| Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park generously gave me a 90 minute massage voucher for my birthday. I decided to combine using this with meeting their GM, who took up his position at the start of 2026, and having lunch on their outside terrace overlooking Hyde Park. Coffee in the Stunning Rosebery Lounge I arrived a little early, which gave me a chance to admire The Rosebery Lounge again. I wrote a May 2016 afternoon tea post describe the huge widows, lime green decor and paintings giving flashes of vibrant colours. The furniture has been updated since then and it looks even better. Joseph from Guest Relations had two more bottles of the hotel's room scent for me. Having take a photo with him in the lobby, my hour with GM Philippe went by far too quickly. I was surprised by how much time he had spent in Doha and this, combined with my time in Bermuda, gave us too much to discuss. A Chef Heston Blumenthal OBE Lunch Outside on the Terrace The Hyde Park Garden Terrace is now operated by the team behind the two Michelin-starred Dinner by Heston Blumenthal again. Which gave me a chance to try his Chippy Dip. The young and keen serving team were brilliant and nothing was too much trouble. Strong winds did not ruin anything. I got oysters to start and they were so fresh & delicious. Then I got the Truffled Egg Roll with Perfectly Imperfect Triple Cooked Chips. Despite me not ordering fish, I was allowed to try the Chippy Dip. The quail egg on top of the Truffled Egg Roll was perfectly cooked with a runny yolk and the black truffle & chives blended with the egg mayonnaise to give a different, & mouth-wateringly good, flavour. The triple cooked chips, with the chippy dip, were insanely good. A legendary meal in a very special location. Spa With Amethyst Crystal Steam Room, Sauna, Vitality Pool and Zen Colour Therapy Relaxation Area My 90 minute massaged with Melissa went by in a flash. Her perfect touch meant there was not a moment of discomfort. Being able to swim alone in the stainless steel pool was pure bliss and the best way to end my #imafan day. It was a '9 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) visit. No aspect of the day could have been improved on. OK, meeting Deputy GM Kremi would have made it even better. We just missed each other and at least it leaves something to look forward to. |  GM Philippe & I hit it off immediately. I adore talking to seasoned hotel professionals like him. Note the huge tennis ball made of flowers, part of their Wimbledon themed decorations  Two Michelin-starred food by Dinner by Chef Heston Blumenthal OBE. My Truffled Egg Roll with Perfectly Imperfect Triple Cooked Chips & Chippy Dip.  My welcome from Sally & her Spa Team could not have been any warmer.  I have only ever seen one other stainless steel pool, with its sleek aesthetic, in London, at Virgin Active, Mayfair. |
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 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.
British Airways Club Class, Returns to Being a Cutting Edge Product - New York, USA - August 202217/8/2022  The White Company products; new suites on my 777; beautiful new glassware & friendly helpful crew. BA Club Class is a force to be reckoned with again. My big trip to Panama, Bogota & New York started at Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, drinking champagne from The Aubrey, London at breakfast. However, the taxi ride after, learning the driver had worked at The Bank of England in the 1990s, when I was also working there, made my day.
At Heathrow British Airways Club Class meant I breezed through with no problems. Miss physical newspapers & magazines in the Galleries Club Lounges; the chairs & sofas in the lounges are starting to look a bit tired; and there should be charging points in all areas but it was fine. In fact the cold tuna pasta was excellent. On the Boeing 777 the new Club Class suites look stylish and every detail has been improved (eg large better The White Company pillows) but I missed warm towels & at times the bulky new suites felt a little claustrophobic. However, with exceptional entertainment, and mouthwatering food, Club Class has returned to being a '6 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) product. I am writing this post from my room at the Hilton New York JFK Airport, after a nightmare at JFK Terminal 4 this morning that meant I could not fly to Panama today. I want to thank Shanna here who could tell I had had too stressful a morning and gave me my room straight away. Cannot thank her enough. Now feel ready to meet my friends in Panama City tomorrow.  With so many complex gifts, Maria needed her full concentration during our Christmas Day lunch. November & December 2021 were a whirlwind. The fact I signed the contract for my new banking job at The Rosewood Hotel, London, and started my new role in Canary Wharf in December, means 2022 should start well for me.
November 2021 included a meeting at The Guildhall to represent Barbican residents; a visit to The English National Opera to see HMS Pinafore; a Chinese breakfast at Four Seasons Hotel Ten Trinity Square before The Lord Mayor's Show etc December included seeing The Dior Christmas Tree at Claridge's; being given the 2021 Harrods Christmas teddy bear by the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park; trying the new scones at Four Seasons on Park Lane before their public launch; Christmas shopping for Maria at Hamleys etc Christmas itself was our first without dad at home. However, mum & I were able to visit him on Christmas Eve & again before I returned to work in London. His granddaughter Maria flew in from Moscow again and we had a very special family Christmas with her. Hope the photos below convince you it has been a '7 teddy' few months, despite COVID-19. I am double vaccinated and have had my booster shot & flu jab. Happy New Year to all the readers of this blog. I really value all your support.  Spot the second bottle of Veuve Clicquot for this bath experience. My stay at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid was overshadowed by receiving the news that we had lost Bermuda legend, & close friend, Marcia Woolridge-Allwood. However, think Marcia would have loved to see the photos below and hear about my breathtaking suite with Veuve Clicquot on ice; my Dom Perignon experience with General Manager superstar Greg; a rose head bath prepared by Head Butler Claudia & her consummate professional butler team; Eugenie at the white marble & chanderliered pool; so many varieties of water, after my 'Perrier complaint' at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong; my photo on the water bottles; the bar staff who knew me from Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park; the butler team's help with my packing of fragile items from Four Seasons, Madrid etc
Last week I was honoured to be invited to a key Mandarin Oriental party in London. At that we talked about the issues over merging the iconic Ritz, Madrid with Mandarin Oriental. My stay illustrated this is still a work in progress but will be worth it. Hope the photos below evidence all that has already been achieved.  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. A Far Better COVID-19 Christmas 2020 Than We Expected - Shrewsbury, England - December 202028/12/2020  My beautiful niece meets Eric, the Steiff sloth; a Shropshire family Christmas calls for Tanners Wines' champagne; & my mother's expertly cooked roast goose Christmas lunch. Despite London moving to Tier 4, we managed to have another very special family Shropshire Christmas.
With fine wines chosen by dad; mum's legendary cooking and my niece there, it could not have gone any better. I gave a Chanel gift to mum; Tanners Wines & Fortnums gifts to my brother & father; a Steiff gift to my charming niece and my godson loves his Swiss Army Knife, with his name engraved on the blade. I gave some of my best gifts this year. I received Veuve Clicquot champagne; The Glenlivet whisky; Silent Pool gin; Paul Smith socks; The White Company sleep products; Elton John's new book; a personalised mug from a friend in Qatar that I treasure; an umbrella that is a piece of art from Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park etc. So happy with all my beautiful/ thoughtful gifts too. Hope the photos below illustrate how lucky I feel to have such outstanding friends & a one-off family.  I was elated to find the High Court case I have been working on reported in the Financial Times. September 2020 was a monumental month in my life with my new Banking Consultancy company 'Si Frew Consultancy Services Limited' being incorporated & the Lebanese banking case I have been working on reported in the Financial Times.
At the same time it has been a whirlwind on the travel blog side, with more iconic London hotels reopening, while the Mayfair hotels continue to surprise & impress me. Four Seasons at Park Lane allowed me to try vodka infused with caviar, not yet on their menu; Michael (Managing Director of Rosewood, London) sent us champagne to celebrate the reopening of his elegant hotel; had a drink with Robert (General Manager of The Dorchester) to honour the busy reopening of his historic hotel; I discovered Porsche must be the 'official' car of my Barbican building; I savoured another sensational Tom Booton Sunday lunch at The Grill at The Dorchester; and also got to enjoy a drink with Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park's fabled General Manager Amanda, in their reopened Mandarin Bar. It was also a month where I had the best dover sole of my life at Parsons in Seven Dials; had a memorable Wolfgang Puck brunch at 45 Park Lane, having the pleasure to be joined by their General Manager John & viewed 'FAME at 45 Park Lane' with photos of Coco Chanel, Brigitte Bardot, Faye Dunaway etc I will never forget; 45 Park Lane staff sent me more of their Noble Isle shower products that I adore; & I continued to be impressed by breakfast & service at Millie's Lounge at The Ned. I also visited the enchanting garden at The Goring for martinis with a friend from my Prestfelde prep school days. There I met their charming new General Manager Michael and had forgotten how beautiful their new bar is. I was also blown away by the steaks at Hawksmoor, Seven Dials in September. I ended the month eating Eggs Escoffier (with lobster meat, caviar & gold) & drinking champagne at breakfast at Gordon Ramsay's reopened Savoy Grill at The Savoy, London and being entranced by the 'full French' breakfast & staff at Anthony Demetre's Wild Honey at Sofitel London St James. On top of all this, I managed more trips to Shropshire to support my indomitable parents. In September my personal training also moved to Energie Fitness, so I can remain with legendary Bart but I still try to swim at Virgin Active each day too. I must also mention my new The White Company electric diffuser I was thoughtfully given by one of my best friends that is now an important part of my night time ritual, along with my Frette sheets, Dorchester hotel bed & Aromatherapy Associates shower oils. Finally I should mention that an incident that I experienced at one of my favourite Mayfair hotels last month, & some that have happened to my caring mother (even at church), have me thinking about Four Seasons' Mr Sharp's mission statement based on The Golden Rule "To treat others as we'd wish to be treated ourselves." again. I fully appreciate that issues related to COVID-19 have left us all very frazzled but I think it is even more important to take the time to talk to people and be compassionate, understanding & flexible. Hope the photos below help to make people feel better at what continues to be such a difficult time for so many people. |
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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