Gorgeous, fun, sexy… and a killer location in London’s Glittering West End. What’s not to love?
So, where are we?
Marylebone but so central that you can actually see Bond Street Tube and the HMV store on Oxford Street from the comfort of your bed. And that means Soho is a ten-minute walk down there, the gorgeous shops and restaurants of Marylebone two minutes the other way. Selfridges ten minutes, John Lewis three and Oxford Circus Tube five. When they say ‘in the heart of the West End’, it doesn’t get more cardiac central than this.
And where we’re staying…?
At the new BoTree Hotel, which opened last year and has great things in its future seeing as it has a soon-to-be (in)famous nightclub in the basement, already the big hit of London Fashion Week, signature bar for very important cockails, a restaurant that is already doing brunches with queues around the block and a yet-to-come roof terrace that is going to be everything and a bit more.
What’s the style?
Laid-back modern with a joyous twist. Shaking it up hotel-wise so you don’t have a reception but get offered a sofa and a glass of (real) champagne as you check in and get loaded up on WhatsApp so you can get whatever you want at the drop of a message, even from your bed. Light and bright and friendly rather than intimidating, it’s also super tech-forward: to get a lift, you scan your room card, it knows what floor you’re on and selects a private lift for you that will not stop till you get where you’re going without even having to push a button. You know, that kind of thing.
And the rooms?
Well, we have totally lucked out and bagged ourselves one of the Marylebone Suites. Beech panelled walls on one side, a marble bar with full bottles, sweeping curved mini-terrace with views to Oxford Street and furnishings that are modern, sustainable and poppy: a full wall of swirly pinks and purples in the bedroom, a huge bathroom with modern stand-alone bath, a walk-in dressing room with steamer and make-up mirrors and tons of hanging space. Light, bright and fresher than your average daisy.
Is there a story?
It stands where once stood a notoriously Brutalist car park, which was one of those Marmite situations. We love a bit of Brutalism. We also love sexy hotels.
And to eat?
You are going to be spoiled. LAVO is already going great guns with a three-level space that does breakfast on the upper level, a romantic space with slinky jazz, green wall of plants, velvet booths and a ceiling that is alive with branches with gold leaves that seem to be growing through it. Next level down, spilling out onto the street is the casual café and terrace area with doors that come right open when the weather allows. Then it’s downstairs to the dinner space where things get lively with party music as a side-order to your gorgeous Italian food, that swerves from lovely pizzas and pastas to fancier fare. No wonder its sibling is also superstar restaurant in LA.
So to sum up?
If you’re doing a weekend up West – and there’s nothing so decadent as a weekend in a hotel in your own city – this is your man. The best location imaginable, meaning everything is walkable; gorgeous, chatty, humorous staff that feel more like temporary mates than anyone actually doing a job and a slickness that means all the moving parts operate without your even noticing. And isn’t it nice not to have to share a lift?
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