Mad dash to Clinton Cards alert…it’s Mother’s Day this Sunday!

Not to stereotype but judging by the conversation around our office it’s the men of this world who need to be reminded to get their long suffering Mother’s a card and maybe some chocolates or flowers. If you in or around London this weekend here’s some nice things you might want to to with your Mum, go on treat her, you know she deserves it!! Or you could spend your time and money on yourself…hey we’re not here to judge!

Go out for a nice meal…

The good news is this could cost you less than you think because we are still promoting London Restaurant Week and just to help you out we have a category for suggested deals for Mother’s Day which you can find here. My personal choice here would be Suka at Sanderson…a 2 course lunch for £15 is an amazing deal. A random fact for you about Suka, I was filmed while eating in there for Masterchef.

An afternoon of pampering…

There are plenty of amazing spa’s around London and they can cost less than you think, if you don’t fancy spending the day in the spa yourself you could buy a voucher for your Mum to redeem when it suits her and that way you could pick up a bargain…for example up to 75% at Purity Spa, Hilton Park Lane or 2 for 1 at The Athenaeum? Check out the best London spa deals here.

A spot of Afternoon Tea…

My Mum loves a nice cup of tea and if your Mum is the same why not treat her to some fantastic posh tea, little sandwiches with the crusts cut off, homemade scones and impossibly small cakes..sounds good doesn’t it? We’ve got The Ritz, The Langham…check out the best deals here

A trip to the Theatre…

Even if you think you have seen everything, there’s always something new coming up, like Million Dollar Quartet, currently with no booking fee and up to £15 off. A few of the guys in the office have seen it already a give it a big thumbs up! There’s loads to choose from, from all singing musicals to serious plays, check them out here.

If you do decided on any of these then you might want to take away the hassle of the tube/bus/taxi/walk home and book one of our fantastic London Hotel deals. If you are able to, then Sunday night is a great night to stay away if you are looking for a deal as it is the night of the week when hotels tend to have their best prices available. If you have a tight budget but want something special we have 5* Top Secret hotels available on Sunday night from just £99 or if you are looking for something extra special, how about a stay at the ever-so-posh Goring hotel, where Kate Middleton is rumoured to be staying the night before the Royal Wedding!

Whatever you choose to do this weekend…have fun doing it!!

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!

Forget the world cup, how about tea & Croquet sir?

This summer is all about hoops, mallets, splits, the full roll and level play. The Goring, which opened in 1910 in London’s Belgravia, celebrates its 100th summer in deeply English style with afternoon tea and croquet on the lawn.

The Goring’s garden officially measures in at a few feet bigger than Centre Court at Wimbledon.

Perfect for glamorous garden parties and for that most English of games, croquet. So every Thursday afternoon from 22 July to 26 August, part of the garden will be transformed into a croquet lawn. And for those who haven’t quite mastered the art of the roquet, help is at hand in the shape of another great British family business, Jaques of London, specialists in outdoor games since 1795.

Jaques, who have supplied the croquet sets for The Goring, were responsible for introducing croquet to England in 1851. Their iconic boxed croquet sets are a familiar sight during the summer season.

At The Goring this summer, Jaques’ experts will be on hand to throw light on the tactics required on what has been described as a “capricious and cut-throat game”.

As Joe Jaques, 8th generation of the Jaques family says:“We’ve making outdoor games for 215 years, so we are thrilled to be helping The Goring’s guests with their croquet in this centenary year.”

And where would croquet in the garden be without afternoon tea?

The Goring’s Chef, Derek Quelch, has created a scrumptious Croquet Afternoon Tea especially for the summer, enhanced by lashings of jam and delectable teas from Fortnum & Mason, another quintessentially English establishment and purveyors of fine tea since 1707. Tea at The Goring is

served on the Terrace overlooking the garden and on especially fine days the large shaded Veranda is one of the most civilized places in London for an al fresco sandwich or two – and for keeping an eye on the ball.

So for a different date, or for honing the croquet skills before that house party, or just a deeply English afternoon – The Goring is the place to be this summer…

Jeremy Goring, the fourth Goring to run The Goring said: “It’s all above board. There will be no blasting the other player’s ball into the shrubbery at The Goring – this is a nice hotel.”

Happy Birthday Ma’am

We began the day by singing happy birthday to the Queen (although not actually to the Queen, she was otherwise engaged). Our royal highness Queen Elizabeth II is a mighty 84 years old, seriously – we had to check it on wikipedia (the bastion of all accurate knowledge), and it is true, I would never have said 84 ma’am.

The Queen is never far away from our thoughts, and never ones to be shy – only last week whilst filming a new video for a conference did Funmongerer Tilly dress up as the Queen, to pay homage to our favourite octagenarian. This was at the Danubius Regents Park hotel, a fabbo hotel right next to the park of course, and host to some truly great pubs along the way – seriously – if you get to go to the Swan & Edgar, it is a real treat.

Early this morning I passed Buckingham Palace and was happy to see the flag raised, and whilst walking back I passed a few hotels absolutely perfect for visitors to Buck house….

Rubens at the Palace (a must for that special treat)

The Goring (it is like being a royal yourself staying here) & of course…

Crowne Plaza London St James (a personal fave!)

So again, happy birthday ma’am, all of us here wish you well, and if you want ‘the bumps’ just swing on by to the pink palace.