There are good resorts, there are nice resorts — after which there are resorts that steadily play host to the world’s most well-known and influential individuals. In London, there are a few of those hotels, however I have been instructed (and seen from TV exhibits and flashy paparazzi pics) that the Rosewood London, present in Holborn, is solely probably the greatest.
So, on a current journey to Britain’s capital metropolis, I made a decision to see for myself what makes the majestic property — which celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2023 — adequate for the likes of Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber and the opposite who’s-who that might somewhat not be named.
From my new favorite hotel bar on the earth (extra on that later) to one of the crucial mesmerizing, eclectic lobbies I’ve ever skilled (to not point out the room, the storied constructing and the superior service), I can say no doubt it is probably the greatest resorts this resorts reporter has ever stayed at.
This is all the things it’s essential find out about staying on the Rosewood London (even when you’re simply common people like me).
What’s the Rosewood London
The Rosewood London is a luxurious lodge within the Holborn neighborhood that opened in 2013. The lodge is housed in a very gorgeous — and demanding — Edwardian constructing that dates again to 1914 and has been expanded upon a number of instances within the years since. Earlier than the Rosewood takeover, it additionally had a number of lives as totally different resorts. A lot of the constructing, just like the facade and grand staircase, has been delicately preserved; nonetheless, it has additionally obtained numerous up to date upgrades to convey it into the twenty first century and in keeping with Rosewood’s stunning requirements.
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Outdoors the stainless lodge, it is a fast stroll to among the metropolis’s most popular areas and attractions, comparable to The British Museum and Covent Backyard. It is a simple Tube, bus or automotive experience to the remainder of Central and Better London.
Easy methods to e book the Rosewood London
If you have not guessed, a keep on the Rosewood London does not come straightforward on the pockets. Commonplace charges begin round $750 per evening and might improve considerably throughout peak holidays and main occasions.
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Sadly, Rosewood is just not a part of a serious lodge loyalty program, however that does not imply you may’t nonetheless get some nice perks, relying on the way you e book. People who carry The Platinum Card® from American Express can e book by Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts to snag elite-like advantages comparable to a 12 p.m. check-in (when obtainable), a possible room improve, each day breakfast for 2, a $100 foods and drinks credit score, assured 4 p.m. checkout and extra.
It is like staying in a palace
If you think about a elaborate London lodge, the outside you conjure up might be very very similar to that of the Rosewood. It is grand, stately and has an actual sense of place in a metropolis that stretches again virtually a few thousand years.
To enter the lodge, visitors should first cross down Excessive Holborn (a historic route courting again to the Roman Empire) by a powerful carriageway and into a big courtyard. Whereas I used to be visiting, the courtyard was partially taken over by a pop-up artwork and restaurant expertise celebrating the launch of a brand new Macallan whisky; it remodeled the house into the Scottish wilderness, full with a sun-like orb hanging dramatically over all of it.
That dramatic entrance alone units the bar ridiculously excessive, however when you enter the stylish foyer, the place each path serves up a feast for the eyes, the bar rises even increased. Though I am going to depart you to expertise nearly all of these visionary treats whenever you sometime keep on the Rosewood, it could be against the law to not point out a number of highlights. For starters, there’s the wood-, glass- and mirror-paneled hallway instantly on the entrance, the place individuals cease to soak up its magnificence (after which clearly pose for copious Instagram photographs).
rooms are stylish and cozy
I stayed for 2 nights in a Grand Govt Room on a excessive ground that supplied sweeping views of London, reaching from the Eye to the skyscrapers of The Metropolis of London.
With greater than 300 rooms and suites unfold throughout such an enormous lodge, attending to my suite was a journey of the senses in itself. Darkish and moody hallways lead previous the palatial staircases clad with black-and-white marble.
In my precise room, which was round 355 sq. ft, I used to be instantly taken by the simple-yet-chic luxurious of the house. It included a geometrical carpet designed in shades of brown and tan, pops of tomato-orange accents and understated furnishings that made it really feel homey.
My room was a kind of “L” form, with the big, plush mattress in a single nook, a TV and credenza reverse it and a big spherical desk with two tufted armchairs subsequent to it.
The mattress was like sleeping on a cloud (and the views above town form of made it really feel like that, too). The Rivolta Carmignani Italian linens had been very good, and although a pillow menu was obtainable, I used to be greater than content material with the luxuriously comfortable pillows already on the mattress. However what was most particular about it was that the again pillows on all sides had been monogrammed with my and my associate’s initials, an amenity I had all the time dreamed of experiencing.
These refined touches set nice resorts other than the very best resorts. One other factor value noting is that Rosewood London is tech-forward within the sense that above the nightstand, there have been already USB-C charging ports constructed into the headboard. Once more, luxurious.
Although I by no means turned on the 46-inch TV throughout my keep, I used to be glad that two refillable glass water bottles had been ready subsequent to it — a refined reminder to remain hydrated amongst all of the gin and tonics.
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Within the facet a part of the L-shaped room was a small nook with a writing desk, lamp and chair, in addition to a nice-sized closet.
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The room additionally featured cabinets containing a Nespresso espresso maker; a fridge with beer, spirits, sodas, juices and water; a drawer with crimson wine, extra spirits and plenty of snacks; and an in-drawer protected.
The actual star of the house was the toilet. I am going to let you know now: No picture can do it justice.
Although not the biggest toilet on the earth, it may need been probably the most gorgeous I’ve seen shortly. Just like the foyer, the toilet featured a staggering quantity of marble, hammered silver sinks, a big wall mirror and much and plenty of mirrored surfaces (excellent for the useless, not so nice for the self-conscious).
A big marble soaking tub demanded a shower, particularly contemplating the luxe Votary soaps that accompanied it.
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Total, the room was all the things I hoped for: posh, sensible and, most significantly, snug.
Scarfes Bar is an establishment
Greater than virtually something, I really like a moody lodge bar that is refined and cheeky, vibey however relaxed and nice for people-watching. Scarfes Bar on the principle ground — which has a public entrance and particular visitor entrance — is simply that. The bar additionally claimed the No. 41 spot on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, revealed yearly.
We ended up spending each of our two late nights after dinner at Scarfes. We received in simply with out having reservations, which I assume was as a result of we had been lodge visitors.
The primary evening, we sat on the precise bar, which was lit by a three-stick candelabra. We listened to stay music from a piano and sipped on my favourite drink from the “Best Hits” menu: the Crescent Metropolis, made with The Macallan 12-year-old whisky, discarded banana peel and frivolously candy pandan (21 British kilos/$26).
The bartenders had been fast to make dialog regardless of busily crafting attractive cocktails. They defined the caricature-like drawings of notable Brits (like Queen Elizabeth II and her corgis) drawn by well-known cartoonist Gerald Scarfe (the bar’s namesake), scattered small and huge across the gentleman club-like house.
The second evening, we returned to a much less crowded setting. We had been capable of seize a desk underneath an enormous bookshelf containing attention-grabbing books and enjoyable bric-a-brac trinkets that added a lot texture to the already texture-filled house designed by my favourite agency, Martin Brudnizki Design Studio. That night, a lady sang melancholy ballads whereas a person performed guitar, and I sipped on one other Crescent Metropolis (or two … or three).
You may by no means go hungry
On the Rosewood London, there are a number of totally different locations to eat or drink past Scarfes Bar. There is a charming sit-down restaurant, a spot devoted to the quintessential British pie, an art-inspired afternoon tea room and extra.
Throughout my fast keep, I received to expertise the seasonal Macallan Property pop-up terrace expertise, Amber Meadow. Although it was the final evening of the roughly two-week expertise (and has since modified to its subsequent seasonal providing), it is value highlighting the expertise. It was like transporting out of London, by the Scottish woods and right into a heated eating room the place we ate meals like grilled miso-glazed aubergine with mushroom puree and a scrumptious soup that felt good for the setting. Drinks included cocktails made with the brand new Macallan whisky, just like the Foraging Outdated Long-established, made with sous-bois verjus, evaporated nougat, palo cortado and edible moss.
The opposite eating choices at Rosewood London embody the Holborn Eating Room, with its stately ionic columns, crimson leather-based chairs and cubicles. The menu options a mixture of British classics and seafood- and meat-heavy dishes like pea and mint soup (11 kilos or $13), dressed Devonshire crab (21 poiunds or $27) and 50-day aged Cornish uncommon breed sirloin with pickled walnut salad and Bearnaise sauce (35 kilos or $45). The restaurant additionally hosts a conventional Sunday Roast each Sunday afternoon.
Should you’re in a rush or simply need a style of British consolation meals to remove, you may cease at The Pie Room to seize a savory deal with like a hand-raised pork pie (9 kilos or $12) or the dauphinoise potato pie comte and caramelized onion pie (12 kilos or $16).
One other all-day choice is The Mirror Room, which has a breakfast menu providing a continental breakfast (35 kilos or $45) and dinner choices like sharable confit tomato focaccia (11 kilos or $14). Foremost dishes embody roasted butternut squash (25 kilos or $32) and a 45-day aged Scottish beef fillet (52 kilos or $66). To clean it down, cease at The Champagne Bar, in the midst of the restaurant, for a glass of bubbles.
Afternoon tea is sort of a museum you may eat and drink
The one factor you could do (and that I merely couldn’t slot in and wholeheartedly remorse) is the Rosewood London’s Artwork Afternoon Tea. Everyone knows tea time is a giant deal throughout the pond, however no place does it fairly as fantastically because the Rosewood.
As a substitute of your common dainty tea sandwiches and pastries, this over-the-top tea set is impressed by an artist, with nibbles and bites to mirror that. Whereas I used to be there, the menu and inside design had been impressed by the life and work of David Hockney. It is now providing a menu impressed by British jewellery maker Garrard, an organization that has designed for the royal household for the reason that 1700s. That tea set prices 85 kilos (or $107) however will be upgraded to incorporate a glass of Dom Perignon for about 160 kilos ($202).
It is an incredible retreat from the busy metropolis
One more reason to remain on the Rosewood London, moreover the gorgeous house and unbelievable eating places and bars, is that the big lodge is a superb place to spend a day with out ever having to go away.
Get up within the morning and head to the Health Suite for a exercise, seize breakfast within the Mirror Room, then e book a therapy just like the 150-minute Sense of London journey (370 kilos or $468) that features a customized therapeutic massage and facial, on the Sense Spa. Comply with it up with a nap in your room, dinner at Holborn Eating Room and a nightcap at Scarfes Bar, and also you’re set for the right day.
Accessibility
The Rosewood London affords accessible rooms for vacationers with numerous bodily limitations — however you would not essentially know that by merely clicking round on the web site. Actually, I could not discover any details about these rooms, which is a real disservice to potential visitors. Nonetheless, after speaking to a reservations specialist on the cellphone, I used to be knowledgeable that there are accessible King Govt Rooms with a roll-in bathe.
As somebody with a wheelchair consumer in my household, I all the time advise vacationers who want accessible lodging to name the lodge first. This fashion, they will test what’s obtainable and guarantee that they’ve a reserving affirmation for that specific room sort earlier than they arrive.
Testing
The morning of my departure from Rosewood London, my coronary heart was each filled with pleasure and dread about leaving. Although I haven’t got the accolades or star energy of lots of the lodge’s A-list visitors, I did really feel like I had been handled like royalty in an area for a king or a queen — a minimum of a extremely trendy one who appreciates trendy artwork, glossy design and little bit of cheeky luxurious.
For me, the room was an extremely snug respite from the insanity that’s London. Scarfes Bar served the very best form of type and cocktails. Additionally, the lodge’s location made it straightforward for me to stroll and discover among the greatest sights town has to supply (and do not even get me began on these monogrammed pillows).
Strolling out, I knew that the Rosewood London had made it on my checklist of greatest resorts I would ever stayed in. If it isn’t already, I believe it deserves a spot in your checklist of must-visit resorts.
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