A night at the Sanderson Hotel in London

Posted by @mrsoaroundworld in All Posts, Europe, Guest Bloggers | 25 comments

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Hello Hello..

The Sanderson Hotel, one of the coolest properties in London, kindly invited me to stay the night and experience a night of decadence and luxury in London. Sadly, my travelling schedule is really quite busy this time of the year and I thought of the one person in the world who would enjoy it even more – the one and only Carolyn Pearson, CEO of Maiden Voyage, a female business travel network, of which I am an active member and supporter. Having read what she wrote, I think I need to find a way to go back to this amazing place. Love, xo from Mrs. O

When Mrs O. asked me if I would like to review the Sanderson Hotel in London in conjunction with their exclusive showing of Future Shorts movies, I couldn’t resist on three counts:

1. I have a miniscule attention span, when Mr M-V suggests the cinema, my heart sinks at the very thought of having to sit still for 2 hours, short movies were bound to be my thing.
2. My life’s work is dedicated to scouting for female friendly hotels for the members of www.maiden-voyage.com; and
3. maiden-voyage.com was born  at another Morgan  hotel, in the Sky Bar at LA’s Mondrian Hotel, so visiting the Sanderson would be like visiting the rellies.

On arrival we were greeted by the lovely Aldo who after our seamless and warm check-in by the gorgeous Paris proceeded to give us the grand tour of the hotel.  There is so much to see and do that this is essential to get the most out of your stay.   It was Saturday afternoon, and the Courtyard Garden was awash with colour and excitement, packed with women in pretty dresses nibbling on decadent afternoon tea and sipping  champagne.

Afternoon tea at the Sanderson

We visited the Luna and Curious shop, based in the hotel - a cornucopia of quirky and unique items from mainly British designers.  I  was particularly enamoured by the paper nipple tassels and found the modern, fine bone china willow tea cups complete with roadwork and CCTV designs highly amusing.

There is no such thing as too much shopping!

Our room was minimalist, white, chrome and silver. The Phillipe Starck influence emanates the entire hotel – we even had a pair of Starck designed dumbbells, though judging by their weight, these must have been supplied solely for the boys and the Russian shot putters.  The bathroom was stunning, again all white, glass, chrome and sumptuous curtains.  As a sucker for natural cosmetics, the Malin and Goetz goodies ticked all my boxes and  as one of those people who object to staying in a hotel where the shower is inferior to the one I have at home, let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed.

Our fab room at the Sanderson

After a hop, skip and a clip-clop diversion to Liberty and Selfridges, I returned to flop in the tranquil Agua spa for some well-earned R&R.  The trickle of water, acres of white curtains, stunning furniture scented candles and the custom back massage cocooned all of my senses, as I felt the stresses of my week drift away.

Oops, we did it again!

Nicely relaxed, we settled in our room to watch the Future Shorts and feast on Room Service, provided by the in-house Malaysian street food inspired Suka restaurant.  We opted for the Scallops Satay -  the portion was generous, the scallops juicy and cooked to perfection, followed by the Itik Wanton Sup, a duck broth served with delicious duck dumplings. Kapitan Kambing, a spicy Portuguese influenced red coconut curry made with tender lamb followed and we ended our feast with the Masak Lemak Ruhani ,a yellow coconut curry with chicken, pumpkin and bird eye chillies.  The scrumptious food was complimented perfectly by the chilled Cusquena beers.

We had four films to watch, ranging in duration from 7 to 18 minutes, which suited me perfectly – and ideal for when you are not quite sure how long your room service will take to arrive.  Each film was completely different undoubtedly selected to showcase the variety.  My personal favourite was the BAFTA winning and Oscar nominated “A Morning Stroll”, 7-mins.  The same scene shot three times in 1959, 2009 and 2059 depicted a man’s encounter with a chicken on a New York Street,  first sketched in black and white, then in high-colour graphics and then with vivid animation following an apparent apocalypse.  Bizarre, I know! But you really have to see it, the trailer can be found here A Morning Stroll – Trailer

Chilled and relaxed after our massage, films, dinner and beer it took some effort to venture out and party but we eventually made it down to the famous Long Bar, not before stopping for the obligatory photographs on the equally famous Salvador Dali’s lip Sofa.

The fab @maiden_voyage looking the part at the Sanderson

The 80-foot Starck designed onyx bar was buzzing with a well dressed and glamorous crowd.  Sadly for us, the bar was three deep and it was taking an age to get served.  We retreated to the residents’ Purple Bar instead.  This opulent, intimate and sensual bar is all candles, velvets and as its name suggests, Purple.  We were greeted practically before we got through the door and soon I was sipping on my favourite and expertly shaken Porn Star Martini.  My second wind was upon us and it was time to go dancing.  Aldo still on duty popped us into the Sanderson Mercedes and we felt like royalty when we pulled up at Whisky Mist to dance the night away.

Back at the hotel we flopped into our huge, white, comfortable nest and slept beautifully for hours.

Breakfast was a tasty affair and both our dishes were beautifully presented, portions not over-facing and with top quality ingredients.  I opted for the eggs Florentine, the fluffy egg, rich yolk and spinach were cooked to absolute perfection.  Mr M-V devoured the most beautiful looking full English breakfasts that I have ever seen, so beautiful in fact that I felt compelled to assist!

We left the Sanderson feeling totally special, entirely pampered and huge fans of this wonderful sanctuary.  It was hard to imagine we had only been there for less than 24 hours.  So, would I recommend the Sanderson for my discerning and demanding business travellers? Absolutely, no question – the ladies will love it.  And am I a short-film convert? Absolutely! This will be a great way to while away those dead hours whilst travelling or waiting for room service.

Oh and I’m already planning the 10 year anniversary of maiden-voyage.com at the Mondrian LA and I have a funny feeling Mrs O might like to join me. [Mrs. O - you bet... dates please! I love the Mondrian and always worth a stop every time I go to the USA]

Carolyn

About Maiden Voyage – maiden-voyage.com
Impulsive, mischevious and passionate Carolyn’s mission is to inspire women to get the most out of their business trips (or is that a corporate funded mini-break?) she encourages her members to meet up for dinner, recommend their favourite female friendly hotels, share the coolest places they discover and pick up a sassy international wardrobe. She also has a morbid fascination with Maserati’s (will somebody please buy one for her and shut her up?)