Leader
Here’s a rare thing: a five-star London hotel that’s remained open for the last 18 months – albeit, during lockdowns, only for those travelling for government-permitted reasons. Still, the man after whom this grand Marylebone establishment is named would no doubt proffer a two-finger salute in response to The Churchill’s tenacity in the face of the pandemic: “If you’re going through hell, keep going”, is a quote often attributed to the most lauded Prime Minister in British history, after all.
“Named after” Churchill, in fact, is a serious understatement for a Hyatt Group hotel, a short stroll from Hyde Park, Marble Arch and Oxford Street, built in 1970 by developer Sir Eric Miller, whose regard for the eponymous wartime leader seems to have known no bounds. In the 440 rooms (including 50 suites), carpets and headboards pay subtle homage to the pinstriped suits ‘Winnie’ would regular be fitted for in Henry Poole and Huntsman, a mile’s walk to the south-east from here.
Indoor diners at The Churchill Bar & Terrace – conceived by internationally acclaimed design firm Spinocchia Freund – are surveyed by a vast portrait of Churchill, while those who dine outside on the heated alfresco terrace have the company of Lawrence Holofcener’s sculpture of a younger, unusually skinny, brandy-and-cigar-clutching Winston (staff, in deference to a ritual his wife Clementine carried out each day, place a fresh rose in the sculpture’s lapel every morning).
Meanwhile the Hyatt team and designers Bowler James Brindley even consulted Randolph and Catherine Churchill – Churchill’s great grandson and wife – while rethinking the interiors. The family also had an input on what spirits and wines would be stocked in the bar, whilst Churchill Heritage curated all of hotel’s artworks, which include many of the great man’s own original works.
The books on all the shelves in public areas (including the Library suite, which now holds 50 people in a banquet format or 75 as a reception area), curated by Daunt Books around the corner in Marylebone, feature literature by, or reflecting the interests of… You’ve guessed it, the man nicknamed the “British Bulldog”. And they’re not short on detail here: guests taking a book from a shelf are encouraged to emulate a habit of Churchill’s by placing a soft-toy dog in the empty spot on the shelf so they know where to replace it.
Despite the prevalence of the theme, it never feels obtrusive, and The Churchill exceeds even the lofty expectations induced when the visitor walks into an opulent marble foyer, vast enough to afford the grand piano in the corner a pleasing, cocktail evening-friendly reverb. its location, basking in the urban-village glow of Marylebone – a vortex of calm in a whirlpool of urban hyperactivity – is a massive USP, of course, as is the guest access to Portman Square and its private tennis court. Then there’s its impressive repertoire of newly renovated event spaces: the cavernous Chartwell Ballroom, which holds 350 people standing; the gallery (which holds up to 130 people); plus two boardrooms, holding up to eight people at a time.
Food at The Montagu Kitchen, as dictated by Executive Chef Roger Olsson, is said to be based on what grew in the gardens of Chartwell, Churchill’s home in Kent: a concept with some artistic licence healthily applied to it, judging by some of the delectably executed dishes, prepared in an increasingly de rigueur Open Kitchen context, on offer. The salt march lamb with swede, pine nuts and pine nuts anchovy and the sole with tartare sauce, lemon and purple potato are standout specialities.
The décor in the guestrooms is clean, contemporary but with a dash of subtle neoclassical flourish here and there; the top accommodation option, The Churchill Residential Suite, meanwhile, is a 325 sqm four-bedroom suite with a 10-person dining room, living room (featuring more of Churchill’s original artworks and grand piano), study, kitchen and a rooftop terrace.
Here’s an nugget for trivia buffs: the first ever recorded use of ‘OMG’ was in a letter to Winston Churchill, from the British admiral John Arbuthnot Fisher, in 1917. Visitors here may find themselves using the now ubiquitous initialism at every turn.
The Churchill Residential Suite starts from £3,500 (about RM19,200) per night. Visit their website for more details.
Middle Eight: Planting The Seeds Of A Trendy New Era For Covent Garden
Why would you name your hotel after the eight-bar bridge in popular songs which contrasts with, yet complements, the rest of the track? Well, when you plan for your guests to dance to a melody that deviates slightly from its surrounds, it becomes an apposite moniker: particularly when you occupy a site where the Kingsway Hall recording and concert venue once stood.
Shiva Hotels flung open the doors of Middle Eight, Covent Garden – next to the imposing Freemasons’ Hall building on the cut-through up to Holborn – last year after a £40 million overhaul. The refurb was intended to offer a more modern spin on the neighbourhood’s bustling, heritage-replete vibe, and Tonik’s success in achieving this is evident the moment you’re shrouded in the warm ambience of a cavernous lobby, replete with marble fixtures, driftwood art works and verdant foliage.
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Whether you opt for a Classic Chic, Urban Deluxe, Superior Street or Executive Style room (there are 168 in all), expect an organic, soothing colour palette as well as Egyptian-cotton linens, Nespresso coffee machines, nice techie touches (TVs with Chromecast for example) and marble bathrooms with rainfall showers. Two of the 12 suites, meanwhile – and these are a massive triumph for the design studio, Tonik Associates, behind the revamp – have outdoor terraces in the case of the two on the fifth floor and internal garden-like spaces, bathed in natural light thanks to newly added skylights, graced with petrified grass and plant arrangements. The suites also offer separate sitting and dining areas, freestanding soaking tubs, refreshingly well-stocked minibars and elements – single-use plastic water bottles, responsibly made toiletries, recycled plastic bathrobes – that testify to Shiva Hotels’ wish to fly a green flag.
When it comes to drinks, the bustling subterranean is a Speakeasy-style bar, QT, its intended demographic hinted at by the regular presence and high-BPM musical choices of a DJ. There are also regular live music nights (British jazz supremo Ray Gelato, who has performed for The Queen and Paul McCartney, is booked in for March 9th and 23rd), comedy evenings and film screenings. QT offers a superb Italian-themed wine list as well as an enviable selection of bourbons and ryes from around the world, plus a cocktail list curated specifically to do them justice.
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Their pre-prandials downed, those who wish to stay on site will make a beeline for Sycamore Vino Cucina. “Authentic Italian cuisine” is not exactly a unique claim in the British capital, but this 112-cover eatery’s handmade pizzas, small plates from the cicchetti counter, pit-grilled meats, hand-rolled pasta and meat cured using time-honoured methods all testify to not only the aptitude of a Head Chef whose fondness for his country’s cuisine began while foraging for ingredients in the Dolomite mountains as a child.
To call this refurb a disruptive one would be a serious understatement. Involving the re-purposing of various zones, endless knocking down and rebuilding, the conversion of outdoor space into indoor space, addition of mezzanine floors and skylights, it’s a project that has turned Middle Eight into a bricks-and-mortar embodiment of the omelette/breaking eggs adage.
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In deference to one of the most famous middle eights in rock history – one which begins “Life is very short” – readers are implored to pay it a visit.
Middle Eight suites start from £800 (nearly RM4,400) per night. Visit their website for details.
