The travel posts that follow are from a previous trip to London that I never wrote about. It just so happened to be exactly a year ago, so the pre-Christmas aspects of that trip slot nicely into this current timeframe. As we returned to London on the fast train from Paris, we got out at St. Pancras station, a phenomenal building seen in the photo above. We hopped into a taxicab and headed to the Mayfair Hotel on Stratton Street. Now a member of the Radisson group that manages the property, our rooms, were very thankfully, completely free based on accumulated stays at other Radisson hotels (mostly in Cebu). Five nights at the Mayfair Hotel in a junior suite purely on points was cause for minor celebration in a town where a soda can cost you upwards of $7-10 if you aren’t careful. :)
The hotel was first opened in 1928, in an area where large fairs were held, hence the name “May Fair” and later it was the neighborhood of choice for invading American aristocracy (read new money) as they bought into London property markets. It has been refurbished several times, and I remember staying here once in the 90’s when it was still an Intercontinental, or was it a Regent? The room we were given was massive and felt almost a bit cavernous, really. Comfortably furnished, it was more than we could have hoped for on points. It just had these slightly odd greenish velour accents that were hmmm, odd…
Not sure if these were vestiges of the most recent refurbishment where Fendi and Baccarat are said to have provided stuff (I missed the famed baccarat chandelier in one of the spaces) but overall it was a great base for exploring London after many years of not having visited the capital. Our bathroom was equally enormous.
Just a few minutes walk from Fortnum & Mason, lots of nearby restaurants, good shopping, the tube (subway), it’s a very good choice if you have the points, otherwise it’s on the pricey side, but that’s not a surprise.
Some welcome fruit and chocolate is always a nice touch. But we were ready to forage… First stop, Harrods Food Hall, coming right up. :)
3 Responses
The green accents looks like moss. It didn’t help that the fabric used seems to be velvet or suede.
Looking forward to the next post! Welcome to the US, by the way-present time..
First stop, Harrods Food Hall. This made me smile, MM. We went there, but oh, too close to closing time and we just wandered hurriedly through the floor of sooo beautiful and delicious food. Hoping to go back the next day but never did. Hay!