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Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair. |
Gardens at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons. |
POSTED: 03 MAY 2011 Destination: England With the marriage of Catherine and William, Duchess and Duke of Cambridge, bringing global interest to Britain, MIKE SMITH reports on a couple of exclusive properties that are sure to be a part of a tourism resurgence. They’re among some of the world’s most elite hotels and retreats, “homes away from home” for the rich and famous, each with a story to tell. In the heart of London’s West End is the Rocco Forte Brown’s Hotel. Travel into the countryside, not far from Oxford, is a hotel-restaurant of regal character with a very French name, Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons, which has coaxed royalty as well as such stars as our own Kylie Minogue. After a massive $40 million restoration, Rocco Forte Brown’s Hotel — a sophisticated and classic English hotel in London’s affluent Mayfair — oozes with old charm elegance, fit for royalty. Having been a part of the cityscape since 1837, Brown’s Hotel was the first hotel to open in the British capital, and it remains a magnet. The hotel’s 117 guest rooms — 29 are contemporarily fitted, spacious suites — span across 11 beautiful Georgian houses, although the décor is more contemporary than the architecture and facades suggest. High tea — with its choice of 17 teas — remains as fashionable as it was when Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill booked a table there so many years ago. Today, such afternoon indulgence — voted by The Tea Guild as London’s afternoon tea in 2009 — costs around $60 per guest (more affordable than previously, thanks to the strengthening of the Australian dollar). Fine dining focuses on the Albemarle restaurant where former Savoy chef Lee Streeton weaves his magic in creating British classics with modern twists. Diners have a choice of a la carte or a set menu of two courses which is good value at less than $50, three courses slightly more. Lively by night for its cocktails and jazz sessions and a magnet for London’s celebrities, is the hotel’s Donovan Bar, the walls decorated in black-and-white images by celebrated photographer Terence Donovan, his risqué collection of images reserved for a “naughty corner” in a large private booth. It’s hard to imagine as we sip cocktails that in the same hotel Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book and Alexander Graham Bell made the first British telephone call from the hotel’s reception. Among its many notable features is The Spa, where guests can be pampered with the 90-minute Ultimate Indulgence for around $270. In the past 12 months, since the restoration, Brown’s Hotel has been rewarded with a vast range of awards and accolades, including Top UK Leisure Hotel in Conde Nast Traveller UK reader’s travel awards, UK Best Hotels for Ambience and Design in Conde Nast Traveller UK’s gold list, and World Best Hotels in Travel + Leisure USA, Best Hotels in National Geographic Traveler USA. Details: www.brownshotel.com French by name, aristocratic England in character, Le Manoir Aux Quat’saisons, near Oxford, has long been a honeypot for the rich, famous and royalty, and for good reason. It is owned by respected French-born chef Raymond Blanc, self-taught and very much the envy of budding chefs who want to know more about his kitchen skills and secrets. One star guest to book into his classes was one of our own, Kylie Minogue. But instead of joining one of the usual lessons for ten, Minogue booked the cookery school for herself and a friend. “Which was probably a clever move because otherwise all eyes would have been on her,” Blanc wrote in his biography. Surprisingly, the night before the lesson Blanc hadn’t heard of the Australian pop idol, a big name across the British media and TV screens for 20 years. It was only after a chat with his wife Natalia that he realised Kylie was somebody of importance, a celebrity. “I thought long and I thought hard. No, the name meant nothing,” he said. “She was utterly charming.” Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons is particularly charming itself, a grand mansion guarded by large gates in rural Milton, on the outskirts of Oxford, about an hour by rail north of London. The rooms are all different — themed, some with four-poster king-sized beds, others of the contemporary style. There’s a suite with an African feel, another with deep reds and blacks and dark curtains, a la Moulin Rouge. Nine of the hotel’s suites, deluxe and standard rooms are in the main house, above the lounge and restaurant, the remaining rooms outside with views of the groomed gardens. In the centre is a courtyard, of fascination a 15th-century dovecote that has been converted into a split-level guestroom. Weddings and the following receptions have been commonplace in such elegant surrounds. Of course, the prime purpose of a stay is to dine in Blanc’s two-Michelin-star restaurant, the modern French menu complemented by fresh products grown in the kitchen’s garden, among them 90 different kinds of vegetables and 70 different types of herbs. The head chef is gifted Gary Jones, mentored by Blanc and a member of the staff for more than 10 years. As guests will insist, to dine here is a perfect recipe for a pleasant break in the English countryside. Yes, royalty, including Queen Elizabeth II, have been fortunate to have paid a visit on this rural address. Details: www.manoir.com Disclosure: Mike Smith was a guest of Orient-Express, flying Singapore Airlines. |
“Naughty corner” inside Donovan Bar at Brown’s Hotel.
One of the rooms decorated in Moulin Rouge colours at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons.
Sign at Milton village, near Oxford.
Welcome to Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons.
Kylie Minogue ... special guest of the cooking classes at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons. |
Loft room at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons. |
Guest room at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons. |
