It was a trip in which we ‘flew’ above a great metropolis and dove deep into the ocean to ‘swim’ with sharks, without having to leave our holiday hotspot of London. Our mini-break was filled with thrills and each one within easy striking distance of our swanky Mayfair base, the stylish four-star Cavendish Hotel. With luxurious Fortnum & Mason and The Royal Academy of Arts for neighbours, this gem is close to underground stations and bus routes, and within easy strolling distance of iconic attractions like Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus and the shoppers’ paradise that is Regent and Oxford Streets.
We were escaping the rainy north of Scotland for a city that basked in sunshine. And our holiday began the moment we were on board LNER’s first-class service to Kings Cross Station. Kicking back in spacious seats, we barely had to lift a finger as its team served breakfast, lunch and afternoon eats, accompanied by a steady flow of drinks (all included in the ticket price), in a hassle-free seven-hour journey that was over before we knew it.
A short taxi ride later, we were in our uber-chic room looking at one of the most spectacular panoramic views of the London skyline – St Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben, The Shard and The London Eye. After a sumptuous night’s sleep in a vast bed, followed by a great breakfast we had a full day ahead of us. It started with us celebrating my daughter’s acceptance into university with a champagne, “VIP flight” on board The London Eye, the world’s largest cantilevered observation wheel, launched in 2000 on the South Bank of the River Thames.
Welcomed into the exclusive Eye Lounge by its charismatic host Arnie Souza, we were toasting her success minutes later by sipping bubbles as our pod slowly reached its apex, 135 metres above the river. It was as near to heaven as we could get. But there was more fun to come just a few steps away at Sea Life – the London Aquarium.
Home to more than 500 species in 14 themed zones, we ‘travelled’ to the frozen Antarctic to meet the Gentoo penguins, were introduced to Nemo and other clownfish in the Coral Kingdom zone, the UK’s largest living coral reef, and visited the piranha of the Amazon, before exploring a Pacific shipwreck and getting up-close and personal with its sharks. But the biggest thrill was to dive to the ocean’s depths and ‘swim’ with the apex predators in the aquarium’s state of the art, immersive Virtual Reality Experience. Back on dry land, and still within sight of The Eye, we were on the move again – time travelling to lugubrious London of centuries ago.
The London Dungeon’s actors with great storytelling and special effects, take visitors back to 1665 and the Bubonic plague that killed one fifth of the population, and on to 1888 when Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of Whitechapel mutilating and murdering women. With jump scares galore we screeched and squealed to the exit thrilled, but relieved to finally be, in the words of songster Gerry Rafferty, “winding” our “way down on Baker Street” to the Sherlock Holmes Museum, where the gaslit world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s great fictional detective is recreated. Doyle shares a time frame with celebrated cook Rosa Lewis, a former owner of The Cavendish on the corner of Duke Street and the inspiration for the 1970s BBC period drama The Duchess of Duke Street.
Rosa, who went from a servant to proprietor, was dubbed ‘the Duchess’ for her royal connections. And her legacy lives on at The Cavendish. When not trawling the exclusive bijoux shops of the neighbouring Burlington Arcade – built by Lord George Cavendish, later Earl of Burlington in 1819 – we dined like aristocracy at the hotel’s Mayfair Lounge & Grill where Executive Chef Julian Ward and his hard-working team, spoiled us with the finest of fayre.
Traditional afternoon tea featured delicately cut sandwiches of Atlantic prawns, mushroom parfait, and cream cheese, along with sweet treats such as tiny lemon tartlets, vegan brownies, and a chocolate bombe – the hotel’s own take on Ferrero Rochet. And in the evenings, we dined on salmon, fine fillet steak, and scrumptious desserts like vanilla panna cotta with blackberry gel and honey tuile. Channelling our inner duchess, we even sampled the hotel’s Rosa Lewis inspired cocktails and felt like the toast of London.
The Royal Society of Arts in Piccadilly is a stone’s throw from the Cavendish Hotel and hosts an array of exhibitions and displays that are free for the public to visit, like its Highlights from the RA Collection that’s on until December 2025. Check royalacademy.org.
uk for more information. Factfile A Classic room for two at the Cavendish Hotel costs from £187, and from £170 for ASR members. For bookings and information visit.
