The Rosewood London is a new hotel in London. Following its opening in October 2013, and an extravagant £85 million renovation, this Grade-II listed building has snapped up prizes and quickly became recognised as the "Best New Hotel in the World 2014" by Telegraph's Ultratravel. 

Guests enter the hotel via a carriageway, leading to the grand courtyard. There's a certain safety-net one would feel upon entering the establishment. Its aim is to make guests feel like they are at a private manor house rather than any other hotel.

Its location is unique - in the heart of High Holborn, disregarding the posh crowds in Mayfair and on the Strand; at the same time, it's within walking distance to Covent Garden and Soho. It seemed to me that there are two main crowds: the fashion savvy group who are familiar to the Rosewood Hotels (among those, the niche group that flock to London Collections Men twice a year) or the cultural group as the hotel is only short walk away from the British Museum and the Royal Opera House. Shaftesbury Theatre, which is currently showing the musical Memphis, happens to be right around the corner.

Although I didn’t have the time to stay at the hotel, I did visit the Holborn Dining Room - an all-day brasserie that serves classic British dishes. For starters, we had the chicken avocado salad and the dressed cornish crab. Both dishes came in medium portions and was excellent for sharing. As per any other fashion week, I try to stick to full attendance schedule and attend everything I am invited to so to write and be inspired. Lunch is rarely planned and so we decided to be a bit greedy with our mains: half a dozen of oysters, a small steak tartare, roast beef, fried squid and a mac and cheese on the side. 

Rather than ordering dessert, we were told that cocktails were one of the many highlights of the brasserie. I wanted something sweet but zesty. The bartender recommended ‘Taste of the Orient’ which was a mixture of Kaffir lime leaf infused Stolichnaya with ginger and egg white. This was exceptionally refreshing after a day of running around and, even though I am not normally a ginger person, somehow the ginger added a nice twist to the cocktail. We lounged for two hours on the booth seats which were incredible comfortable and are the best for admiring the interior design of the restaurant.

After dinner, I explored around the hotel and found the Scarfes Bar, adjacent to the restaurant. The atmosphere is similar to that of a gentleman’s club with another menu for cocktails and live jazz music six nights a week. Its vibrant energy makes it a great place to relax and unwind after a day’s worth of meetings or shopping around oxford street. Through the lobby is the Rose Bronze Gallery in the heart of the hotel. A space that connects the courtyard, the Scarfes bar, the mirror room (which is a more quiet dining room for breakfast, light business lunches and afternoon teas).

If you’re sharp enough to have heard of the Rosewood London, you would most definitely have heard of the “Slow Food & Living Market” which take place every Sunday in the courtyard to let guests and visitors of the hotel enjoy a traditional marketplace experience brought together by local growers. Some of the ingredients are even used in the restaurants. Of course, if one insists to be ‘city-needy’, there’s a little waitrose just outside of the hotel and a larger Sainsbury’s local around the corner. 

To understand more about the size of the hotel, Rosewood London houses 262 guestrooms with 44 suites. One of the largest suites, the Manor House Wing, has 6 bedrooms and even its own postcode. Whether your visit is to stay at the hotel or a drink at the Scarfes bar, you would understand that Rosewood has a strong architectural image. When Caroline Rose Hunt founded the hotel in 1979, her desire was to create a residential-style hotel that provides guests with specific, personalised needs. If all this doesn't wow you enough, then the Renaissance-style Grand Pavonazzo Marble Staircase will leave you marvelling... at the marble. Marvelling marble.

: Outfit details ::

Jacket, T-shirt, Belt, Hat - Topman

Trousers - Marni

Shoes - Maison Margiela

To be continued…#tbc