I love a good staycation in London, it always feels so special having a night of luxury in your own city. Earlier this year I had a staycation at The Langham, but this time around I had a night at The Park Tower in Knightsbridge, which is a five star hotel managed by one of my favourite hotels groups – Starwood Resorts. The Park Tower is part of their ultra-luxe hotel arm; The Luxury Collection, which is the same hotel arm as Hotel Imperial, where I stayed in Vienna last year.
Last weekend was the Inter-Club Christmas Ball at the Lansdowne Club, so I headed up to London mid-afternoon and after parking my car just down the road, checked in to my executive room at the Park Tower.
I’ve walked and driven past the Park Tower countless times over the years, it’s probably one of the most recognizable buildings in Belgravia (after Harrods, of course). Designed by Richard Seifert in 1973, it’s a typical hideous 70’s monstrosity, however, when you walk through the doors of the Park Tower, it feels a little like you’ve walked into a Tardis…
It’s glamorous and contemporary with small classic 70’s style touches that are all the rage right now. After a quick check-in I was shown up to my room on the 11th floor. The elevators are super fancy – you type in the floor number you want to go to and you’re told which elevator to wait outside (A, B, or C). There are no buttons inside the elevator and it whisks you straight to your floor.
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| Can you spot the top of Harrods? |
As soon as I stepped into my room I was wowed by the view from the huge window! I dropped my bags and went over to take a look – you could see all over Knightsbridge and Chelsea, with Battersea power station in the distance across the river. I craned my neck slightly to the right and even got a glimpse of Hyde Park!
The room was well appointed with a big comfortable bed and squishy pillows, a very well-stocked mini-bar, complimentary bottled water, a huuuuuge beautiful desk and chair, and a television atop a chest of drawers. Naturally there was also a hairdryer, safe, magazines, etc etc.
The bathroom was stunning. It felt very modern and luxurious with grey marble and a separate shower and bath (I can’t stand it when hotel bathrooms have one or the other). It was well stocked with soft plush towels and Elemis amenity products, as well as a super fluffy robe and slippers.
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| Standard bathroom #mirrorselfie |
The hotel is fairly small, with one bar, one restaurant, a lounge, and a small fitness centre. There’s also the casino which is one of the famous London casinos.
After exploring the room and hotel I headed down the road to Duck & Dry for a blow dry, and then scoured every shop I could think of for fashion tape to keep my ball dress stuck to my skin so I didn’t have any unwanted reveals. I eventually found some in Peter Jones, and then hopped on the bus back up the road to The Park Tower to get ready and changed.
I basically felt like a mermaid in my dress. It was awesome. My guy friends spent most of the ball taking it in turns to carry my train for me – I love them. Dom and Dan even followed me carrying it as I walked and socialized…Peter refused to go that far though and kept just dropping it or passing it over to one of the others. Anyway, I’ll tell you more about the ball in a separate post in a couple of days time – keep an eye out for it!
My whole stay at The Park Tower was wonderful; the hotel interior was clean and stylish, the staff were incredible (special shout-out to Irish John!) and they even left me a box of yummy Rococo choccies, which was a really lovely touch. Plus, check-out is 1pm, so Sunday morning was spent in a hungover state napping on and off on the comfiest pillows ever, rather than rushing around trying to get up and ready by a usual check-out time of 10/11am.
Talking of Rococo chocs, they are one of the three local artisans that the hotel work exclusively with to create bespoke experiences for hotel guests. Rococo Chocolates have a shop on Motcomb Street, which is within five minutes walking distance to the hotel – The Luxury Collection hotels all work with local artisans to provide guests with local experiences indigenous to the area. I absolutely love this and think it’s such a beautiful touch of local luxury!
What’s your favourite hotel in London?
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*My stay at The Park Tower in Knightsbridge was complimentary, however as always all opinions are my own.
Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of SEO at Havas Media Group by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
I love the foyer with the huge hanging chandelier!
I do love a city staycation especially when it's for an event I can't be arsed to stumble home for! A night out is so much more extraordinary when you have a hotel bed to sink into afterward rather then fall asleep in the back of an Uber. Good call, Luxy, good call. x
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That looks divineeee.
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Park Tower looks gorgeous! And that view of Knightsbridge is amazing!
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How stunning does this look? That bed! <3
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I LOVE the idea of a staycation, even more so in Knightsbridge with Rococo chocolates (my fav) for a midnight treat 🙂
Looks gorgeous 🙂 Loveee the first photo of the foyer!
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