London! What a thrill to be back in one of my most favorite cities in the world, and especially since most of us have been unable to travel overseas since the Covid-19 pandemic hit almost two years ago. First things first: traveling today is so different from what we are used to. To enter the UK for instance, a mandatory Day 2 test (basically a PCR test) must be booked and paid for in advance, with the booking number inputted onto the Passenger Locator Form you’re required to fill out 48 hours before you plan on entering the country. Also, to travel to England, it depends whether you have been fully vaccinated or where you’ve been the past 10 days before– so make sure you check the government website here.
I had just come from the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021 awards ceremony in Antwerp, Belgium, so for me it was just a Eurostar ride away. Nevertheless, I arrived extra early to make sure I had all the required and necessary documents, and thankfully, I was very quickly good to go!
And I could not have wished for a more warmer welcome. Home for me was at the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel, at the heart of Mayfair– the absolute best location you could ask for. As a food person, it was walking distance to the restaurants on the top of my list to visit this trip: Ikoyi and Kol, two very hot restaurants right now; the world’s No. 1 bar in the world, The Connaught Bar; a super cool food hall housed in a former church, Mercato Mayfair; and important sights like Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace (only 15 minutes), plus two tube stations: Hyde Park Corner is around the corner, and Green Park is a short stroll.
The InterContinental Hotel Group is also celebrating its 75th Diamond anniversary this year, so they are offering a ton of exciting things. If that’s not enough, please do read through to find out why you should stay at the Intercontinental Park Lane Hotel on your next visit to London:
1. Location
InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel’s location is perfect- just a short stroll to Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and all the restaurants I wanted to visit that I only used the tube twice during my entire stay! That saves a lot of travel time, not to mention the convenience of just walking allowed me to inhale the city’s beautiful sites. But did I mention that the property is built on the site of the childhood home of thee Queen? Princess Elizabeth, now Her Majesty the Queen, was fourteen months old when she moved with her parents to 145 Piccadilly, their first permanent home and now the site of the hotel.
2. Incredibly cozy rooms and bathrooms
Rooms at the hotel start at 18sqm (classic) and go up to 28sqm (executive), each featuring super comfy king or queen beds dressed with Tuxedo Frette linens, Bluetooth sound system and a flat screen TV. Sustainable coffee products by Kiss the Hippo coffee, the UK’s premier carbon negative coffee brand, as well as teas by East India Company are complimentary for guests to enjoy on their William Edwards Fine Bone China mugs. Turndown service are prompt and efficient nightly. Bathrooms are ultra cozy with heated toilet seats, rain showers at the touch of a button and amenities by handcrafted, botanically infused Mitchell and Peach.
3. Warm and friendly service
At the InterContinental London Park Lane, the doormen always greet you by your name. Housekeeping, the bar team and the front desk were also warm and friendly.
4. In-house PCR testing with overnight or 6.5 hour turnaround times
As Covid has altered the way we travel, the UK requires mandatory Day 2 (and sometimes, Day 8) testing depending on which countries you are traveling from. This booking is required before they let you through the border, and while some people scramble on where to find the most convenient clinic, or a self-administered test where you can get the tests back in time (I’ve heard that some self-administered tests take forever!), the InterCon offers this at the convenience of the hotel for £99 per person. The self-administrated saliva-based RT-qPCR Covid-19 test kit is being delivered by the UK Government-approved biotech firm HALO and is processed at the Imperial College in London. The results come overnight, and the test includes a travel certification. In case you need a shorter turnaround time, the hotel also offers the Express Halo Test with results available in 6.5 hours for £199.
5. Special anniversary offerings including the InterContinental75 anniversary cocktail
In honor of their 75th Diamond Anniversary, the hotel group has created an anniversary cocktail, the InterContinental75, a reimagination of the classic French 75, in partnership with Piper-Heidsieck Champagne and The Botanist Gin— which is available at all their 130 properties globally— from now until April 2022. They are also offering InterContinental Diamond Stay Packages, inviting guests to immerse themselves in the heritage and culture of historic London and Edinburgh, including a private viewing of the Crown Jewels, a portrait shoot with one of the Royal family’s photographers, and a helicopter trip to Marchmont House, with packages starting at£75,000.
For bookings or more information, contact londonreservations@ihg.com
