Three Days in London

Location: London, United Kingdom

Visit: December 2018

What do you do when your friends have a flight credit to London that expires at the end of the year? Join them for New Years, of course! London is one of our favorite cities, and lacking good weather for most of the year, there isn’t much downside to visiting during the winter. Additionally, Londoners do the holidays well, with lots of lights (Christmas) and fireworks (New Years Eve).

The best bribe which London offers to-day to the imagination, is, that, in such a vast variety of people and conditions, one can believe there is room for persons of romantic character to exist, and that the poet, the mystic, and the hero may hope to confront their counterparts.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

We arrived in London relatively late in the day and settled into to our hotel, The Nadler Soho, located centrally in the Soho neighborhood, adjacent to Chinatown. The location was perfect for walking to the major tourist attractions, but also with plenty of fun restaurants and bars in the area to keep us occupied. Most of our group wasn’t arriving until the next day, so we had dinner with some local friends at a nearby Honest Burger, a drink at the London Edition and then called it a night, saving our energy for the next few days.

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All of our group had been to London before, so we didn’t need to spend too much time chasing the “must see” list, but here is a “top 10” that we put together for first time visitors:

• Buckingham Palace
• Hyde Park
• National Gallery
• British Museum
• Westminster Abbey
• Parliment & Big Ben
• The London Eye
• The Tower of London
• Something cultural (theater or music)
• Shopping

Day one started off pretty touristy. From our hotel, we headed toward the Thames River, through the neighborhood of Covent Gardens. Staying along the north bank of the river, we walked past Parliment, Big Ben (under scaffolding), Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, along with a walk through St. James Park. We (of course) stopped by a local pub for a pint and a bite. After lunch we headed back to Soho, stopping at the National Gallery for a few hours to enjoy the works of some of the Dutch masters and French impressionist. For us, at least, visiting churches and palaces are usually a one-time deal, where as museums we typically revisit on repeat trips. Art never gets old. From the Gallery, we headed to the Sofitel St. James for some cocktails and high tea. So proper! With our crew fully assembled, we hit up the Punch Room at the Edition for pre-dinner drinks, Dishoom for dinner and then finished the night off at Sketch, a multi-room, sensory-overloading restaurant/bar that does an instragram-worthy tea service during the day and proper cocktails at night.

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Day two was New Year’s Eve. We had a lazy morning, meeting up with a friend from Los Angeles who now lives in London. We stopped by the famous Fortnum & Mason for some drinks and sandwiches (couldn’t get in for their famous tea service) and then poked around their department store to check for souveniers. In the afternoon, we rendezvoued with the rest of the group and got a private “car” on the London Eye. At the last minute, we decided to splurge and added on a host and a couple of bottles of champagne. Totally worth it, as sipping bubbly while suspended 100s of feet over the Thames, overlooking all of London, is something special! From there, we had lunch at Bon Gusto and then another high tea at Dean Street Townhouse, right around the corner from our hotel. Our New Years Eve plan included dinner and drinks in a glass “igloo” at the Coppa Club, with views of the London Bridge and fireworks in the distance over the London Eye.

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Day three started with a little breakfast at the nearby Soho Hotel and then a quick ride to Hyde Park to meet up with another friend who was visiting from the US. One of our group had done a semester abroad in London, and took us to lunch at a place called Churchill Arms: proper british pub in the front; Thai restaurant in the back! It’s safe to say that, although there has been an improvement in “British” cooking over the last 10-20 years, the best food in London is still foreignm, especially Indian. After lunch, we walked along and through Hyde Park, eventually walking back to Soho and then meeting up with the crew for tea at the Rose Room in the Sofitel St. James and then dinner at Dean Street Townhouse. We capped off the night and the trip with some excellent cocktails at Experimental Cocktail Club in Chinatown.

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Overall, our three days in London were amazing. Good friends, good food, a great New Years Eve, great drinks. Explored new parts of the city and revisited some of our favorite places from previous trips. Just a wonderful trip, end-to-end (including a great flight on Virgin Atlantic Upper Class). We can’t wait to come back soon!

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Where to stay

The Nadler Soho ($200-$400 per night) (10 Carlisle St, Soho, London W1D 3BR) (https://www.nadlerhotels.com/the-nadler-soho). The most reasonably priced of our recommended hotels. Rooms are on the smaller side, typical of London. Great location. No amenities to speak of. Fine hotel if you plan to spend most of the time out and about.

• General Rating: 59 (Fair)
• Four Star Rating: 66 (Good)
• Notes: Bump up in score based on price

The Sofitel St. James ($400-$600 per night) (6 Waterloo Pl, St. James’s, London SW1Y 4AN) (https://sofitel.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-3144-sofitel-london-st-james). Part of the Accor hotel group, so hotel points might be in play. Spacious rooms and a great bar and tea room.

• General Rating: 94 (Four Star!)
• Four Star Rating: 79 (Great)
• Notes: Downgrade due to price, but a first-class hotel all around.

Soho Hotel ($400-$600 per night) (4 Richmond Mews, Soho, London, W1D 3DH) (https://www.firmdalehotels.com/hotels/london/the-soho-hotel/) Great location and large rooms. Several parlors and an honor bar to kick your evening off right.

• General Rating: 76 (Great)
• Four Star Rating: 64 (Good)
• Notes: Downgrade due to price. For this amount there are a few other options that we’d recommend, but room size is exceptional.

The London Edition ($600+ per night) (10 Berners St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 3NP) (https://www.editionhotels.com/london). The nicest of our recommended hotels. Five stars all the way, including a great lobby bar, intimate back bar (Punch Room) and spacious rooms. Worth the price if you can swing it or use Marriott points.

• General Rating: 92 (Four Star!)
• Four Star Rating: 78 (Great)
• Notes: Slight downgrade due to price, but a first-class hotel all around.

Where to eat

• Dishoom (Indian) (12 Upper St Martin’s Ln, London WC2H 9FB) (www.dishoom.com)
• Dean Street Townhouse (Traditional) (69 – 71 Dean St, Soho, London W1D 3SE) (www.deanstreettownhouse.com)
• Bon Gusto (Italian) (75-77 Buckingham Gate, Westminster, London SW1E 6PD) (bongustorestaurant.com)
• Churchill Arms (Thai) (119 Kensington Church St, Kensington, London W8 7LN) (www.churchillarmskensington.co.uk)
• Honest Burger (Casual) (multiple locations) (www.honestburgers.co.uk)

Where to drink

• The London Edition/Punch Room (see above)
• Experimental Cocktail Club (13a Gerrard St, London W1D 5PS) (experimentalcocktailclublondon.com)
• Sketch (9 Conduit St, Mayfair, London W1S 2XG) (sketch.london)
• Sofitel St. James (see above)
• Coppa Club (3, Three Quays Walk, Lower Thames St, London EC3R 6AH) (www.coppaclub.co.uk/towerbridge/)
• The London Eye (for champagne & views)
• Any proper british pub

Where to have High Tea

• Fortnum & Mason (181 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1A 1ER) (www.fortnumandmason.com)
• Sketch (see above)
• Rose Room @ Sofitel St. James (see above)
• Dean Street Townhouse (see above)