i am soooo not a luxury kinda gal. i like my food cheap and my clothes cheaper, and i tend to spend the rest of my money on travel. i'm tooootally happy with my spending decisions, and rarely am i led astray. rarely. like, yeah, okay sure: i look at fancy expensive holidays abroad and wish that was me, and sometimes consider upgrading my budget hotel room to something a little fancier, but at the end of the day, i like my holidays like i like my clothes, cheap and cheerful, with a side of quirk. which sort of puts me at odds with most luxury hotels, because i'm not their target audience. except, i may have found one where i actually am the target audience: the sanderson hotel in soho.
invited along by my good friends at amara, i was hopeful. i'd been to the sanderson once before in another life, and had hazy memories of feeling reallly out of place - sipping on champagne in a primark dress, but being surrounded with friends and totally indulging in the hotel's famous mad hatter's afternoon tea, it was almost like my own version of luxury. i remember loving it, and whenever anyone mentions quirky afternoon teas in london, i always suggest the sanderson - even after just one visit, so when i received a gilded invitation in the mail suggesting another serving of the alice in wonderland themed afternoon tea, i was giddy with joy.
the tea was as delicious as i remember it being, and the floral champagne flowed (never a complaint from me). mystery cocktails and cups of tea were the beginning of a feast for all the senses, where tiny sandwiches, alcohol-infused cakes, biscuits, scotched quail eggs, and sweet treats made for the most sugary dinner i've had in a long time outside of a mcdonalds. my personal favourite of the lot was the "drink me" pottles of creamy goop that made me lick my lips hungrily. the tiny croque monsieur bites were another favourite across the table, with the sweet meringue mushrooms really making my night. everything that was served to us is available to eat in the hotel's beautiful conservatory every day, for £58 per person (bottomless champagne too, mind). you don't have to be a guest in the hotel either, which is fab news, because the conservatory and their front bar are some serious interior goals that need to be seen to be believed. my advice: have the afternoon tea. have a drink in the bar. ride the elevator. then go home to your own bed.
you would be forgiven for not wanting to go home to your own bed though, especially after riding the galaxy-print elevators up and down the many hotel floors. the whole of the lobby is annoyingly decorated, with so many bits and pieces to stare at, ogle over, sit on, touch, and play with, that it's any wonder how the staff get anything done. the word "quirky" springs to mind, but i suppose it's much more than that. nothing about the sanderson's lobby (or rest of the interior for that matter) is just thrown together; care and consideration has gone into every print, purchase and positioning of the decor, and it pays off. this lobby alone makes me want to see what the rest of the hotel is like, so maybe i will. maybe. i. will.
big ol' thanks to amara and the sanderson for being such gracious hosts, and for taking care of my endless champagne requests.
