Christmas Afternoon Tea: The Intercontinental Hotel Park Lane

I grew up on the other side of the world, but that doesn’t stop me embracing the traditions of a winter Christmas – especially the sheer cosy joy of a Christmas afternoon tea. This year the Wellington Lounge of the Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane has a fabulous twelve days of Christmas theme that will delight the senses of the most hardened grinch. Disclaimer: We were delighted to be a guest of IHG and afternoontea.co.uk… View Post

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Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Connaught Hotel

Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Connaught Hotel

There is a special magic that falls over London at this time of year, a shimmer that only appears between late autumn twilights and inky early winter evenings. I’ve had a touch of the Grinch about me this year, but spending the afternoon enjoying the festive afternoon tea at the Connaught Hotel cast the Christmas spell over me, with a twinkle of fairy lights dancing between champagne bubbles. Disclaimer: We were invited guests of The… View Post

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Evoluzione Restaurant, Hotel Xenia Autograph Collection

Evoluzione Restaurant, Hotel Xenia Autograph Collection

It was one of those grey, wintery days. The rain was drizzling in that particularly damp London-ish manner, but it didn’t matter. Inside Evoluzione at Hotel Xenia in Kensington, Shikha and I had a tabletop full of Italian sunshine. Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Hotel Xenia (An Autograph Collection Hotel), but my thoughts and terrible puns are all very much my own. Behind the traditional Kensington facade lined with meticulously trimmed, fairy light-filled box hedging,… View Post

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The Best Hotel Breakfasts In The World (So …

The Best Hotel Breakfasts In The World (So Far)

Like the brunch queen I am, I couldn’t help myself and put together a list of the best hotel breakfasts we have enjoyed so far around the world – they say “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” and I can’t help but agree. These are all favourites for a myriad of reasons – and every single hotel that we stayed in and listed, has excellent coffee and was… View Post

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A week of Birthday Shenanigans

A week of Birthday Shenanigans

I have a rather naughty habit of extending my birthday well past 24 hours. Initially it was stretched out to 36 hours – using the excuse of expat time differences.  Then, it became a weekend, which was still fairly reasonable. A few years later when I turned 30 it extended out into six weeks (I blamed the Mandarin Oriental hotel for their refurbishment works schedule) but I’ve since reeled it back into a very reasonable week(ish)… View Post