Saturday, 23 September 2017
In September, I had a one night transit in London on my way to Texas. As we arrived, the weather was really pleasant, a breezy 15-18 degrees, with the sun shining slightly.
We stayed at The Landmark London. Built in 1899 during the British Empire’s golden age of steam. The hotel is one of the finest grand hotels in London at the time (and still is!) featuring classic British elegance and grandeur. It is located in Marylebone, which is London’s most fashionable district with easy access to various attractions.
Since we arrived early in the morning and our rooms will only be ready nearer to 12 noon, we left our luggage at the concierge and went for breakfast. We went to Le Pain Quotidien which was quite near to the hotel.
After breakfast, we went to Daunt Books, near the place we had breakfast. Daunt Books is famous for its large collection of travel books. Since we will be going to USA tomorrow, I bought a book on San Francisco.
Later we went back to the hotel to check into our rooms. I was surprised to find how big the room was! I’ve stayed at Le Meridien and Intercontinental in London and the rooms were really small (given how expensive it was). My room at The Landmark was just a Executive Double room and yet it was as large as a suite!
In the afternoon, we went for lunch at Harrods. Boss wanted to give me a lunch treat at the Seafood Bar. We managed to get nice seats overlooking the entire dining area. I’m not much of a seafood guy, but I have to admit the food served at the Seafood Bar is top notch.
After lunch, we went to Oxford Street. The wife asked me to get a Kindle from John Lewis. We did some window shopping along Oxford Street and later headed to Selfridges.
All that walking made us hungry and we thought it best to have teatime at The Brass Rail. The salted beef was just perfect!
From Selfridges, I went for a walk to Hyde Park. All my trips to London will never be complete without a stroll at Hyde Park. I went to Serpentine Lake and rented one of the garden chairs. It’s really relaxing. It’s rare that I get some time off like this. There’s always something that needs to be done if I’m back home. I sat there observing the tourists and the many people going about their life.
For dinner, I bought packed food from Marks and Spencer. These were my favourite when I was doing my postgraduate in Cardiff in 2013. I had an early night as the following day is our flight to Austin, Texas.
Sunday, 24 September 2017
The breakfast served at the Landmark was definitely, by far, the best I’ve had at a hotel in London. They provide a wide range of selection, including meals that could be ordered from the menu (such as pancakes, American breakfast etc).
After breakfast, we checked out and headed to Heathrow Terminal 5. Our flight was the British Airways BA191. At the airport, I was fortunate enough that one of the bosses invited me into the business class lounge of British Airways. It was my first time in the lounge. It was a good experience. Our flight departed at 12 noon as per schedule. More details on my trip to Texas in the following post.
Imran Jaafar 