London calling

Having ditched my usual summer holiday abroad I decided to visit what has to be my favourite city closer to home. Every time I travel to London I find something new and exciting to see or do, particularly in the world of hospitality and this time was no different. My base for my recent city stay was the oldest hotel in London, Brown’s, a property which dates back to 1837 and has countless claims to fame. A quintessential English hotel, it is steeped in history when you consider Alexander Graham Bell made the first ever UK telephone call from it and some of the most famous books in the world originated there. The Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling was a frequent visitor (there is now a suite named after him) and spent his honeymoon there while crime writer Agatha Christie stayed many times and is believed to have based her book, At Bertram’s Hotel, on Brown’s Hotel. Stephen King was also a guest and while there wrote the beginning of a story that later became the hit novel Misery. If that isn’t enough history several world leaders were also fans. Napoleon III stayed there when he had to flee France after the Franco-Prussian War as did two former US presidents; Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt while Queen Victoria was also a regular visitor. But Brown’s, which is owned by Rocco Forte, is not resting on the laurels of its past as my recent stay confirmed. This is a charming five-star hotel that is far from stuffy and dated, thanks to touches such as the Olga Polizzi interiors which mix period pieces with contemporary style, a restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Adam Byatt, a three-treatment room spa and a 24-hour gym. Personifying the refined sophistication of modern British luxury, this hotel really has the wow factor from the moment the doormen in their top hats welcome you in.