The Bloomsbury Hotel is a part of the Doyle Collection - a luxury hotel group that comprises eleven hotels in six cities around the world. These design-led properties provide modern havens for modern day travellers, as well as stylish bars and restaurants for local consumers.
The Hotel
The location of the Bloomsbury is absolutely ideal for anyone wishing to shop till the drop in Oxford Street, visit the British Museum or frolic in Covent Garden.
The Bloomsbury itself is a neo-Georgian listed building designed by the esteemed British architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens. Externally the hotel oozes class and immediately screams for attention. The lobby entrance is warm, opulent and inviting. As you enter, you feel a warm wave of luxury flow over you and it really is a pleasant entrance. On the Bloomsbury website it is claimed that the staff have “exceptional people skills and [they] turn warm, personal service into something of an art form.” On the whole, I would say this was correct, however, we did find one of the receptionist quite cold, unhelpful and rather abrupt. This was an unfortunate blot on an otherwise fantastic service experience.
When we arrived in the Suite it was spacious, luxurious and extremely comfortable. Whether you want to relax in the lounge area or sit upon the large luxurious King-Sizes bed, you begin to surrender yourself to utter relaxation. A décor of warm colours and dark woods made for a sophisticated feel.
The most impressive part of the room, if not the entire hotel, was the expansive and luxurious bathroom. The bathroom comes compete with his and her sinks, an LCD TV and a generously sized roll-top bath. There was certainly enough room to swing a cat, or 10.It was a fantastic spectacle and really lit up our stay.
I should also add that the hotel is suitable for those who are looking to find a suitable business location; the hotel was selected as one of the top 25 business hotels in Europe and each room is kitted out with the necessary tech to make sure you are fully connected for business communications.
Landseer British Kitchen
The Bloomsbury Hotel also offers fine dining and drinking at its in house restaurant – The Landseer British Kitchen. Offering a selection of all things British, and some favourites from elsewhere in the world, the menu brings fresh meat from Smithfield Market and Hebridean Scallops, to your table.
I particularly enjoyed the Cree oak smoked Scottish salmon, finished with lemon and capers. Also, the Lemon Tart, albeit a French dish, was a nice change from the English offerings on the menu. All of the food was welcomingly washed down by some fantastic cocktails from the Landseer Bar. Service on the whole is ok, although a couple of times the staff seemed to misunderstand our needs. However, the maître d’, a young Irish gentleman, gave the restaurant a great sense of charm and fun, which we were very thankful for.
For more information go to: www.doylecollection.com/bloomsbury
The Brasserie Vacherin is the brainchild of top chef Malcolm John and is perfectly placed to appeal to the discerning Surrey commuter. Situated in central Sutton and moment’s walk from the train station, the location means you can wine and dine at your leisure, sure of an accessible means of getting home.
The cuisine is French and the prices mid-range, so it is likely to attract diners who are weary of the ubiquitous establishments Sutton offers. The restaurant has a relaxed feel not always evident in restaurants of this type – it has none of the uptight self-consciousness that sometimes accompanies the uber-cool. Rather, juxtaposing the modern interior is an atmosphere of rustic charm that seems effortless but probably took an awful lot of planning.
The décor is simple; dark wooden floors, tables and chairs, simple glass tumblers and wooden salt and pepper pots create French authenticity. The smoky jazz drifting over the sound system on our arrival added to the atmosphere of a backstreet Parisian café.
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Whether you find cooking a challenge, want to be better at it or love it and want to know more then you may just want to read on…
Steven Kitchen is possibly the best cookery school around. This one man cheffing machine not only helps you organise your own cookery lesson at your house, but he encourages you to create a menu, sources the very best ingredients then turns up on your door to help you cook it!
Perfect for dinner parties or just spending time with friends or family, Steven is the perfect guide for cookery heaven as we recently found out for ourselves. Steven recently, kindly agreed to run a cookery lesson for my family. Now, we’re not a family that spends days and weeks together, we’re all busy people and rarely get to meet 4 times a year as a unit, so I jumped at the chance of having Steven come and teach us something useful and at the same time get to spend some QT time with the family.
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My colleague and I walked from Chancery Lane tube to the Volupté Lounge with a sense of anticipation and some trepidation. Neither of us knew what to expect from a ‘burlesque themed tea’, something we had not had the pleasure of before.
Following a warm greeting from the door staff, we were shown into the cocktail lounge, where a smooth talking barman was holding court. Refreshingly, gender stereotypes were turned on their head as we were the only two male clientele. We happily chatted to the other customers, keen to discover what attracted people to such an unusual afternoon tea experience. One answer is the fantastic cocktails - My colleague opted for a fruity and refreshing Chilean cocktail called ‘Passion Fruit Pisco Sour’. I opted for a hearty ‘Blood and Sand’, whipped up from a mixture of Black Grouse, Cherry Heering, sweet vermouth and orange juice. Both cost a fairly typical London cocktail price of £9 each.
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Nestled within the fabulous 5 star Montcalm hotel is one of the finest dining experiences in London – The Grill at the Montcalm. As a beef lover, with a particular penchant for steaks, I approached The Grill with a level of trepidation and high expectations. I must say, they were met, and met with aplomb.
Firstly, the stunning coordination of the décor strikes you as soon as you walk through the door. The colour scheme goes from hot oranges to subtle creams and greys. This colour scheme is carried from the staff uniform, all the way through to the cutlery; the resulting feeling of continuity, lends The Grill a feeling of class and elegance. Also, the greeting and service are of an impeccable standard; we felt relaxed, cared for and at ease. A good start…
Glancing through the menu it is an emphatically British affair. Detailed information, as to where the produce came from and how it was bred, is given throughout the menu. For example: the sheep are reared on Romney Marsh in Kent, the beef in the South West and the pork is reared in in either Essex or York. The wine menu is also very well chosen and contains a collection of exquisite tipples which can be perfectly matched to anything on the menu.
The starter section of the menu contains a fine selection of light and heavy dishes, and spans a great array of food types.
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