– Grosvenor Square Hotel – A Perfect Christmas Shopping Staycation
The location of this five star hotel could not be better. Smack bang in the middle of London’s West End and with a very impressive Mayfair Address, this hotel is just off Oxford Street, a short stroll from Hyde Park and also a hop, skip and a jump from Selfridges – Christmas Shopping Mecca, which makes it the perfect destination hotel to stay in for a luxurious shopping weekend in London…
This stunning hotel was originally a grand townhouse residence, which you can totally imagine – the lobby is very grand and elegant… yet it has a very lived-in feel to it too. It’s warm and friendly.. I felt very at home.
Our room overlooked Grosvenor Square, which used to be a private garden for the occupants of the grand houses that surrounded the square, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s now a public park, so we can all enjoy this little slice of hidden serenity…
In the 1920s, four of the Bentley Boys (a group of wealthy British motorists who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s) took adjacent flats on the square, where their day-long parties became something of social legend. Their large, green sports cars were so often parked ad hoc outside their flats, that for many years London cab drivers referred to the spot as “Bentley Corner”… I think some still do…
I arrived on Friday afternoon, and LM arrived a few hours later, after work. We headed out into wonderful London, to gaze at the sparkling Christmas lights, mooch around the shops… and have a delicious dinner at Patty & Bun. (I have a burger problem.) If you’d rather dine at the hotel, then you should book yourself a table at Maze – Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin Star restaurant.
London is magical during December and so many of the shops are open late on the run up to Chrimbo, so even after we’d finished eating, we still had time to stroll around Selfridges and imagine what we’d buy if we were gazillionaires. Perhaps their £5000 luxury hamper? That’d do.
We got back to our room, kicked off our shoes, had baths, drank tea and watched movies in our fluffy Marriott robes…
I slept SO WELL and leapt out of bed ready for a day of Christmas shopping! But not before we’d had a delicious buffet breakfast in the restaurant downstairs…
We left our bags at the hotel, to be collected later that day and hit the shops!
We must have gone into most of the shops on Oxford Street… which takes some serious dedication. But I still have a few presents left to get… (and when I say a few, I mean most.)
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?
Marriott London Grosvenor Square Hotel
Grosvenor Square,
London
W1K 6JP
