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Win a unique Sex in the City experience!
The competitions just keep on rolling off the conveyor belt here at the London Hotel Experts – today we have a brilliant experience to give away to one lucky follower and 3 of their friends courtesy of the 5 star Hyatt Regency London Hotel – The Churchill. Keep reading to find out more details of this amazing prize and how to win it!
But we have to set the scene first, the hotel is soooooo nice, it would be rude not to! Situated in the heart of London’s West end, a couple of minutes walk to Oxford Street and Marble Arch and with views over the charming gardens of Portman Square. It has 434 beautiful rooms and suites as well as every amenity any traveller could possibly wish for all topped off by the brilliant, friendly staff who work at there! You can also enjoy stunning seasonal dishes in the Montagu and award winning Italian cuisine at Locanda Locatelli. A stay at the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill will leave anyone relaxed and revitalized! We are quite jealous that we wont be staying here!
The winner and 3 friends of our wonderful competition will enjoy, back to popular demand, the relaunched Sex and the
City afternoon tea. The “Sex and the City Par-Tea” includes savoury dishes inspired by the city of New York and include pastrami on rye, and New York bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese. Mini burgers (named after Jack Berger, one of Carrie’s boyfriends) and mini New York hot dogs with a light drizzle of mustard add a little Manhattan glamour to the tea.
On the sweet end of the spectrum, a selection of pastries has been created with each of the girls in mind. For Carrie, a strawberry-flavoured chocolate pink stiletto; for Charlotte, a pink strawberry cupcake; for Samantha an appletini jelly in a mini martini glass; and, finally, for Miranda, glazed doughnuts.
Guests can also choose from a fine selection of teas that have been highlighted for each of the girls: For Carrie, 2007 Organic Silver Needle White Tea: Light, delicate quenching flavours, yet surprisingly full textured with a satisfying velvety finish. For Samantha a Flower Osmanthus, an explosion of variegated green tea leaves out of the heart of which unfolds the flame-coloured petals of the osmanthus. For Charlotte the traditional Sapphire Earl Grey, refreshing and bright, a perfectly focused classic and finally for Miranda; Darjeeling 2nd Flush; sprightly, lively, sappy and refreshing.
In recognition of the girls love of cocktails, guests can include one of the girl’s favourite cocktails: a Flirtini (champagne, vodka and pineapple juice).
After the Sex and the City afternoon tea the winner plus 3 will stay in the hotel and enjoy a one night stay with at the hotel. The prize is a maximum of 2 rooms, for one night stay, subject to availability.
This really is a prize that would appeal to anyone, a fan of the show or not!
To win this prize, all you have to do is follow the link below and post your answer to the following question before Friday 26th August at 5pm. Make sure you ‘like’ both the London Hotel Experts and the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill facebook pages to be eligible to win!
http://www.facebook.com/theLondonHotelExperts
Question – Describe one – just one – of the girls in no more than 5 words – the most original wins!
Good Luck Everyone!
The important bit – terms and conditions!
25
Fancy a Gin with your Afternoon Tea? Step right this way…
I thought that if you wanted a bit of extra punch with your Afternoon Tea the only option was a glass of fizz but now the Hilton Green Park’s relaunched Berry Bar & Lounge is offering a unique Beefeater 24 Afternoon Tea. Not only that the bar has also features a bespoke Gin and Tonic exclusive to them!
Here’s what the hotel has to say about it…
Nestled in the quaint townhouse lined streets of Mayfair, head to Berry Bar & Lounge, the newly re-imagined bar at
Hilton London Green Park.
The bar celebrates two British traditions with a contemporary makeover. Rewind to the 1920’s and enjoy cocktail hour with an extensive selection of Gin cocktails or indulge in a unique Afternoon Tea experience featuring a bespoke Gin and Tonic exclusive to Berry Bar & Lounge.
A selection of 20 gins from around the globe are used to create our varied cocktail list, including classic cocktails and refreshing new creations. Accompanied by an extensive wine and spirit range.
The snack menu has been created by our chef Lalit Bisht to perfectly accompany our range of Gins and cocktails along with our menu of classic bar snacks. From King Prawns to a Club Sandwich our menu will hit the spot…
It’s well worth having a look at the food on offer, here’s a selection of what they have (beware if you are hungry then you’re about to start salivating!) Smoked Salmon Crostini, Chilli Squid, Hot Chicken Wings, Duck Salad and loads more from sandwiches and pizza’s to the delicious Hilton Cheese and Bacon Burger.
Now don’t forget it’s getting to that time of year again when you need to think about Mother’s Day pressies…how about a voucher so that she can enjoy a fabulous afternoon tea? The best news, click HERE and you can book it as a gift on lastminute.com for just £30 (subject to availability, price correct as of 25th Feb)!!
The hotel itself is in a great location in London’s swanky Mayfair just a short stroll from Green Park tube station (you would never have guessed that from the name would you??) The hotel is set in a stylish Georgian townhouse, dating back to the 1730’s. Whether you choose a double, twin, deluxe or executive room or one of their stylish open plan suites you are bound to enjoy your stay. As well as the Berry Bar & Lounge the hotel has another dining option the Tiger Green Brasserie which serves a variety of International cuisine open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
20
Blond Boris’ Blue Barclays’ Bikes…
So… they have finally arrived, the much anticipated Boris Bikes are now joining forces with red buses and black cabs in completing the full spectrum of our colourful London Transport Network. Are you super excited? Can you simply not wait to hop on your bright blue bicycle complete with flashing front light and visit all your favourite sights across London? Or…are you a little more like me?
I, a London veteran, having lived here for almost three years and a devout cyclist am a tad skeptical. How can mere novices compete with the speed and agility of those of us who commute from south of the river every day? I’m not sure I fancy being stuck behind Maureen from Driving School’s cycling counterpart whilst they navigate their way through unchartered territory on TWO wheels.
Thankfully, I have a fellow hotel expert who IS an avid Boris Bike supporter and he was quick to shoot down my negativity with a list of all the amazing facts about BBs. Starting with the very basics, I was told not to look past how fantastic the nickname is – Boris Bike – (at this stage I wasn’t convinced), and how blue they are – a colour to be admired (umm…still not convinced). After further probing, we got down to the nitty gritty with little gems of insider knowledge such as: the BBs are very easy to use (as easy as an Oyster Card in fact) and very importantly, they provide that much needed escape from the depths of the London Underground at the same time as being cheaper than a gym membership on the exercise front. However, said fellow hotel expert’s favourite reason to love the Boris was that the BBs are soooo much better than the French ones (not that anyone has any intention of alienating our friends from o’er the channel, of course).
Armed with my new positive views on the Boris, I’m starting to see the fantastic benefits of being able to flash my little front light all the way from Westminster Cathedral, to the London Eye, over the Millennium Bridge to catch a glimpse of St Paul’s (stopping for a bite and maybe even a quick leg massage at The Grange St Paul’s), through Regent’s Park to admire Eros against the backdrop of bright lights at Piccadilly Circus before finishing the day with a spot of afternoon tea at Claridges. I can then place my blue Boris Bike back in its little docking station and get the tube back home sarff instead of negotiating the dark roads on my own Dawes Ladies’ Special. 
My positivity has now grown to such an extend that I think we should incorporate Boris Bikes into the London Hotel Experts Team as a kind of honorary member. Just imagine Dan, Alex, Nisha and Mr Duff touring around the capital saying hello to all the fabulous hotels this city has to offer.
Maybe we could even set a challenge to see who could Boris Bike it to the greatest number of hotels in a day. Who would be crowned victorious? Would it be Alex returning fresh at the end of a Marriott Marathon? Perhaps Dan would snatch victory after a scenic tour of a Hilton here and a Goring there? Maybe the sophisticated lady of the team, Ms Hirani, would be the deserving winner after countless quick hellos to her favourite classy venues? Or would Mr Duff surprise us all with a chunky monkey charged surge across the finsh line?
I’ve laid down the gauntlet guys….who wins?….You decide!
4
A grand centurion: The Goring
As a “London Hotel Expert” people always ask me which hotel I stay in when I spend the night in London. I always give the same annoying, sidestep-the-question answer: it depends. I say that because it is true – it depends on the reason I’m staying over in London, where I need to be near and most importantly who I’m staying with. If I’m staying for a work evening event on my own then I just want a decent 4 star somewhere near the office for example – in which case I’m spoilt for choice. If I’m going on a night out with friends then anything will do – I won’t remember it! If, however, I’m staying in London with my lovely wife and trying to spoil her for her birthday (I won’t tell you how old as she’ll kill me!) I will choose somewhere very, very special. Somewhere where the service is extraordinary. Somewhere classy. Somewhere with a bit of history. Somewhere in a great location. Somewhere just like The Goring - which is where I booked us in last Saturday night.
I knew I had made the right choice of hotel as we took the short walk from Victoria station towards Buckingham Palace which brought us up to the grand facade of the hotel. We were greeted by the smarter-than-smart doorman and then received a royal reception from the front desk staff (Mark and Rory – true gentlemen). Rory showed us to our room and made sure we settled in ok – there really wasn’t any need to worry though as we had been allocated a beautiful Belgravia suite.
The Goring is a traditional hotel – in fact, it is celebrating it’s hundredth anniversary this year. Even more special is the fact that the hotel has been owned by the same family ever since its opening on March 2nd 1910. When it originally opened the hotel made history as it was the first hotel anywhere in the world to have private bathrooms and central heating in every room. Obviously a lot has changed in the last hundred years! One thing that hasn’t changed is that the bathrooms here are still pretty special – ours had a huge free-standing bath, a massive walk-in shower, his ‘n’ hers sinks and Molton Brown toiletries (see photo!). My wife loved it – although it did mean we checked out a bit late on the Sunday morning as she spent hours in there! She couldn’t wait to get up and get in there!
It’s not just the room that’s top notch though – the rest of the hotel isn’t bad either! There is a beautiful garden – overlooked by half of the rooms it is a tranquil haven from the tourist hustle and bustle of Victoria station just a stones throw away. And then there are the 3 dining options: The Dining Room, The Bar & The Lounge. The Dining Room is a stunning Edwardian restaurant (Edwardian decor not food!) serving top class cuisine while The Lounge and The Bar are much more relaxed affairs. I thoroughly recommend the lobster omlette – I’ve never seen this dish anywhere else and it is simply divine!
My wife and I had a brilliant stay at The Goring. Huge thanks to Tracy and Charlie for helping to arrange it and to all the staff (but special mentions for Mark and Rory) for making it a very special stay. Here’s to the next 100 years!
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