The revival of the "Great London Hotels"

I find the whole buzz a bit lame, I must admit. But hotels in London are undoubtedly a key aspect of the social scene, as well as the travel scene. And with the Olympics just round the corner, well I guess hotels could come in handy...

So I shall have my few words and get done with it. So you may have heard that we have seen some pretty major renovations lately, including the Savoy, and the 45 Park Lane (little brother to The Dorchester). The Savoy, on the Strand, is a classic, and looks lovely redone (it's right by LSE, so I do happen to swing by...). This is the first luxury hotel in London, and it has truly found its groove back. Gordon Ramsay is running the kitchen, and no matter how you feel about the guy, the food is never off key.



But really, what I cannot wait to see is the refurbished St. Pancras station hotel back in business. The neo-goth monstrosity (or pinacle of emo architecture, as I've decided to call it), which had been abandoned and had thus far somehow managed to resist many demolition attempts, has become a fixture of this city, and a symbol of its brash, innovative, risk-taking, and quirky people. It's kind of hideous, but I love it.




The hotel is set to reopen in May of this month, under the Renaissance brand, with spa rooms, barbers, a private club, and hopefully, a restaurant to match the decor in opulence. Markus Wareing is set to command something like a "British brasserie".



There is also Blumenthal taking over the kitchen at the Mandarin Oriental, and last year saw Bruno Loubet take over at The Zetter and Koffman at The Berkeley.

Hotel dining it is, then.

Dorchester Collection to open 45 Park Lane hotel in London's Mayfair

The luxury hotel association Dorchester Collection will open in late 2010 a 46 room hotel at 45 Park Lane, in the heart of London’s Mayfair.  It will be their ninth property, joining a gilded group which includes  The Dorchester in London, The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Le Meurice and Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan, The New York Palace in New York and the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles.

The 10-story building, which used to be a Mayfair landmark, is the onld headquarters of the London Playboy House, and it had been sitting empty for years. Built in the 60s, it was later turned into a residential apartment building.