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Claridge's London Taps Dior To Create Couture Christmas Tree
While hotels unbox the old Christmas tree and decide which color of glass ornament to throw on it this year, the renowned Claridge's Hotel in London is sweeping the foyer before the installation of their own commissioned haute couture tree on December 1.
The fantastical-looking sketch above is the work of John Galliano for Dior, and his involvement with Claridge's is hardly the first time the hotel has dabbled in high fashion; Diane von Furstenberg was rumored to be designing several rooms at the property earlier this year, and it's a favorite of many designers. Commenting on the tree he's designing, John Galliano even admits to being a personal fan of Claridge's:
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Where The Real Celebrities Stay in London
The unassuming Gore Hotel in Kensington isn’t the first place you’d associate with celebs in London. In fact, reading the tabloids, we sometimes forget that it’s legal to stay anywhere than the May Fair or the Dorchester if you’re pappable.
Last night, though, the Gore taught us the error of our ways with its celeb haul. After the Children in Need charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall (performers included Take That, Robbie Williams, Lily Allen, Leona Lewis and – gasp – Paul McCartney singing Hey Jude), the party moved on to the Gore – conveniently a couple of blocks away. Or, when we say "the party" we mean at least Take That and Katherine Jenkins. Leona and Lily were staying at the hotel, too, but we're not sure whether they joined in the fun. Knowing Leona, she probably went straight to bed.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Twilight Hotels / Robert Pattinson / Kristen Stewart / Taylor Lautner / Hotel Fires / London Hotels / → All Tags
'Twilight' Stars Forced to Face the Sunlight at The Dorchester
What if we told you that you had to guess the one hotel in London where "Twilight" stars (and lovers) Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, along with fellow co-start Taylor Lautner were forced to evacuate because of a fire alarm? C'mon it isn't that hard. It's the hotel where everyone goes to have a meltdown.
Yes! You got it! The Dorchester Hotel in Knightsbridge Mayfair. E! Online reports:
A fire alarm went off Wednesday at The Dorchester hotel in central London, completely evacuating the premises where—surprise!—Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and New Moon director Chris Weitz were giving press interviews.
An eyewitness said the swanky hotel was completely cleared around lunchtime and that "everyone was out on the street" after the alarm sounded.
Everyone?
"There [Rob] was with his entourage, including Kristen," said the source.
We totally believe some "Twihards" forced the situation here but the Dorchester has said that it was a minor incident and everything is under control. Well, at least until the next celebrity disaster comes into town.
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Beat This Attention to Detail: The Silent Drawers of the Langham London
We thought we’d seen most things in the way of top notch/frivolous amenities until we looked round the Langham London post refurb. In particular, the suites.
Obviously they have the frilly stuff, like a selection of books for your perusal and cut glass goblets in each of them. But here's the best bit: the Langham is so dedicated to you having a peaceful stay that they’ve recessed the doors (which cocoons you from outside sounds, apparently) and soundproofed the chests of drawers.
Yes, the drawers. Just in case your lady or gentleman friend is inconsiderate enough to hurl the drawer shut, they’ve installed little springs in the backs of them, so however enthusiastic you are in your, erm, slamming, it’ll make a genteel bounce back and close in (almost) total silence.
Anal? Of course, but it’s the kind of attention to detail that makes our heads spin. If they’ve given that much thought to the drawers, the rest of the room must be in solid working order. Now all we have to do is find the requisite £549 to get us in. And some sunglasses for the less-than-attractive carpet.
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London's Boundary Gets a Nod for 'Most Stylish Hotel' in Europe
Being from London, when we think about sexy hotels, we don’t immediately think London. We think a little lovenest on the Seine, private beaches on the Med, that kind of thing. But now we are thinking again, because Boundary in little East London just got named the most stylish hotel in Europe at the European Hotel Design Awards.
We’ve kept meaning to visit Boundary since it opened in January, but were put off by the fact that it’s a Terence Conran project and we think of him as a bit posh for our tastes (we once went to his Bluebird restaurant in Chelsea to find we’d missed Kate Middleton – AKA Ms Prince William – by a couple of minutes).
But turns out we were wrong.
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The Next Gordon Ramsay? Daniel Boulud Is Coming to London
Hey Daniel Boulud, have you never heard of Gordon Ramsay? Or of over-reaching yourself? Not content with dominating most of North America, he’s going to be crossing over the pond and gracing London with his presence in the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.
Bar Boulud London will basically be a rip-off take on his New York Bar Boulud, and promises to “bring into play French techniques applied to the finest ingredients.” So pâtés, terrines, cheese and charcuterie with lots of wine. Yum.
The decor sounds interesting – there’s a wine theme, so vaulted ceilings and lots of wood and cork – and Boulud promises to combine ”New York’s energy and spirit, French soul and tradition, and a touch of London style.” Just a touch? Whatever.
BBL will open Spring 2010 and will seat 165. See you at the bar.
[Photo: NY Mag]
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Intercontinental's Next London Hotel: Way Better Than We Thought
When it was announced this weekend that Intercontinental were opening up a second hotel in London, we weren’t too excited.
For one, we’re not the biggest fans of the Park Lane branch - totally lacking in fizz, if you ask us. For another, the location they’ve chosen - Queen Anne’s Chambers in Westminster is a place we used to pass most days on our way to work, and it always seemed like more of a commuter ratrun than somewhere you’d actually want to stay. Also, it’s next door to police HQ New Scotland Yard, and that made us feel a bit queasy too.
But to give it a fair hearing, we popped over to see the building site today – and we take it all back. Intercontinental Westminster has the potential to be a fabulous hotel.
For a start, it’s not as small as it looks from the façade in the picture here. Because that’s just the front façade. The hotel’s actually going to take up four buildings, across three streets. Yup, three: Broadway, where the entrance will be, along a block of Tothill Street and down Dean Farrar Street round the back. Think of it as a triangle shape, with all the space in the middle belonging to the hotel as well. It sounds fantastic.
Tags: O2 Hotels / Hotels-Near-O2 / London Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Paul McCartney / → All Tags
Where to Stay When Paul McCartney Plays in London on December 22
Are you one of the lucky people who bagged tickets to Paul McCartney at the O2 on December 22? We want to wrestle them from your hands are really pleased for you. So pleased that we’ll even help you out with where to stay.
But first, a little tutorial on how to get to and from O2.
If you’ve been to the O2, you’ll know it’s in the back end of beyond - otherwise known as North Greenwich. As such, there aren’t really any hotels on site (and if there were, you probably wouldn’t want to stay there – you want happy memories of Macca, after all). Do not fear though, because the place is linked up extremely well with the rest of London.
What’s crucial is that you don’t go by car. Yes, Macca probably will, but he’ll likely have a police escort or something. You, as a mortal, will find it trickier. We tried to drive to the O2 from central London once and it took two hours and a relationship-testing argument. We could have walked in that time.
Public transport links are excellent, though. The easiest, and most fun way, is to get a boat down the Thames with Thames Clippers. They run a special O2 Express service from Waterloo Pier, in front of the London Eye, to the QEII Pier at the O2, which they lay on for special events – like Macca. A return journey is bookable a month before the event, costs £12, and although it’s pricey, it’s very classy – everyone gets a seat, thanks to safety regs, and you can get champagne with your ticket for £7.50 more.
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'Pay Attention If You're Winning': The Silent Slot Machines at The Ritz London
The Ritz Club inside The Ritz London in Piccadilly Circus is a members-only club that features a swank old-school bar, an award-winning restaurant and get this, a casino that's open daily from 2pm to 6am. 6am!
There's an annual membership fee but if you're a guest of the hotel and you're over the age of 18, you can pop into the Ritz Club to hang out, completely gratis.You can even bring along up to six guests, which is an excellent perk for business travelers. (We're not so sure six of your rowdy 18-year-old friends would be very welcome.)
The dress code is simply "smartly dressed", no topcoat and tails needed but gentlemen guests are asked to wear jackets while dining.
Yet there is nothing casual about the Ritz Club. It is a lavish, gilded space that evokes the grand Edwardian casinos of Europe. Think chandeliers, heavy drapes, elaborate rug patterns, uniformed staffers, more chandeliers and more heavy drapes.
Tags: Checking In On / Hotel Renovations / Hotel Reopenings / Fairmont Hotels / London Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
The Savoy Will Finally Reopen In April Or May Next Year
If it seems like years since The Savoy closed its doors for its £100m restoration, that’s because it, um, is. It closed in December 2007, and was supposed to reopen 16 months later, but of course, 16 months in hotel speak is double the length of normal human time.
But, hallelujah, it looks like we’re coming to the end of the process - Fairmont just announced that they expect it to reopen in Spring 2010. And when we quizzed them what counts as spring, they said April or May. Here’s hoping!
We’re not sure what’s taken all the time up, but they’re adding a new two-bedroom Royal Suite, "remodeling" the River Restaurant, "relaunching" the River Suites, and adding a new bar, the Beaufort, and a rooftop swimming pool. Dare we hope it’s an infinity pool overlooking the Thames?
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Lady Gaga Gets Her Game On Underground at Andaz London
Our first thought when we saw these pictures from Lady Gaga’s latest photoshoot: ah, the rapier wit strikes again.
But when we looked beyond the blinding symbolism of a Hello Kitty chastity belt covering her bitsies, we spied something rather familiar. “Why, isn’t that the underground Masonic Temple in the bowels of Andaz London?” we asked ourselves.
So we asked the folk at Andaz. And yes, it is.
Tags: Hotel Cocktails / Hotel Bars / London Hotels / Guoman Hotels / → All Tags
Cocktails Are Cheap If You Make Them Yourself at The Cumberland
We’re liking Guoman Hotels’ "cold weather means booze" approach this winter. Last week they announced the launch of their charity cocktails at their four London hotels; this week, it’s the news that The Cumberland are starting up private mixology classes at their trendy Carbon Bar.
Hoxton Pony founder and BBC mixologist Andy Pearson is the man behind it again – he’s devised the classes and "trained the bar team" (though we hope they wouldn’t need much training, what with being professional cocktail mixers in the first place).
Anyway, sign up and they’ll whip through the history of cocktails over a Bellini, before letting you loose on eight cocktail recipes: four classic, four contemporary, including the gin-filled Park Lane, that’s launching this November in aid of Help for Heroes charity.
It costs £75 per head – which sounds like a pretty good for eight cocktails to us – and you’ll need six of you to book it. Available Tuesday to Saturday, day or night – they take place upstairs in the VIP area. To book, call bar manager Ben Martin on +44 207 479 5050.
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