I love The Rosewood Hotel. I think it's the most underrated luxury hotel in London. I fell in love with it when it first opened a few years ago and till this day it’s the only hotel whereupon entering, no matter how many times I visit, I become so excited. Is that sad? Might be a little bit. But I'll own it. 

I'm a big lover of hotel life. And you needn't be staying over to be a part of it. Many of these hotels will welcome you for lunch or even just a coffee / drink. Many times I even waltz in just to roam around or seek refuge from the British weather. 

The London hospitality scene is fierce and every brand works hard to be a cut above the rest in want of leaving a memorable mark. Each brand and the building that houses it, delivers a different kind of experience but I don't know why The Rosewood truly has my heart. 

The location is bittersweet; it's situated on High Holborn which is a main road, and a highly busy and corporate one at that. So the accessibility isn't great and the surroundings, though scenic, make it easy to mistake it for just another old looking building (it’s actually a stunning Edwardian building dating back to the 1914’s. Here’s more on its History).  

However, within its shortcoming lies its greatest asset; upon walking through the archway (which houses two plush, smokey bars at either side) you arrive at the centre of the square which feels like an escape from the metropolis, it feels like you’ve stepped into another world, one which is on a need to know basis. This is a unique feature of the hotel because despite being situated somewhere congested, it still manages to introduce an air of secrecy and discovery upon arrival. Many other hotels which are also situated on a main road transition from a busy street straight into the lobby (such as The Langham, The Lanesborough and The Berkeley).

The interior design was carried out by EPR Architects and it makes me swoon. Sahir once said to me ‘does it really matter whether you take a picture in a certain way and get a certain look? Isn’t just taking the picture enough?’ To which I replied ‘there is a reason why Creative Directors get paid six figure salaries. There is such a thing as elevated taste’. 

Point being, details matter. How all the small details come together to then enable a certain ‘vibe’ and ‘mood’ which you can luxuriate in…matters. And this is what I adore about The Rosewood. Not only is every small aesthetic detail thought through, but there’s a real art (and dare I say highly profitable skill) in being able to bring together disparate elements which seem contradictory, but actually when amalgamated work in perfect harmony. I’m referring to the stark contrast of patterns and colour of both the lobby and reception. It’s head spinning candy for an interior junkie.   

Additionally, the colourway and the lighting are exactly the kind of palette I love; it’s modern but still retains a classic, moody and subtle atmosphere. Another very small detail I adored was instead of stacking coffee table books on top of each other (which they have also done, obviously) they also have books open to display the contents, not necessarily for you to read (which you can if you want) but because those open pages have been specifically chosed to reflect and enhance the decor placed around it. It might sound like an odd thing to love, but this tiny gesture has real thought behind it to even incrementally enhance the table and contribute to the overall impression. (On a separate note, I’ve been meaning to do a post on alternative coffee table books because we need to say no to the Tom Ford coffee table book.)   

We visited The Rosewood when it was pouring in London, which just made it that much more beautiful.

Given this trip ended up being sporadic, I went all cosy, cosy. Contrary to what some people may think, you can visit places in casual attire and trainers. Having said that, that’s not a detail I favour much; I think it's really sad that the art of dressing up has been declining. There’s pros and cons to both, if I had to chose I would have preferred London to still enforce a dress code in some places, these places are far and few in between.

The tea itself actually ended up being impromptu because I was supposed to go with the girls of my family, and the plan fell apart in the morning of the booking. However, because the booking had already been made, I’ve canceled on The Rosewood once before and I really wanted to try the Art Afternoon Tea, I dragged Sahir along.

Afternoon Tea is a really big thing for luxury hotels. BBC’s documentary on The Corinthia showed just how much time the staff spend discussing all the minute details to perfect it. A lot of hotels even try themed teas as an additional pull; the Pret-a-Portea at The Berkeley is a good example where they create the pastries and nibbles based on Fashion. The Rosewood have the Art Afternoon Tea; pastries and treats based on the work of a selected artist whose exhibition is currently live in London; this time round it was Yayoi Kusama at the Tate Modern.

It’s so beautifully presented, there is a bit of theatre to it which makes it feel special. I love how they’ve sketched out the pastries in the menu with annotations to give it more substance (yes it’s a little bit extra but tastefully done). Although, disappointingly nearly all afternoon tea pastries are made of moose which can often make them all taste the same. However, there was a distinction in flavour with these three (the green was my favourite which was made with coconut).

All things considered, I do think this tea is worth going to. The scones weren’t the best (The Dorchester topped these) and the sandwiches were the good kind of average (The Tiffany blue box cafe had the best afternoon tea sandwiches. Although I did love the combination of salmon and wasabi).

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