The Stafford Hotel, Mayfair London

The Stafford Hotel is one of London’s quintessentially British luxury hotels. Situated in the heart of Mayfair, the hotel  has the wonderfully relaxing atmosphere  of a private country house with antique charm. With a fascinating heritage, the hotel has long established itself as one of the capital’s iconic destinations but with all the contemporary amenities and modern touches.

We visited for a weekend of indulgent Bond Street shopping and stayed in the newest addition to the hotel, The Stafford Mews. Overlooking a picture-perfect cobbled courtyard, our suite in the Mews perfectly combined cutting edge design with classic English elegance.  With the luxury of underfloor heating, a huge marble bath tub, walk in wardrobe and dressing room and decadently fluffy robes, we had to drag ourselves out of the room to go and explore the rest of the hotel…

The American Bar on the hotel’s ground floor has an amazing heritage. Covered from floor to ceiling in photos and memorabilia from the hotel’s colourful patrons that has been built up over the years, I could spend hours just browsing the pictures with a well mixed martini in hand. Charles Guano, the former head barman of the American Bar worked at The Stafford for 42 years. His legacy and that of the first head barman Louis Crozet still remain. Now overseen by Charles' young protege, Benoit Provost, a visit to the American Bar is mandatory and also has a great laid back menu if you don’t want the formality of dining in the restaurant.

However, if you’d prefer to be in the gym than in the bar, there is a state-of-the-art workout studio within the Stafford Mews with all the latest gym equipment. Accommodation at The Stafford also includes membership to luxury fitness club and pool 'The Third Space', which is a short walk away.

But for me, the most impressive part of The Stafford is located deep underground in the 350 year old vaulted stone wine cellars. A tremendous hidden gem, the cellars were originally built in the 17^th century and are still used by the hotel today to house around 800 labels. If you stay, be sure to request a candlelit tour, where you will not only see the incredible wine collection but also part of the cellars that were used as air raid shelters in WWII and still have remnants of that time remaining, such as gas masks and wartime posters. The cellars have a wonderful space for private dining and the hotel can also arrange wine tastings there – well worth a visit.

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