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One Aldwych Hotel - London
Lee Swettenham28/ 7/2008
WE FINISH our spectacular five-course gourmet meal, contentedly stroll back to our luxurious suite, pour a glass of champagne and relax on a sofa overlooking the hustle and bustle of a Friday night on The Strand.
And we think to ourselves: “I could get used to this”.
Welcome to One Aldwych, slap bang in the middle of London, but a hotel which, amidst everything that the city has to offer, could also claim to be an experience in itself.
Built in 1907 for the Morning Post newspaper and one of the most important Edwardian buildings in London, it was opened up as a hotel in 1998 by Gordon Campbell-Gray. Since then it was won countless awards, consistently towards the top of the list of London’s best hotels.
Campbell-Gray’s design, emphasising sleek, contemporary interiors laced with classicism, is what makes One Aldwych stand out from the rest.
Grand
It hits you as soon as you walk through the doors into the jaw-dropping lobby area. It’s as grand as they come with double-height windows and dark oak panelling, but also refreshingly modern with mesh walls, fibre-optic lighting, limestone flooring and even Chinese-style high-backed chairs in the bar area.
The plush and relaxed Indigo bar and restaurant overlooks the lobby on the mezzanine floor, perfect to admire the view and people-watch to your heart’s content.
The rooms, however, are on a different level again. We were lucky enough to be given one of the sumptuous suites, although the hotel is keen to stress that every one of the 105 rooms is furnished to the same high standard – the only difference is the size of each room.
Our suite drips with luxury with stunning fabrics used throughout, its contemporary style meaning that it feels comfortable rather than clinical.
All furniture has been designed especially for the hotel, and on the walls of each room hang original works of art to complement the colour schemes. Flowers and fruit being brought daily provides a nice homely touch too.
Heaven
And if that wasn’t enough, anywhere that gives you a television in the bathroom will only ever get praise from me.
You could watch a film in your room of course, but naturally One Aldwych goes one better. It has it's own 30-seat cinema which can be booked for private screenings of the latest blockbusters and classic movies.
One Aldwych also houses Axis, a restaurant with definite 1920s themes – as you walk down a spiral staircase to your table you half-expect to see dancing girls doing the Charleston in the corner.
Executive chef Tony Fleming has created a modern British menu using the best seasonal ingredients. We were treated to a special five-course pork-themed dinner which goes down as the finest I’ve ever tasted.
Through braised pig’s trotter and langoustines, brawn with fried quail’s egg, to a to-die-for apple tart, with specially selected wines accompanying each course, it was culinary heaven. Service too is first class – attentive and friendly, something which holds true for staff throughout the hotel.
The fact that we could then retire afterwards to that magnificent room made it all the more special.
Theatreland
After such a feast, the morning after was best served trying to work it all off in the hotel’s well-equipped gym and, in particular, relaxing in and around the wonderful sauna, steam room and 18m pool complete with soothing underwater music.
Of course, in such surroundings you would be forgiven for wanting to stay confined to your hotel for the duration of your stay. But you are in one of the world’s great cities, and if you can drag yourself outside you don’t have far to walk to be right in the action.
Covent Garden is just around the corner, Leicester Square a few minutes further, and the Thames and the London Eye are also virtually on the doorstep.
You are right in the heart of theatreland – Dirty Dancing on one side of the hotel, The Lion King on the other, and dozens more shows within walking distance. We opted to see Avenue Q, the Tony award-winning comedy with its puppet characters and near-the-knuckle songs that is a refreshing and entertaining change to the usual ‘jazz-hands’ type of musical that it’s sometimes hard to escape from in the West End.
After a day seeing the sights, the perfect way to chill out as the evening drew in was – inevitably – back at One Aldwych, reclining in the Lobby Bar, sipping on a cocktail and thinking: “Yes, I really could get used to this”.
FACTBOX:
One Aldwych - tel. 0207 300 1000 -
www.onealdwych.co.uk
For information about visiting London, go to
www.visitlondon.com
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