This 74 room/suite boutique hotel was the first luxury hotel in The Square Mile, London's traditional financial district. It is in the building that was the former Head Office of the London City and Midland Bank (now part of HSBC).
You enter the hotel though a rather unassuming door and are immediately stuck by the grand proportions of the hotel's imposing Dome Lounge. The Welcome You sit at a desk to be checked in and the German member of staff who did this for me was charming and chatty. My Studio Room was not ready but the Louis Roederer champagne I had brought with me was put on ice, my iPhone 6 charged and the Dome Lounge was a comfortable place to wait for my lunch companion. The look of the hotel reminds me of Rocco Forte Hotels such as Hotel De Russie in Rome, Hotel De Rome in Berlin and Browns Hotel in London. Understated modern elegant luxury. My Studio Room After lunch in Marco Pierre White Wheeler's of St James Oyster Bar & Grill Room, my room was ready. It was a large room dominated by a picture of The Royal Exchange and with a view into the dealing room of the bank a few feet away. The limestone bathroom had a separate shower and Asprey bath products. I last used these Purple Water products when staying at Claridge's and bought my godson's extraordinary silver christening gift from that exquisite Bond Street store. We found a bottle of Malbec from Argentina in the room and a welcome note from Patrick (the General Manager of the hotel) who was away during my stay. Next I relaxed with my friend drinking the champagne I had brought with me. Cocktails with a Friend from Bermuda in The Oyster Bar At 4:30pm a special friend of mine, from my days working in Bermuda for the Bermuda Monetary Authority, arrived. We went for cocktails in The Oyster Bar, which has the old banking counter as its bar. It was incredible catching up with this brilliant Bermudian lady and my very dry Grey Goose martinis were perfect. Day Two I started the day with a shower, finding the separate shower was rather cramped for me but I loved the smell of the Purple Water products. Marco Pierre White Breakfast Next I went back to Marco Pierre White Wheeler's of St James Oyster Bar & Grill Room for breakfast. My English breakfast reading the Weekend FT was just what I needed after a dinner full of laughs at The Ivy Kensington Brasserie the night before with some great friends. During breakfast Peter from the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park confirmed I could swim in their swimming pool that afternoon and the Hotel Threadneedles staff were all bright, cheerful and helpful. Check Out Agnes at check out was as warm and friendly as all the other Hotel Threadneedles staff and I felt genuinely sorry leaving them all. 🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻 (5 out of 5 ‘teddies’) - this understated luxury hotel is in an incredible location and has some of the best staff I have encountered. Definitely the hotel to stay in if you have business in The City of London but also a great place at weekends. My tip:- ask for a room on a high floor. I was on the 1st floor and you could hear noise from people outside a bar on the ground floor. It would be worse if The City was busy. | |