The Radisson Edwardian Bloomsbury Street Hotel is at the heart of the London Fashion Week buzz, just close enough to stride down to Somerset House and the off-schedule venues in the morning and hobble back at night.

I was invited to stay for a night at The Bloomsbury Street Hotel and road-test its fashion week credentials…

On arrival, we checked in at the stunning, art-covered reception and were met by the wonderful Manager Luke, who escorted us to our room and wouldn’t allow ‘the Princess’ (that’s me) to carry her own bags.

We had a good chat about the hotel and Luke mentioned that he’d personally selected our room – already I could see how warm, friendly and welcoming the Radisson Edwardian team would be.

Our King Deluxe was incredibly spacious, decorated in an opulent colour palette of pale gold, silver and damson with velvet and leather textures.

The bed was absolutely heavenly and there were extra pillow – duck feather or regular – just so we would feel at home.  I loved the purple and silver velvet throw at the end of the bed and the snake-effect padded wall.

After exploring the whole room, we curled up on the velvet sofa and tucked into a complimentary platter of strawberries and chocolates – a perfect start to the stay.

The living area was well-equipped and comfy with a large Philips flatscreen TV, free high-speed wifi, tea and coffee making facilities, a well-stocked minibar and new issues of Wallpaper* and Harper’s Bazaar.

The bathroom is one of the largest I’ve ever experienced and had a separate bath and walk-in shower (with excellent water pressure).

Every ‘bathing station’ has the most lovely wall-mounted Bee Kind toiletries by Gilchrist & Soames and is even a tray of travel-size sachets to take away.

The adorable Bee Kind range is free of all chemical nasties and are made with organic honey, chamomile and red clover extracts.

A percentage even goes towards research into sustainable pollination and the preservation of honeybees at the University of California.

Once we had settled in, another member of staff from reception called to check that we were happy with our room and everything was ok.

There is a good room service menu so you can order comforting meals, club sandwiches and light snacks all through the night – perfect for arriving back starving after a day of shows followed by parties.

There’s nothing more decadent than just making your way downstairs for a wonderful 3-course dinner.  The Bloomsbury Street Bar & Restaurant is dimly-lit and seductive with the kind of atmosphere that feels intimate yet buzzing.

We spent a long, delightful evening sampling the seasonal, locally-sourced delights, but more about that later, as the exceptional dinner deserves a feature of its own!

In the morning, we rolled down to the Bloomsbury Street Bar & Restaurant for a good, hearty breakfast.

You can choose to have a full breakfast delivered to your room in the morning, but I quite like the ritual of getting ready and going down to start the day among the other guests.

The breakfast buffet has everything you could possibly want for breakfast, including different kinds of sausages, bacon and eggs, accompanied by beans, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and seasoned potatoes.

As well as the cooked breakfast, we could choose from mini pastries, cereal, toast, cheeses, yoghurt, fresh juices and fruit.  The lovely breakfast staff brought us a large pot of coffee and milk, which we took back to our room to finish.

When it came to leaving the Bloomsbury Street Hotel, we felt somewhat reluctant, as the stay was so relaxing and memorable.  The friendly, welcoming staff really make the difference and nothing was too much hassle for them.

The Bloomsbury Street Hotel is a perfect choice for London Fashion Week, as it’s located just a taxi ride or brisk walk away from Somerset House and the Holborn off-schedule venues.

Sister hotel, the May Fair, is the official hotel of London Fashion Week and is the hub of all things fashion, while the Bloomsbury Street Hotel feels more like an intimate luxurious retreat.

It’s close to the action during the day and in the evening you can get back quickly to change into a robe and slippers, grab some dinner, file copy and have a peaceful night’s sleep.

The Bloomsbury Street Bar & Restaurant is also the ideal place to take a break from the shows and sit down for a proper lunch or for an end of the day cocktail.

I’m already planning for The Bloomsbury Street Bar to be my unofficial HQ for London Fashion Week, come and join me!

Stay at any central London Radisson Edwardian hotel during London Fashion Week and receive a complimentary £30 House of Fraser voucher, plus the following discounts…

• 10% off luxury accommodation
• 25% off breakfast
• 25% off dining at your hotel’s restaurant
• 20% off spa treatments*
• A House of Fraser gift card worth £30.00 (available for stays between 15th and 27th February 2011 only)
• Complimentary Wi-Fi

For more information on the London Fashion Week package and booking, visit: www.radissonedwardian.com

Photos by Chérie City

* Chérie City was a guest of Bloomsbury Street Hotel.

London’s gone mad as a hatter for Alice with afternoon teas, jewellery, make-up and treats inspired by her adventures. Everyday is like a Mad Hatter’s tea party at Ladurée (although a much more civilised one), so it’s fitting that the divine temple of macaroons would create a limited edition Alice box.

The gorgeous music box is covered with illustrations from Alice in Wonderland and Ladurée’s signature cakes and in packed with 12 green apple macaroons (Ladurée’s new Spring flavour).

The Ladurée tea salon at Printemps in Paris has been turned into an ephemeral Wonderland, with giant tea pots and long communal tables, so you can have your own Parisian Mad Hatter’s Tea Party!  Printemps have also installed their own Alice-inspired creations by designers such as Haider Ackermann, Manish Arora, Chloé, Ann Demeulemeester, Christopher Kane, Nicholas Kirkwood, Maison Martin Margiela, Bernhard Willhelm, and the late Alexander McQueen.

The limited edition Alice macaroon box is available until 18 March at all Ladurée stores.

If you’re after more of an English Eccentric kind of tea, The Sanderson invite you to fall down the rabbit hole for a Mad Hatter’s tea party.  The afternoon tea consists of rainbow-coloured sandwiches, Heston Blumenthal-style molecular cakes and some very traditional scones with clotted cream and jam.

Curious desserts include a Queen of Hearts teacake, which melts in the mouth when you bite through the white chocolate and strawberry shell; a hazelnut and passion fruit tart topped with the White Rabbit’s pocket watch; a chocolate crackle cupcake; pineapple lollipops that turn your mouth from cold to hot and mint chocolate chip ice cream lollipops that explode with a single bite.

The tea is served in the hotel’s Courtyard Garden and is presented on the prettiest vintage tea set by ClaraBows.

The Mad Hatter’s afternoon tea at The Sanderson is available daily from 2.30pm – 5.30pm throughout March 2010.  The standard tea costs £20.00 per person, and is also available with a glass of Veuve Cliquot Champagne for £26.00. To make a reservation, call 0207 300 1444

Selfridges have also given their appropriately named Wonder Room an Alice make-over.  They are displaying costumes from the film, including Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter suit and hat (sadly, that’s as far as most of us will get to him).

Stella McCartney, Tom Binns and Anna Lou of London have teamed up with Disney Couture to produce a range of Alice in Wonderland jewellery, all available at Selfridges.  Expect a multitude of charms such as playing cards, pocket watches, broken hearts, white rabbits and tea pots.

Make-up junkies will find it hard to resist the Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows by Urban Decay, OPI’s collection of Alice glittery nail polishes and Paul & Joe’s adorable Disney range.

Warning: As lovely as these Alice-inspired events and goodies are, don’t get too distracted and forget to go and see the film!

As part of their 25th anniversary celebrations, ELLE is launching a six-month long talent search to find the nation’s most style savvy shopgirls (or boys) – a kind of ‘fashion X Factor’.

Aspiring stylists must create a look from the high street and enter their work on ELLEuk.com.  The winner will get the chance to style a shoot for an issue of ELLE, an internship at the magazine and some career-breaking mentoring from the ELLE fashion team.

The competition closes on 4th May and the ELLE judging panel will then select 25 semi finalists, who will then complete a styling assignment.  The list will be cut to just 10 finalists and the five ELLE mentors (Marissa Bourke, Anne Marie Curtis, Stacey Duguid, Natalie Wansbrough-Jones and Carrie Gorman) with then take two finalists and lead them through the final stages.

The London final takes place in the first week of June, where the finalist’s intuitive sartorial skills will be put to the test with on-the-spot styling tasks, followed by a one-to-one interview with Editor-in-Chief, Lorraine Candy.  During then next few nerve-racking months, Lorraine Candy will select the most promising stylist and the winner will be announced in the October issue of ELLE.

British style owes a great deal to the high street, as the majority of us turn to these stores for seasonal on-trend pieces, affordable designer collaborations and wardrobe staples.

The quality, craftsmanship and originality of designer garments can’t be disputed, but the high street has recently come leaps and bounds in interpreting catwalk trends and investing in new designer talent.  Where else in the world would a high street store be one of the most talked-about shows at fashion week?

It will be interesting to see how the shop assistants make use of their non-designer resources and I reckon there could be some truly unique looks to be inspired by.

You can enter at elleuk.com/shopgirltostylist from Friday 5th March.

10 regular guests at the hotels were asked to sit for a diverse range of up-and-coming artists, who reveal aspects of the subjects’ personalities through their work.  Each portrait tells a story of the guest’s lifestyle and their continuing relationship with their favourite hotel.

The subjects range from a local businessman to a university lecturer, dancer and a football mad mother and daughter.  All portraits had a very different tone, atmosphere and technique and Fiona Hughes, Arts Editor of the London Evening Standard was on hand to interpret the pieces.

We Are Very You is incorporated in Radisson Edwardian’s Spring national advertising campaign as a reflection of the family-owned business’ ‘personal service’ philosophy.  Radisson Edwardian chose to use portraiture as a medium, as it can give a more expressive, personal.

Dancer and self-confessed ‘muso’, 20-year old Zoe Nichols takes up residence at the Radisson Edwardian New Providence Wharf.  She crosses the river for a gig at the O2 and recovers the next day in her suite with poached eggs on a toasted muffin and a cup of peppermint tea.  ’Alright for some’, I bet you’re thinking!

Zoe is seem through the eyes of Polish-born Alice Dyba and her raw, rock ‘n’ roll style is evident in the portrait.  After speaking to Bucks New University student Alice at the opening, I found out that her ambition is ‘ to become a really famous painter’.  She was already living the eccentric, artistic life, rambling around the gallery and sketching on the floor – well, it worked for Tracey Emin and co!

Mother and daughter Beryl and Julia Peel are huge Manchester United fans, so much so that they come all the way from Guernsey to watch their team play at Old Trafford. They usually stay in the same ‘lucky’ room 315 and later relax in the bar with a glass of Hoplands Ranch or Raspberry Lynchberg.

The portraits will be on display in each of the 12 Radisson Edwardian hotels in London and Manchester.

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