Tag Archives: London Hotels

Coworth Park, Acscot – Travel Mantra

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New Year, New Travel Mantra Update…

If we design your travel or you read my website posts, you know I have a few you must do, travel mantras and I love discovering new options for the list. Reed Hastings once told The Hollywood Reporter about our Istanbul mantra: One must take a yacht up the Bosporus following a long flight. It’s essential to have fresh air, avoid the constant traffic snarl and view the brilliant mosque filled Istanbul skyline from the water. Dock at your hotel and life is perfect!

My latest Travel Mantra – if you stay in London, you must exit the city a night or two before your flight and stay at Coworth Park. I’ve actually sent clients with young children before an early Heathrow transfer and have insisted a client with a 7-hour layover, pop over to Coworth Park for massage appointment and enjoy a delightful spa lunch.

Coworth Park Mansion Ascot

After my all too brief stay, it’s now on the Travel Mantra List. Coworth Park is actually in Ascot, which is barely 20 minutes from Heathrow. A Dorchester Collection country house gem, situated in a picturesque parkland, the luxurious property sits on the borders of Windsor Great Park; the hotel is high-end style without stuffiness. Choose to stay in the Mansion House or if you prefer more seclusion and you have kiddos with you, stay in the converted Stables & Cottages. The Mansion rooms and suites are a bit more spacious, but the entire property oozes sophisticated British country charm.

I wish I had stayed two nights; it would have been the perfect antidote to nine days of Paris and London site inspection carousing! The return to real life detox from rich meals and endless amounts of bubbly, stay at Coworth Park and begin the slow assimilation.

Mansion House Executive Suite Coworth Park

My Shepherds Suite was adorable and perfect for a two-night visit. The suite features an enormous copper-clad soaking tub with a divine view of the polo fields and nearby woods. Comfy living room and a woods themed bedroom, it was scrumptious!

Mansion House Junior Suite Copper Tub, Coworth Park

Mansion House Junior Suite Coworth Park

Coworth Park

Coworth Park

Restaurant Coworth Parks’ Best of British menu offers the finest locally sourced seasonal ingredients. If it’s comfort food you crave, sample The Barn’s menu in utter rustic charm where diners are more than welcome to keep their muddy boots on. My son gave me a travel mantra – dine on Fish & Chips and have a pint…the fish & chips were perfectly prepared, lightly battered flaky tender white fish, there is nothing like it outside of the UK. Champagne was already poured, so I missed the pint, next time! Spring and summer dining, you may wish to be seated on a lovely terrace. Take part in quintessentially English activities such as tennis, croquet, horse riding or take polo lessons with the Guards Polo Club on one of Coworth Park’s two professional polo fields. Ascot Park is not far, so if the ponies thrill you, there are additional reasons to visit!

My UK Mantra- Fish & Chips- perfect!

The luxury Spa at Coworth Park is an architectural wonder. Partially submerged in The Spa’s landscape, its upper floor takes in breathtaking views of the surrounding English parkland. This sense of the natural environment continues through to the interior design, every area of The Spa is flooded with natural light, crisp contemporary architecture, art and sculptures throughout.

Spa Pool Coworth Park

Built over two floors, the upper floor has eight treatment rooms, a manicure/pedicure salon, relaxation room and a lovely dining area called The Spatisserie which serves light meals, afternoon tea, wine and champagne.

On the lower level, there is a heated indoor swimming pool with underwater music, a relaxation area around the swimming pool and a sun terrace with luxurious loungers, an aromatic steam room, experience shower and pre-swim shower. The Spa’s gym has natural light and tree top views and the Technogym equipment has integrated televisions.

The Spa at Coworth Park was awarded ‘Best Destination Spa’ at the 2017 Condé Nast Johansens awards.

My late afternoon fall walk was brisk and scenic punctuated by pond geese fluffing and preening and the deer looked up from grazing in the afternoon twilight. With a 10 am flight from Heathrow the next morning, I had enough time to take a dawn walk across the meadow trail, crunchy frost glistened, silent planes left vapor trails across the morning pink hued sky.

Park like Grounds

My 20-minute ride to the airport was the most relaxed London departure I have ever experienced. There is no reason to depart the center of London at the crack of dawn through unpredictable traffic for a flight ever again!

If you have a long layover, Coworth Park is also an elixir – escape the canned air, take a short jaunt to Coworth Park, work out, enjoy a massage and a spa lunch…and head back to your flight refreshed.

Travel has become so uncivilized. Coworth Park exudes civility and comfort and country sophistication! Highly recommend!

 

 

 

 

 

Hotel Hopping London – Dorchester Collection

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The Dorchester Collection in London offer the best of both worlds, classic and contemporary. In London, The Dorchester in the heart of Mayfair is the preferred hotel of British Society, exuding a 1930’s glamour with a bit of a contemporary edge. Olde England style and elegance, exceptional service, many of the rooms overlook Hyde Park.

Beautifully designed rooms and suites plus several options for excellent dining: Alain Ducasse, China Tang, the Grill and The Promenade. China Tang, Conceived by Sir David Tang, the founder of China Clubs in Hong Kong, Peking and Singapore, as well as the life-style brand, “Shanghai Tang”, China Tang offers some of the best and most authentic Cantonese food outside China. The rave reviews won by the food have been matched by the sumptuous interior, which is designed to evoke a romantic sense of the art deco of the Thirties. Step down into this world and you are transported to a classic China Club, I loved it!
The Grill- oh so British!

 

China Tang, art deco thirties
The Promenade and The Grill are exceptionally British in decor and dining, each a classic inherently exuding charm and luxury. Alain Ducasse, a separate piece will be forthcoming.
Directly across the garden square is 45 Park Lane, where art meets contemporary style. An art deco gem, opened in 2011 together with Wolfgang Puck’s first European venture CUT at 45 Park Lane. Luxurious and contemporary interiors by New York based designer, Thierry Despont, provide a club-like feel. The chic hotel offers London’s
in-crowd and the most seasoned of jet setters a smart but discreet hotel from which to enjoy London. Each of the spacious 45 rooms and suites offer views of Hyde Park, as does a spectacular Penthouse Suite featuring a spacious balcony with panoramic views over Hyde Park and Mayfair.

Bar 45- jazzy, hip elegant!

From its sleek, iconic architecture to its cosmopolitan interiors, 45 Park Lane is a distinctly modern hotel with a genuine sense of vitality. Bar 45, a dynamic space buzzing with life and light and features a black granite bar with a striking back lit amber glass front and boasts the largest selection of American wines in the UK. A bar menu of ‘Rough CUTS’ by Wolfgang Puck includes Mini Kobe Sliders, the bar is a hopping lively space- excellent jazz and a sophisticated clientele.The interior of the hotel celebrates the unique creative energy of London, with striking contemporary artworks displayed throughout the public areas and in every room and suite. The collection includes paintings and unique prints by such luminaries as Sir Peter Blake, Christian Furr, Brendan Neiland, Bruce McClean, and Damien Hirst.

The walls of CUT at 45 Park Lane are decorated with limited edition diamond dust screen-prints from Hirst’s Psalms series, with their kaleidoscopic butterfly festooned compositions providing a feast for the eye…So there you have it:  Dorchester Collection London, something for everyone; I loved the styling at 45 Park Lane plus I enjoyed crossing the square for an authentic captivating classic London panache at The Dorchester- stay at both!