Skip to main content

Some Central London hotel suggestions

A friend asked me about hotels in London and specifically St Martin's and The Great Eastern.



St Martin Lane. It's on the edge of Covent Garden - a Philippe Starck hotel done in the late 90s with innovative colour wash lights by Isometrix. It's OK and the location is convenient for the theatres, restaurants and main tourist sites. I am not sure whether one would have a memorable stay though - it exudes a strangely underwhelming feeling.




Great Eastern Hotel. It's a Conran designed hotel I think. It's next to Liverpool Street - full of, hmm, business people. Not too relaxing I would not have thought. Plus the trains will be coming and going all day long!



Naturally, I proceeded to suggest other possibilities. The Covent Garden Hotel - stylishly central, discrete and full of 'A' list film directors (you see, they have a built in cinema). It's sister hotel Charlotte Street Hotel is also very stylish - London enough but not in-your-face touristy. Or the latest Soho Hotel - bang in the middle of Soho yet tucked away. They all belong to the Firmdale Hotels group.



The Trafalgar. Ok it's a Hilton Hotel but it's the group's first designer hotel in London at a great location (bang on Trafalgar Square) and convenient for a morning stroll in St James' Park to watch the geese and ducks swanning about. The Rockwell bar on the ground floor can be a buzzy place in the evenings - good cocktails.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall

It was billed as a "Warm Up Event". But I think it was to do with contracts signed prior to the discovery of asbestos at the Royal Festival Hall which added six months to the renovation programme. Gustavo Dudamel conducted the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Strauss Four Last Songs and Mahler 5th. The band made a good sound tough the upper strings were a bit subdue (or was it the Hall?) The Four Last Songs were a bit fast to my liking - and it was only Beim Schlafengehen where I felt the tempo was right. Measha Brueggergosman sang relatively well, though her BIG HAIR was in the way of the sound projection. Mahler 5th was thunderous and supple at the same time - the latter much helped by the strong viola and lower string section. It was exciting and forward but could do with a bit more rubati. Otherwise it was an enjoyable evening out at this much loved venue.
Post a Comment
Read more

La Voix Humaine, Glyndebourne

Stéphanie d’Oustrac starred in this one act / single cast Poulenc opera. The minimalist stage (Caroline Ginet) consisted of a tilting platform with an old fashioned dial telephone. But that's all it took for the drama to unfold. d’Oustrac was able to draw us into her conversation, expressing the challenging feelings of frustration, anxiety, disappointment and dare we say hope? A superb performance it was.
Post a Comment
Read more

Bruckner 8, Andris Nelsons and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Bruckner 8 Symphony was a gigantic piece of symphonic writing. What better to hear a mature and thoughtful Andris Nelsons conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra? The slow measured start gave rise to the hallmark relentlessness of the later Bruckner symphonies. Nelsons brought out the rising and falling phrases, and ensured the episodic chunks together form a coherent whole. The scherzo second movement was precise and at pace. Feierlich langsam (3rd movement) was subtle, mournful with a glimmer of light. The masculine sound for the brass section delivered a memorable finale
Post a Comment
Read more