| Arriving at The Emory in Long-wheelbased BMW Style At noon on the Saturday one of The Emory's BMW i7, long-wheelbase electric limo fleet was waiting outside Four Seasons at Tower Bridge to 'whisk' me to the hotel. OK, Saturday protesters in London meant we were delayed near Raffles, London at The OWO. However, my driver Sudhir had worked for The Hinduja brothers and so I had fun swapping stories from my Bank of England days about that newsworthy family. A Second Stay at The Emory - Even Better Than The First Rosa (Assistant Director of Guest Services) was waiting to welcome me. I was in a Corner Suite (with a window that fully opens) before I knew it again & barely had time to acknowledge all the "welcome back Mr Frew"s from the door staff. The Surrenne Spa Rosa pointed out a Surrenne Spa towel embroidered with my initials. It was only after a swim that I spotted my personalised robe too. I avoided the children-friendly times in the pool (8 - 10am & 3 - 5pm) and had such a relaxing time using the snow shower etc The Emory Rooftop Bar; An Ice-cold 'SF Martini' & a Cedric Grolet Birthday Cake When I returned from dinner at The Peninsula I got back at 11pm. A table had been reserved for me in The Rooftop Bar. My ice-cold 'SF Martini' was perfect but the change of clocks the next day, & all the surprises at dinner, meant I was happily exhausted. A Red Rose Cedric Grolet cake was produced with a candle but I could not eat it. Charming Veronika brought it to my suite & we had such a great conversation. A perfect end to my 'Birthday Eve'. The Big Day Started with Breakfast in Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's 'abc kitchens' I slept brilliantly and my 'birthday breakfast' in Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's 'abc kitchens' was heavenly. Soft scrambled eggs with aged cheddar & broccoli was insanely good again and the waiting staff so fun to chat with. I almost cried when I was presented with a stunning Cedric Grolet Easter Egg at the end of breakfast. Reading The Genuine Weekend Financial Times It was then back to the Surrenne Spa pool to read the GENUINE Weekend Financial Times. The wording of the birthday mockup Peninsula, London created still makes me emotional. Leaving The Emory in BMW 7i Style Sudhir drove me to 45 Park Lane in the BWM 7i. I love it when the same driver is used for your whole hotel stay. My luggage was taken to Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park for later. Another Legendary Birthday Lunch at 45 Park Lane At 45 Park Lane Ruinart champagne was poured immediately and there was a 45 Park Lane leather luggage tag on my table that wildly exceeded my expectations. Not only were my initials embossed on it but there was an air tag to help me find my lost luggage. Japanese Wagyu From Heaven Chef Elliott's food is sublime. I got the 'Taste of Cut' and had to leave the Japanese wagyu to last and savor every bite. Tia's Extraordinarily Splendid Birthday Cake My Duckmaster cane from The Peabody Hotel Memphis in chocolate on top and photos of me with Chef Wolfgang Puck, Chef Byron Puck, GM Lee, Chef Elliott etc around the base. It was an unbelievable birthday cake. Tia also presented me with a Chocolate Easter Bunny with my initials on it, before the hotel guests receive them. A London Birthday Would Not Be Complete Without a Visit to Four Seasons at Park Lane Four Seasons at Park Lane has a very special place in Mr Sharp & my hearts. I will be there again tomorrow morning. Incredible Friends From My Qatar Days I met two of my best friends from Qatar days. One had flown in from Dubai the previous day and had funny & generous gifts for me. The other worked for Tony Blair in Downing Street and always has lots to tell me. 'SF Martinis' & a New Four Seasons at Park Lane Bag While all this was going on Four Seasons' chef 'fixed' my 45 Park Lane cake, so it looked just as good, after its journey down the road with the 45 Park Lane doormen, and I could try it with my friends. It tasted even better than it looked, if that was possible. I drank perfect 'SF Martinis' & Peter presented me with a new Four Seasons at Park Lane bag, with the Four Seasons logo inside. Will take it to Pavyllon tomorrow and get better photos of it. A Better Than Perfect End to My Birthday at The Aubrey at Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park - #imafan I was overwhelmed, one more time, at The Aubrey at Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park. Thanks to Assistant Guest Relations Manager Joseph keeping me company. It was so good exchanging hotel anecdotes with this enthusiastic guy. A The Aubrey Bottle For My Special Vermouth For The 'SF Martini' That Matches The Perfection of This Martini A 90 minute massage voucher and The Aubrey label bottle for the special vermouth for the 'SF Martini'. It is beyond perfect. Japanese Food On Another Level There were so many mouth-wateringly delicious bites. The yellowtail sashimi with spicy ponzu, lemony shiso & chilli was sensational and the uni from heaven. Services from Matteo & his team was perfectly judged for someone struggling to process such an astonishing day. Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park's Celebrated Doormen As the evening started to end I because stressed over how my luggage & gifts would get into my black cab. Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park's doormen made it all look so effortless & I felt embarrassed to have worried. It was a '10 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) birthday. Building on the Peninsula's birthday mockup of the Weekend Financial Times on my 'Birthday Eve', everything on my birthday was beyond perfect. I have never been compelled to post 10 cover photos before. From the flawless & friendly service at The Emory; to Tia's 45 Park Lane Birthday Cake; to my 45 Park Lane luggage tag; to seeing these important friends in my life on my birthday; to my new Four Seasons at Park Lane bag; to the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park massage voucher; the bottle for the special vermouth for the 'SF Martini' The Aubrey created, with the ingredients on the back; & the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park video wishing me happy birthday. Implausible perfection and so much thought & effort put into everything. |  You are never too old for balloons but, unless access to the Straits of Hormuz is fully sorted out, helium may be in short supply in future. On the table Billlecart-Salmon champagne was chilling; there was an Earl Grey & Chocolate Birthday Cake; & a leather Maybourne luggage tag.  My Frette pillow case was embroidered with my initials too & just look at that view of Hyde Park.  The Red Rose Cedric Grolet Cake I was given in The Emory Rooftop Bar & the Cedric Grolet Easter Egg I was presented at breakfast. The latter is large, stunning & heavy. It contains crispy praline, crunchy pieces of fermented, dried & roasted cacao beans, intense salt Fleur de Sel, flourless chocolate biscuit, chocolate cream filling, cocoa gel & chocolate mousse. I hope to break it open with Graham & Clare's boys and share it with that awesome family.  57 & still laughing! The 'abc kitchens' team were brilliant.  Tia holds the cake & cannot thank Tim, at Dorchester Collection, enough for my spectacular 45 Park Lane luggage tag.  A photo of the 45 Park Lane birthday cake in all its glory. Next to it is a perfect ice-cold 'SF Martini'.  Balloons at every location this year. You can just see my new Four Seasons at Park Lane bag, in the shot with the cake.  The bag contains most of my bone marrow rice. I could not eat it but it was so delicious the next evening. Just look at that uni (sea urchin) piled up.  The bottle for the special vermouth for the 'SF Martini' The Aubrey created, with the ingredients on the back, at Soho House, 76 Dean Street. This was genius, so many bartenders ask me this question.  This end to the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park happy birthday video left me speechless. |
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 Real champagne & this food on a less than one hour flight. Cannot recommend 'flydubai' enough. My Burj Khalifa host in Dubai warned me not to expect much from flydubai Business Class on this short flight. I was thrilled to find that, for once, he was wrong.
The journey to Dubai World Central ('DWC')/ Al Maktoum International Airport is longer but was a dream in my Tesla Model X with Falcon Wing doors. Check-in was COVID-19 stressful but, armed with perfect advice from Natallia at Four Seasons, Doha, it ended up being fine. The 'flydubai' Business Class lounge at DWC was spacious with hot food, 'free' alcoholic drinks and spotlessly clean. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines at Schipol to note. On the short flight the crew could not have been more helpful. Even helping me plug my iPhone 12 Pro into the power, without me having to ask. With real champagne and delicious snacks, the flight was too short. At Hamad International Airport Immigration in Doha I had problems with the Iris Recognition again. After similar problems arriving in Dubai, I started wonder if the comments that my eyes being blue/ too small was an issue could be right. The Four Seasons, Doha BMW was waiting for me at the other end and it all worked like clockwork. Hope the photos below help to justify why this was a true '6 teddy' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) experience that I would strongly recommend. Tip:- get good COVID-19 advice before travelling and then stick to this, if challenged.
 My seat on the Boeing 777-200 to Dubai. It looked new & went fully flat. Perfect for the just under 7 hour flight to Dubai I was so excited about my first flights with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Leaving from London City Airport is so convenient for my Barbican place; I had heard great things about their Business Class lounge in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol; the exemplary service and quirky details such a clog salt & pepper shakers & the BOLS Blue Delf Amsterdam houses given away.
The reality was far more mixed. A delay on the London City Airport to Schiphol route was blamed on staff shortages at Amsterdam airport and I assume that is why the KLM Crown Lounge at Schiphol was in such a mess. The upstairs terrace where you can sit outside was awesome but the bar was closed at 1:30pm & I was surrounded by dirty cocktail glasses. Hardly the additional thorough cleaning promised relating to Covid-19. Food on both flights was mouthwateringly good but service on the second plane erratic to the point of being poor. Being asked if you minded switching to the vegetarian option, after just experiencing the dirtiest Business Class lounge of my life, left me speechless and, when I refused, led to a strained relationship with the crew for most of the rest of the flight. Luckily watching 'Belfast' and the 'Trust' TV Series, with Donald Sutherland playing Getty, took my mind off all this. Some time ago I agreed with Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong that criticising is far too easy and to be avoided. If I do not like something, just do not feature it in my blog. However, the BOLS Blue Delf Amsterdam house will take a proud place on my Barbican coffee table and so I hope the photos below help to explain why. April 2022 & The Promise of New Possibilities to Build a Brighter Future - London/ Shrewsbury28/4/2022  Veuve Clicquot managed to trademark the 'yellow' colour Pantone 137c used since 1877 & I am proud to have a mug commemorating this and their 250th Anniversary. I have completed my contract with Citi and am now on a break. I intend to use the next few months to help mum more and visit friends in Dubai, Doha & Panama.
So excited that I will get to stay on the 70th Floor of the Burj Khalifa.; in a suite at the refurbished Four Seasons, Doha & at the new Mandarin Oriental, Doha. Just as in Madrid, I will be able to compare the Four Seasons & Mandarin offerings. April 2022 has been quite a month. I have eaten the best Easter Egg of my life at The Ivy, West Street. It was filled with creamy passion fruit & served on a Kataif nest. My Veuve Clicquot breakfast at 'The Sunny Side Up Cafe' pop-up was memorable too. Chef Andi (Andrea) Oliver's Waffles with spiced maple syrup were delicious and hearing Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin's reinterpretation of The Beatles song 'Good Day Sunshine', celebrating #SolaireCulture, was inspiring. Hope you enjoy the photos below & I am looking forward to some more '7 teddy' experiences over the new few months. Stay at the 'new' DIFC Four Seasons in Dubai in a corner Studio Suite - Dubai, UAE - May 201622/5/2016  www.sifrew.com underwater in the 'Glassware' pool at the DIFC Four Seasons. Having adored my stays in the Four Seasons Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, one before it was open to the public, after my coffee at Mr Sharp's Toronto home, I decided I must stay at Four Seasons' second Dubai hotel.
Friends in Qatar had said this boutique-style 106 room/suite hotel was "too small". However, I agree with their GM Carlo that it is a jewel. It reminds me of Four Seasons' Berlin hotel (now a Regent). The DIFC hotel has some of the same smaller Four Seasons magic that this Berlin hotel had.  My Landmark Suite, with butler, Moet champagne & gifts for Issy. After my incredible stay at Raffles Le Royal in Phnon Penh in Cambodia, I decided I must try Raffles, Dubai, during my GCC Tour.
This pyramid-shaped hotel, from a Singapore hotel group, sounds bizarre but I ended up finding first class service and a vast tasteful suite that blew my mind.  Our smiles say it all. I know Simon Casson from when he was General Manager of the Doha Four Seasons & have stayed at his Jumeirah Beach Four Seasons hotel in Dubai twice already. Once before it was open to the public, after my coffee with Mr Sharp at his home in Toronto.
I was thrilled when Mr Casson said he had time for a drink with me and rushed straight from Dubai airport for this. I was so glad I did. He is one of my favourite Four Seasons GMs and is always so much fun to catch up with. |
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
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