TV in bathroom

The five star London Syon Park, a Waldorf Astoria hotel, is nestled among 200 acres of idyllic greenery in the Duke of Northumberland’s Syon House Estate, just a short distance from Richmond and Kew Gardens.

London Syon Park has dual appeal – a country bolthole for Londoners escaping the noise of the city and a more inspiring option to the ‘airport hotels’ for those passing through Heathrow.

Arrival

The exterior of the hotel may not be quite as grand as you might expect, but step inside and you’re immediately transported to a whimsical wonderland of oversized velvet arm armchairs, a cloud-like origami sculpture and a glass butterfly house filled with the world’s most exotic butterflies, in the middle of the lobby.

This is inspired by the butterfly house that was once at Syon Park and the butterfly motif runs throughout the hotel, so look out for clues! There is even an ice cream parlour, Brownies, to make the experience even more fantastical.

London Syon Park has 137 rooms on just two floors with some accessed through an enclosed outdoor walkway featuring twitterings of woodland animal and bird noises.

The Bedroom

The bedrooms can only be described as ‘gothic luxe’ – elegant, dramatic monochrome with sumptuous textures. The dark, mystical design of the bedrooms is a real contrast to the playful lightness of the hotel and its country surroundings.

Our Arboretum Room was spacious and featured a giant LCD HD TV, plenty wardrobe space, a work desk, seating area and glass bottles of complimentary mineral water.

The bed was exceptionally comfy and the sheet were silky-soft and light, so we had an excellent night’s sleep. Sometimes hotels can over-do it with the padding and pillows, leading to much over-heating and an interrupted sleep, but here they have it just right.

Considering that the hotel is so close to Heathrow, with planes flying over at regular intervals, we never heard any air-traffic noise – a testament to the sound-proofed windows.

Most of the bedrooms have balconies, all with different views, and ours had a view over the leafy grounds and the Syon Arboretum. It was delightful to sit and enjoy the sun and views for a while before exploring the rest of the hotel.

The Bathroom

The bathroom is petite but perfectly formed with a deep soak tub complete with TV, a powerful walk-in rain shower and the most plush bathroom products I’ve encountered at a hotel yet – Salvatore Ferragamo Tuscan Soul.

Kallima Spa

Kallima Spa, named after a rare butterfly, is the jewel of London Syon Park and it was hard for me to tear myself away. The pool is a tranquil paradise with irridescent mini mosaics, water overflow and the perfect temperature. We loved the jacuzzi and also tried out the ultra-hot Steam Room and Sauna, complete with TV!

It’s easy to spend a whole afternoon by the pool, sauntering from one well-being facility to the next and relaxing with a chilled glass of water on the pool loungers, before perhaps indulging in an Anne Sémonin spa treatment, which I did the next day.

If you’re a more outdoors type, you can take a long ramble through the acres of greenery that makes up Syon Park, take a bike ride along the Thames or investigate the ‘secret garden’, which can be unlocked with your room key. Or, if you can’t quite leave the city behind, shopping at Westfield is just a short bus or cab ride away.

Dinner at The Capability

In the evening, we dined London Syon Park’s restaurant, The Capability, headed up by executive chef Lee Streeton, formerly of HIX and Brown’s hotel. The Capability is named after Capability Brown, the prolific 18th century landscape architect, who designed the extensive grounds at Syon Park, and is affectionately known as ‘England’s greatest gardener’.

The evening finished with a decadent cocktail in a super-tall crystal glass at the stylish lounge-bar, Peacock Alley.

Breakfast

In the morning, we went down for breakfast at The Capability and ordered Eggs Benedict for the hot menu and had a few bits and pieces from the continental buffet. Our waiter proceeded to tell us the history of Eggs Benedict and its connection to the original Waldorf Astoria, then suggested we have the Eggs Royale instead! It was friendly, but a bit too much for the morning, especially before I’d had my morning coffee.

The Eggs Benedict was excellent and I loved the choice of muffins and pastries in either full or mini size from the continental buffet.

London Syon Park is the perfect place for a relaxing retreat, although surprisingly there are so many things to see and do that you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Kallima Spa is an absolutely heavenly experience and dinner at The Capability is a must for foodies who delight in seasonal dishes made with the freshest ingredients from the hotel’s allotments and herb gardens.

For more info and booking, visit: www.londonsyonpark.com

Chérie City was a guest of London Syon Park.

Marble Arch is a part of Central London where you’d expect a cluster of uninspiring tourist-orientated chain hotels, rather than a chic luxury boutique townhouse hotel.

Opened just last year, The Arch London is part of London’s growing trend of stylish townhouse hotels – in good company with Soho’s Dean Street Townhouse, The Zetter Townhouse in Clerkenwell and the more established Flemings Mayfair.

Townhouse hotels have become a popular accommodation choice in London due to their charm, personal approach to service and their cool juxtaposition of contemporary style with period features.

Tucked away on a quiet residential street, just a few minutes walk from Marble Arch, The Arch London is an elegant 82-bedroom Georgian townhouse hotel. On entering, the stresses of the city float away are you surrounded by eye-catching artworks by emerging British artists.

The Arch London has a buzzing atmosphere that centres around HUNter 486, an open-plan kitchen and dining room with leather banquettes and rustic refectory tables, which takes its name from the 1950s district dialling code for Marylebone.

HUNter 486 also comprises an adjoining cocktail bar with Philippe Starck bar stools and a Salon de Champagne featuring a Champagne Graffiti ceiling by award-winning illustrator Sara Fanelli, emblazoned with quirky anecdotes.

My favourite spot at The Arch London is the Martini Library – a cosy literary den where you can curl up with a Taschen coffee table book in front of the fireplace and get lost for a few hours – and perhaps order one of their signature Earl Grey MarTEAnis.

The Arch London has nine suites, three of which have outdoor terraces. I stayed with Maman Chérie in a Four Poster Junior Suite on the ground floor, overlooking the front street yet camouflaged by some well-maintained topiary.

It was beautifully designed with a stunning blend of traditional and contemporary, high ceilings and original period features.

The colour scheme of grey-blue, mink and chartreuse with dark wood was kind on the eye and centred around the striking feature wall. A rebellious pink striped velvet armchair, which I adopted for the stay, raffishly broke up the colour unity, in a kind of ‘don’t try this at home’ way.

Every piece of furniture and artwork in our room had been carefully chosen and the attention to detail was unbelievable.

High-speed wifi is complimentary and guests can help themselves to full-size soft drinks from the minibar (free of charge). Add to that full Sky HD, an iPod docking station, CD/DVD player and an in-house film library ‘Best Oscar’ movies from the last 50 years, and you’ll never want to leave your gadget-filled room!

Far from the average tea and coffee making facilities, The Arch London provides a Nespresso machine with a choice of coffee capsules and a selection of Jing teas, all served on monochrome lacquered trays with a Burleigh china tea pot and sleek espresso cups.

The bathroom was breathtakingly huge and a haven of indulgence. Designed in black marble and white tiles, the bathroom boasted a wall-to-wall mirror, double sinks, walk-in shower and the ultimate luxury – a TV over the bath.

We were given plenty of big fluffy towels, bathrobes and a full set of bathroom products by MALIN+GOETZ and extra bottles in the shower. You know a hotel has got it right when the bathroom is just as exciting as the room.

In the afternoon, we had a wander around Selfridges and Bond Street and finished the evening with a long dinner at HUNter 486, but more about that later. I shut myself away in the bathroom for an hour or so watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the bath with a free Diet Coke from the minibar – absolute bliss!

The bed was insanely comfortable and so high that I had to hop right up to get in. Even though our room was overlooking the main street, there was no noise at all, so a good night sleep was had by all.

In the morning, we ordered the Full English tray to be delivered to our room. The mini pastries were excellent, but the coffee arrived lukewarm and the meat section was missed off our trays.

We could have phoned down and I imagine the staff would come running with the missing items, but in fact we were quite pleased to have a slightly more modest breakfast after huge dinner the night before. The quality of the breakfast was excellent and a few tweaks with the serving accuracy would make it spot on.

Every tiny corner of The Arch London has been meticulously considered and you can tell that the owners delight in creating the most memorable stay for guests. Rather than an ostentatious show of luxury, The Arch is all about personal service, generous offerings and cultural touches that make you feel at home, rather than in a stark museum.

Located just ten minutes from Hyde Park, Selfridges and Bond Street, it’s the perfect place for an ever-so-stylish city break, however, you just might not want to leave!

Cherie City was a guest at The Arch London

All photos by Cherie City

London Syon Park Waldorf Astoria