| Celebrating VE Day at Peninsula, London with Beef Wellington with Black Truffles I watched the VE Day flypast from the Concorde themed Brooklands Bar at Peninsula, London, which looks over the gardens of Buckingham Palace. Quite a place to watch it from. Then I went down to The Lobby to eat Beef Wellington, with black truffles, personally cooked by Chef Saravanan Chamy, who previously worked at The Dorchester. It was better than Chef Gordon Ramsay's Beef Wellington at The Savoy. Never thought I would be able to say that. Later in the month Wiltons matched Peninsula, London's Beef Wellington but they have been perfecting their dishes since 1742. Lunch at 45 Park Lane & Dinner at The Aubrey at Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park With a Friend From Rome At lunch at 45 Park Lane with my friend from Rome, Chef Elliott Grover and his team treated us as VIPs. From Ruinart champagne, to too many Wolfgang Puck signature snacks to count and a Passion Fruit Baked Alaska that was dreamily refreshing. My face, in the cover photo, says everything about our dinner in The Aubrey. It was such a beautiful room and the bone marrow rice was even better the second time. Romain, and his Mandarin Oriental team, spoilt us with double portions of Iberico Pork etc. My Rome friend is a joy to spend time with & I was so glad to try to help her with her daughter's 18th birthday celebrations. GM of Mandarin Oriental, Mayfair Leaving During May 2025 Susanne, GM of Mandarin Oriental, Mayfair, emailed me that she is moving within Mandarin Oriental Group. We first met when she was GM of Mandarin Oriental, Manhattan. It was another month where I had a flawless breakfast at their Mayfair hotel and was even given the scent of that hotel, to add to my expanding hotel fragrance collection. The New Patisserie at Pan Pacific, London Pan Pacific, London are always so kind to me. They give me champagne each time I go for breakfast. However, on my May 2025 visit, their new Patisserie had opened. I selected cakes and macarons and, even I, was surprised when they then said "no bill for you Mr Frew". The cakes were light and delicious and the macarons so fresh they reminded me of ones I had at the Four Seasons George V in Paris. Flowers Inside & Outside My Barbican Place. Philip & Bruce Are Floral Geniuses May 2025 was the month my Barbican window boxes were redone in the style of a pre-COVID-19 Four Seasons at Park Lane design, with lavender & rosemary to provide fragrance this summer. The weekend of the work I ordered Dorchester hotel flowers from Philip Hammond again, including purples to celebrate 45 Park Lane and Dorchester hotel roses. I was so thrilled with them and the work Bruce has done on my window boxes. Perfect Four Seasons in London I visited the breakfast buffet at Four Seasons, Tower Bridge twice in the month, it is so good. At Four Seasons at Park Lane Peter made Issy an 'SF Martini', with the special vermouth from The Lana Hotel in Dubai (part of Dorchester Collection). I almost cried over this thoughtful surprise. Foodie Shrewsbury & Mum Looking So Healthy From a seasonal asparagus breakfast at C Sons; to mouthwatering steaks & fun cocktails at The Ol'Chemist; to the melt in the mouth roast beef at The Golden Cross, food in Shrewsbury keeps getting even better. It should also be noted that the Wagyu Oxtail & Bone Marrow Fried Rice we ate in Knightsbridge cost £26, while Bone Marrow Mash at The Ol-Chemist costs £4. It has to be another '8 teddies' score (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) for May 2025. I have not even mentioned my night at The Waldorf Hilton with one of my best friends from Qatar. Another evening with him I will never forget. If you click 'Read More' there are photos from that night. The fact mum is cared for so well is another factor in this high score. |      |
|
36 Comments
Charismatic GM Thomas Carreras & Four Seasons, New York, Downtown - New York, USA - January 20247/2/2024  On this trip I not only met Thomas but had the honour of meeting Russky too. Although I decided to stay in Manhattan on this trip, I had to see GM Thomas Carreras at Four Seasons, New York, Downtown.
I was so glad I made this trip. Chatting to the front desk staff, while waiting, reminded me of the quality of this hotel. Veuve Clicquot Champagne & Wolfgang Puck Food The bar was very busy but a special table had been reserved for us and we drank Veuve Clicquot champagne and snacked on Wolfgang Puck food, while chatting. We both agreed Chef Elliott Grover at 45 Park Lane is a rising star. Simon Casson came up in conversation and the next day his new role as CEO of Corinthia Hotels was announced. Meeting Thomas would always be a '7 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) experience but drinking Veuve Clicquot with him, with Russky with us, was even more special.  My face says it all. Adam from Four Seasons Gresham Palace in Budapest preparing cocktails at Four Seasons at Park Lane & eating Hungarian/ Asian fusion food in the hotel's elegant new private dining area. November 2023 was another unforgettable month in my life. My relationship with Four Seasons at Park Lane resumed and my welcome back was beyond belief. I now have green velvet Four Seasons slippers, to wear with my Mandarin Oriental, Msheireb Downtown Doha yukata (robe).
It was a month of more sensational food. The quality of the ingredients in the Claridge’s breakfast could not be better. As an LVMH Ambassador, It was also a thrill to see their Louis Vuitton trunk Christmas tree. Chef Elliott Grover, at 45 Park Lane, astonished me with Beluga caviar & UK Wagyu beef smoked with wood chips from a Jack Daniel's cask. The same day as that lunch, I had a white truffle dinner at Four Seasons at Park Lane. There were some mouthwatering pasta dishes from Chef Yannick Alleno but I now know I am not keen on white truffles in my ice cream. It was an month when Issy's tropical waistcoat from Mandarin Oriental, Miami was shipped to me & The Dorchester gave him a Dorchester Collection staff pin. I also met Sir Cliff Richard, while easting Wolfgang Puck canapes, at 45 Park Lane's Christmas tree lighting party. On the work front, I attended Grant Thornton's 'Banking & Capital Markets Conference 2023' and it was a pleasure to reconnect with Jordan International Bank Plc's new CEO. We worked together in Qatar. Hope the photos below evidence another ''7 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) month. I move to Shrewsbury for Christmas on Tuesday 12 December 2023. Look forward to explaining these photos to people I meet. Still hopeful that my niece Maria, who lives in Moscow, will be in Shrewsbury for Christmas.  It was another dream come true to meet the legend that is Chef Alain Ducasse and Chef Wolfgang Puck & now knows each other. What a month. From a moving Shropshire funeral, funerals of younger people are always particularly difficult; to one of the most elegant weddings I have ever attended, you could feel the love at both events; to Chefs Alain Ducasse & Wolfgang Puck preparing a 'Four Hands Dinner' for me at 45 Park Lane.
45 Park Lane also produced a cocktail for me from The Beverly Hills Hotel, that was not on their Sunday lunch menu. As that meal, the black truffles on Chef Elliot Grover's sublime roast beef tasted better than ever. I also got to eat in Chef Yannick Alleno's Pavyllon at Four Seasons at Park Lane, before it opened to the public and was back on Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square's roof sipping a cocktail. Must also mention Chef Tom Booton's revolutionary breakfasts at The Grill by Tom Booton at The Dorchester again. Finally I have to talk about mum & the excellent food scene in Shrewsbury. As part of the two weeks I spent in Shropshire during the month, I tried to spoil mum with meals out. My hake at La Piazzetta in The Square was sensational, our steak frites at Cote were delicious and the spicy cooked breakfast at C Sons, Shrewsbury is still morishly good. A family friend also took mum and me around his stunningly beautiful garden. Mum was almost back to her old self, talking about garden design, that afternoon. Hope you enjoy the photos below and they demonstrate what a memorable month June 2023 was in my life.  On Coronation Day The Dorchester specially created a Veuve Clicquot champagne & Grey Goose vodka cocktail for me. Also note the Dorchester Collection Coronation staff pin I was presented with. This week I will meet Chef Alain Ducasse and Chef Wolfgang Puck, Chef Elliott Grover & he will prepare my dinner together at 45 Park Lane.
Dorchester Collection, & Chef Tom Booton, played a significant role in my May 2023. Watching the Coronation flypast from The Dorchester roof, drinking Veuve Clicquot champagne in the rain, and a Coronation Day lunch in The Grill by Tom Booton at The Dorchester, with two appetisers and three desserts! Four Seasons also played an important role with me spending Coronation Day morning at Four Seasons at Park Lane talking to a charming Saudi mother & daughter and Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square updating Issy's Beefeater outfit regarding our new King. It was also a month where I was given Concorde glasses by another Barbican resident and sat next to a Concorde menu from 1977 at the second Veuve Clicquot Sunny Side Up Cafe. This led to a kind email from my friend Edouard de Nazelle in Reims. I managed to visit Shrewsbury twice during the month. Dad losing his fight with Parkinson's, and mum's falls & diagnosis with dementia/ Alzheimer's, mean it was September 2022 when I last travelled abroad. Do not know what I would do without my friends. I look at a note from Tim in Houston each day and it helps gives me strength. Should also mention Jennifer at Naked Jam. Such a kind & talented lady and a good friend to mum & me. The good thing is mum seems far happier and less anxious. This means planning for my trip to Four Seasons Hotel Nashville can start. Hope the photos below convince you it was a very special Coronation Day; Chef Tom Booton's breakfast is the best in London; mum is safe & being very well-looked-after; & the remarkable job Bruce did with my Barbican window boxes.  I sent Easter lamb to Shrewsbury. This holiday was one of mum's favourites but I ended up spending 10 hours in A&E with mum on Good Friday, after she had another fall, getting out from a car this time.
A difficult time for our family has been exacerbated by Shropshire Council's Social Services. I am still unclear if they are incompetent or lack integrity, or a mixture of both. There are now Royal Shrewsbury Hospital discharge documents for mum that misrepresented my views. This erroneous information must have come from ICS Social Services but they are now trying to distance themselves from the mess they have helped to create. I have made numerous formal complaints to Social Services and PALS at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and a Freedom of Information Request to Shropshire Council. Organising mum's care arrangements (including physiotherapists, that RSH should have arranged); visiting Shrewsbury, while constantly correcting Social Services and undertaking my Board role at Jordan International Bank Plc, has taken me near breaking point. Hope the photos below evidence that I am still doing my best to maintaining a life for myself, while ensuring mum is well looked after.  So proud to be a Four Seasons Brand Ambassador. Readership of #luxury #travelblog is up 68% on the day of this post. What a birthday! Meeting Chef Wolfgang Puck again & him introducing me to his son; meeting my neighbour from Tucker's Town, Bermuda; balloons & champagne at Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park; having Claridge's 'new' pool to myself; and a welcome at Four Seasons at Park Lane like no other.
I was given too many fantastic one-off gifts. A Mandarin Oriental leather notebook with my initials embossed on it; a Four Seasons at Park Lane leather wash bag; a cocktail shaker engraved with 45 Park Lane; and a teddy bear chocolate birthday cake & flowers from Four Seasons at Park Lane. It was kind of 45 Park Lane to cover my Spago, Beverly Hills dinner bill & love the Gym Face products that were a gift from Claridge's. Thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special (eg the magnum of Veuve Clicquot champagne) and hope you enjoy the photos below.  I returned to London, after New Year, to find my Dorchester hotel hamper. It was a month dominated by the reopening of the ground floor of this iconic hotel.
The Pierre Yves-Rochon refurbishment of the Dorchester lobby & Promenade has to be seen to be believed. From Lalique glass columns under the Promenade's Artists' Bar; to Liberace's piano being played; to stunning original art from various exhibitions I have attended at 45 Park Lane. I found seeing it all the first time almost overwhelming. It was a month where I met Chef Elliott Grover at 45 Park Lane & Dorchester Collection artist Jill Berelowitz. I also attended a Shrewsbury School (Old Salopian) Epiphany Service at St Mary-le-Bow in the City of London; met with the City of London Police again, as part of my Barbican role; had lunch with colleagues I worked with at the Bank of England in the 1980s; ate Louis Vuitton Yayoi Kusama from Harrods and savoured a delicious bacon chop at the Mount St Restaurant surrounded by Matisse, Lucian Freud, Picasso, Warhol etc, before a tour of their exceptional private dining rooms. Chef Tom Booton at The Dorchester Grill's stuffed chicken; Chef Elliott Grover's Sunday lunch at 45 Park Lane; the Wolfgang Puck crispy fried beef & prawn wontons with honey spiced mayonnaise at 45 Park Lane; & the cream tea from Rick Stein at Home must all be tried. Hope the photos below do justice to an unforgettable start to 2023. I am off to Shrewsbury again tomorrow, to help mum again.
Four Seasons Downtown New York - My Best Stay There  EVER! - New York, USA - September 202222/9/2022
 I was introduced to Wolfgang Puck at 45 Park Lane. I met Anthony Bourdain at the Ritz-Carlton in Cayman Islands; Marco Pierre White at the Threadneedles Hotel in the City of London; Gordon Ramsay at the Four Seasons in Doha; Tim Raue in Berlin; Antonio Guida from Mandarin Oriental, Milan at the Mandarin Oriental in Taipei; Eric Ripert at the Ritz-Carlton in Cayman Islands again; and was introduced to Wolfgang Puck at 45 Park Lane last week. I wonder which chef I will meet next?!
This evening I travel to Shrewsbury, Shropshire again. Family matters call.  I adore my flat in The Barbican filled with so many happy hotel memories. The Dorchester hotel bed there helps. The start of March, my birthday month, was overshadowed by a period of non-COVID-19 illness.
February 2022 was a month where I managed to spoil my exceptional mum for her birthday and visit my dad in Shropshire. In London I ate lunch at The Wolseley again, always better than I remember; had breakfast at 45 Park Lane, reading The Wall Street Journal in paper form for the first time in years & tried Silverleaf, the Pan Pacific, London, which reminded me of the bar at Four Seasons, Seoul, far from a bad thing. I also sent my remarkable godson Miles an Easter chocolate gift to celebrate his recovery from COVID-19. Must mention how thrilled I am that John Scanlon is going to be the new General Manager of The Beverly Hills Hotel. He really deserves this but I will really miss him here in London. Hope the photos below evidence another Si Frew perfect 6 weeks, despite my busy new job and a bout of bad illness.  Another dream came true being in the Buckingham Palace gardens with mum. Dad's rapid decline from Parkinson's disease is something my whole family is struggling to cope with. It has forced me to give up my new role at the Bank of England after only 4 month, to enable me to deal with this myself and support my family more. The Bank have been so kind and said I should be able to rejoin them for a third time, once my family life stabilises again.
I first started working for the Bank of England when the Rt Hon Robin Leigh-Pemberton was Governor; worked with the present Governor, Andrew Bailey, when we were both in Chief Cashier's Office; and Andy Haldane, former Chief Economist, was my manager in Monetary Analysis, during the period of 'the Ken & Eddie Show', before The Bank was given independence over the setting of interest rates. All this history with The Bank, combined with my experience working in Bermuda, Qatar, Cyprus & Cayman Islands should have made me ideal to help The Bank with its work and it was painful to have to resign. However, it did free me up to take mum to see the gardens at Buckingham Palace. The Farmers' Club made the sublime rare roast beef sandwiches, and Rosewood, London the Yayoi Kusama cakes, for this picnic. I have also been to a Beverly Hills Hotel pop-up on the roof of The Dorchester, where I was presented with more Philip Hammond flowers. Dorchester Collection know when I need cheering up. In a similar vein, I was given 'free' Ruinart champagne at Four Seasons at Park Lane and friends from my Bermuda days sent me Concorde tags from our New York trip on that supersonic jet. I also got to try the new NoMad hotel in Covent Garden. I need to make it clear that I cannot recommend Oystermen in Covent Garden enough, after an unforgettable dinner there with mum. Last week I was taken to a Test Match at Trent Bridge by friends from my Shrewsbury School days. I am so lucky with the friends I have. I am going through an extreme difficult period in my life at present but hope the photos below illustrated there are still some very happy moments within it and my friends are being too kind.  Celebrating 12 April 2021 on the roof of The Dorchester with their GM Robert. A live band & sunset views of Hyde Park to die for. April 2021 was the month when England began opening up again. I was on the roof of The Dorchester to mark the first day in real style.
After being shown the pink marble bath that was specially installed for Elizabeth Taylor in their Harlequin Roof Suite, John (GM of 45 Park Lane) kept me company, Tom Booton's food was sublime & we were even offered hot water bottles, with knitted covers, on that cold evening. My next outing was 45 Park Lane for a mouthwateringly fresh Wolfgang Puck lunch on their beautiful outside terrace. The welcome back from the staff almost made me emotional & I even got to meet chef Jamie Shears. I managed to squeeze a week in Shrewsbury in before I rejoined the Bank of England in their International Banking area. During that week I had a drink in The Admiral Benbow pub with mum & celebrated my older brother's birthday. Back in London I ate oysters & drank champagne in The Savoy's pop-up Solas, where cars usually drop off guests. It has been transformed into a breathtaking fantasy and, as with all the hotels I visited, service was impeccable. The month ended with a visit to Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park for a Saturday lunch. GM Amanda came in on her day off to welcome me & lunch could not have been better. Heston Blumenthal's poor/ gimmicky Waitrose & Partners food is a millions miles from the delicacies that were served by Dinner by Heston on that terrace overlooking Hyde Park. Hope the photos below do some justice to the monumental efforts all these iconic hotels went to to make me feel very special. From The Dorchester sending me home with Christian Lacroix Greta with a new headdress & Philip Hammond's exquisite flowers; to champagne from Amanda at the Mandarin Oriental & their Heston Blumenthal liquid nitrogen ice cream trolley, it was another month I will never forget.  My Fortnum & Mason and Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman Christmas decorations are up in The Barbican. I adored the Christmas trees at Four Seasons at Park Lane, The Dorchester & Claridges's. I am just a little sad that Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square & Threadneedles Hotel will not reopen this year. Today I learnt my brother had sorted out his flight home. This, combined with the fact my sweet young niece will be in Shropshire for Christmas, means my COVID-19 Shrewsbury Christmas is shaping up well.
Last week John (GM of 45 Park Lane) showed me their stunning new swimming pool. I was one of the first non-staff members to see it, and have agreed not to post my photos, but can assure people it is one of the most beautiful indoor pools have ever seen. This made me think about the fact I was shown the Private Members Club at Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square, before its members, and stayed at Four Seasons Resort: Dubai at Jumeirah Beach & Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay before they were open to the public. My meeting with Four Seasons Founder & Chairman Mr Sharp, as his private home in Toronto, really did change my life. On the #travelblog front, it was also interesting that Grant Campbell has been appointed as the first GM of Nobu Hotel London Portman Square & Anne Golden at the first GM of Pan Pacific London. Despite the damage the COVID-19 restrictions have wreaked on the hospitality industry, it does not seem to have reduced my extensive network of General Manager contacts. England's lockdown2 was made better for me by more Daniel Humm breakfast granola from Claridge's. I am still using the Davies & Brook jar it came in this time and was honoured to be one of the only people to see the Claridge's lobby during lockdown2. I also managed another Shrewsbury trip, ladened down with Fortnum & Mason gifts again. People who see me over Christmas & New Year should feel free to ask me about the November 2020 photos below. Hope everyone has a special Christmas & better 2021!  I think my charming & beautiful niece has my eyes. This photo was taken after we went to see the leaping salmon on the River Severn in Shrewsbury. October 2020 was the month when my friend Will Lyons, The Sunday Times wine critic, featured my photo in The Sunday Times Wine Club blog and my Yayoi Kusama designed La Grande Dame 2012 Veuve Clicquot arrived & it looked even more spectacular than I had hoped for.
However, it was also the month of my niece's 10th birthday & I am even more proud of the job we did making that so special and to ensure her half-term was full of fun, despite her mum having to be in Moscow & her dad in Dublin. A special mention has to go to Kerry Jones at Bloom for Budding Artists in Shrewsbury for her Yayoi Kusama inspired Halloween pumpkin prints workshop. I took it as a fortuitous omen that this was being run! Despite two trips to Shropshire to support family, ladened down with Hamleys and Fortnum & Mason gifts, I did manage to try the London 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' experience in Harrods. The room is exquisitely decorated and the staff better than in New York but the food disappointing, compared with my scrambled eggs with truffles in Manhattan. It did not help that, as the first booking of the day (10am), I had to wait outside in the cold rain for the doors of The Tiffany Blue Box Cafe at Harrods to open at 10am. I also bought Lebanese wine again in October and would encourage people do what they can support that beleaguered country. At the same, I did all I could to promote The Market Hall Shrewsbury, with its high quality fresh local produce. Before 'Lockdown 2' was announced I also managed to squeeze in a delightful afternoon tea at The Wolseley, with one of my most legendary hotel contacts; a sublime Gordon Ramsay Sunday lunch at The Savoy Grill; & collect more superb Dorchester hotel flowers from designer florist Philip Hammond. While collecting the latter, I was able to have long chats with Robert (GM of The Dorchester) and John (GM of 45 Park Lane). All this means I am now 'ready' for the next 4 weeks without visiting a hotel. With England now in COVID-19 'Lockdown 2', & the results of the US Election still uncertain, hope my photos from last month below help to raise everyone's spirits a little. Good luck to us all! |
The AuthorsSi Frew has lived in the UK, Bermuda, Qatar, Cyprus & the Cayman Islands. During this time he met Whoopi Goldberg (in Claridge's), Mike Tyson (in the Concorde Lounge at JFK) , Gordon Ramsay (in the Doha Four Seasons), Chris Eubanks (in The Dorchester), Cherie Blair (in Bermuda & again in the Doha Four Seasons) etc. There are funny stories attached to all these interactions, feel free to ask Si about them when you meet him. Archives
June 2025
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed