Things to do for Kids in London

1. Go to Regent’s Park to see the swans. They are considered “royal” in England, and belong to the queen. They also have Open Air Theatre there, and you can see Shakespeare outside! Good playgrounds and tennis courts, too.
2. Do you like Sherlock Holmes? He lived not too far away from the park at 221b Baker Street. He has a museum, where you are greeted by a policeman (bobby in England) and shown the house by people in costume.
3. At the London Canal Museum, you can see where children worked in the 19^th century when they were only eight years old! It is on New Wharf Road, near Kings Cross.
4. Watch the street performers and musicians at Covent Garden. Then shop for toys at Hamleys, or go The Kite Store and try your luck! They also have really cool markets there.
5. The Tower of London is where people stayed before they got their heads cut off. The Crown Jewels are there too-you can see the biggest diamond in world there!
6. If you want to know what it is like to be tortured and live in a dungeon, try the Clink Museum. It is near the London Bridge, which is not falling down like the rhyme says.
7. Take a picnic from Fortnum and Mason’s food store to Potter’s Park, right near the Design Museum. Afterwards you can take your parents there. They have wonderful high tea, too………
8. The Natural History Museum has really big dinosaurs and a whole Creepy Crawlies House. You can even stand in an earthquake stimulator!
9. Kensington Gardens is where the book Peter Pan started. In the Serpentine nearby, you can rent boats, or go horseback riding in Hyde Park.
10. Visit Blenheim Palace, outside of London. That is where Winston Churchill was born! Then you can go see the Cabinet War Rooms, in the Westminster area. That is where made all of his decisions during World War II.
11. If you go to the Tate Museum, pick up a picture trail map at the Front Desk. They have lots of activities for kids there, and there is an Art Trolley with games for the whole family.
12. On the weekends, you can go to the Greenwich markets. There is a really big comic collection there, too. If you go to the Old Royal Observatory, you can stand with one foot in the Western Hemisphere and one foot in the Eastern!
13. At Harrods store in Knightsbridge, they have pets, toys, kid’s books, and four restaurants! Good fish and chips………
14. Go to Notting Hill after you watch the movie. They sold the red door at an auction to some Japanese collectors! There is a really cool market there, and antiques on Saturdays.
15. Want to see where Princess Diana lived? Go to Kensington Palace and take a tour. You can see some of her clothes, too. Visit the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens.
16. They have been locking the Tower of London every night for 600 years at the Ceremony of the Keys. Book in advance………spooky!
17. Hyde Park riding stables for those missing their pony!
18. Battersea Dogs Home is the largest dog rescue home in the world.
19. Pantomime Season at Christmas is the best-famous male actors dress up as women! Good for the whole family.
20. The old medical operating theatre – St. Thomas’ – Lots of blood and gore!

Favorite Hotels (Well, Some of Them)

$ = Under $100

$$ = $100 - $200

$$$ = $200 - $300

$$$$ = $300 - $500

$$$$$ = $500 plus

I am often asked what my favorite hotels are. It is a tough question – “Chacun a son gout” as the French say, and what is heaven to some is hell to another. There are so many fabulous hotels; it really depends on your mood. Foie gras? Burgers and fries? Or a simple grilled fish? And who are you traveling with? Girls weekend, elderly parents, family reunion…

Here are a few highly biased examples of hotels I return to again and again:

Europe - $$$ - $$$$

Paris – The Victoria Palace. Low-key, huge rooms, and in a decidedly non-chic cul-de-sac. Great service, very personal, family run, and in the heart of the most desirable area of Paris – the 7^th in the Left Bank. I love the Meurice, L’Hotel, Duc de Saint Simon, The Four Seasons Georges V, but I come back to the VP every time I am in town. $$$$

Rome – La Posta Vecchia. Nothing to do, nothing to see – just a world class hotel on a rocky promontory with great food in a Roman villa owned by the Getty Oil family and filled with priceless antiques. You will never sleep more soundly. $$$$$

Amalfi Coast, Italy – There are so many spectacular options here – an embarrassment of riches, really. However, my heart belongs to Le Sirenuse – I was married here and it combines familial hospitality with a crack managerial team and historical memorabilia from the 15^th century. The Sersale family has owned the property for what? Three or four hundred years? and is very much a presence. Kind of like staying in a private villa if they had room service and were related to Popes. Perched vertiginously over the Positano Coastline, it is a tiny jewel. $$$$$

Florence – It doesn’t get better than this – the hotel situation in Florence, that is. From The Lungarno Hotels to The Savoy to The Helvetia and Bristol, everyone is as good and as unique as its neighbor. However, JK Place feels like home to me. Located across from Santa Maria Novella Church, one of my favorites, it feels like home if your partner was a world class interior decorator, no check in, no lobby, doesn’t even have great views - but when you walk in you are handed seamlessly a prosecco or a scalding cappuccino when it is raining. The general manager was the youngest Clef D’or concierge around (the highest possible accolade) so any possible wine tasting or private tour can be arranged. $$$$ - $$$$$

UK – Stafford Hotel – London – Again, throw a rock in London and you will break the window of a fabulous hotel. Whether boutique, traditional, or modern, London has superlative accommodation to fit all tastes. I love the Stafford because the staff is idiosyncratic – they tell you what they think – and are so welcoming that I have the illusion of owning a historical home in London. A two minute walk from Green Park, this is the kind of hotel that greets you by name, remembers what you drink, and is not above bringing a cup of tea unannounced and unsolicited to a chilled guest on a typically blustery London afternoon. Close enough to walk to the theatre, with a killer bar frequented by The Royals. Add to this the most lauded concierge team in London, multiple winners of awards by Frank Laino and his staff. $$$$$

Mexico -

Cabo Surf Hotel. Just what it sounds like – great surf at a family owned hotel on a decent swimmable beach, a rarity in the Cabo San Lucas area. Fabulous local seafood, very plain but clean rooms, and a surf shop with waves easy enough to learn on. A cheap spa, really tasty margaritas, and water warm enough and safe enough to walk right in. No design, no renaissance frescos, just all the necessary elements. $$

The Inn at Monzanillo Bay. A room above a good restaurant with a view of the surf, hammock, and a patio at $100 a night? Check. Bungalows down by the beach for 2-3 at $130? Check. Tide-pooling and great surf? Yep. Salty margaritas around a pool with a waterfall and tropical landscaping – DID I MENTION THE SURF? Yep, point break out front. Great for families, surfers and budget travelers who like a more “luxe” vibe. Fly into Zihuatanejo on Mexico’s Pacific Coast and cab or drive 40 minutes worth. $ - $$.

Ah, Capri

The most famous hotel on the island is the Quisisana. It literally looks like it was decorated from Grandmother’s garage sale before she moved to assisted living. White and gold furniture, flowered bedspreads and coffee tables with fake columns. All of this would be absolutely fine if it was 1970. On the positive side, it is tranquil, immaculately clean, and has a nice garden right in the middle of the touristy hordes of Capri’s pedestrian alleys. So if you need to be in the heart of the action and have money to burn, the Hotel Quisisana will suit perfectly. If you don’t have mobility issues and bad design is bothersome then the so-called “Quisi” will not work…It is a bit like being stuck in a late 60’s Capri time warp minus the chic of Jackie Onassis and the humor of Austin Powers.

A bit farther from town is their two sister properties, the Casa Morgana and the Scalinatella. These are mini-versions of the Quisisana design theorem – including, and I jest not, a blackamoor draped with pearl at the doorway of the Scalinatella. One wonders at the political correctness of it all. On the bright side, the private terraces off the rooms in both hotels are gorgeous sparkling clean, with calendar perfect views of Capri and the sea beyond. In the shiny white and blue tile, potted plants and slating arrangements in each private balcony there is much to be admired. The problem for me is the price – high season rates run from 700 to 1300 euros for these accommodations at the Casa Morgana and Scalinatella. I cannot imagine what the Hotel Quisisana charges, nor do I want to know. If these were three star hotels with three star pricing, I could recommend them without reservation. However, views and charm alone do not compensate for the design issues and cramped quarters.

J.K. Place, not in the town of Capri, but by the harbor, has similar pricing with stunning design and views, extraordinary service, a beach, a spa, and a full sized pool. I don’t know what I am missing, but there seems like no comparison. Again, I suppose there are those who wish to be within shouting distance of Lacoste and Prada, but with balconies with stunning sea views, a swimmable beach, great pool area, and décor reminiscent of a private house in the Hamptons with Italian flair, why wouldn’t you stay there?

The staff is attired in light blue seersucker jackets (like an Aman resort, you never sign a bill), the rooms have a complimentary mini-bar, ample storage space, great lighting, and terrific bath products.

Greenwich Hotel NYC

If the new Crosby Street Hotel is about fun, whimsy and buzz, the Greenwich is about having your own private club. Dimly lit, filled with eclectic antiques and original period light fixtures, its sign is so discreet I took three visits to find the door.

The lobby is tile, with potted palms, antique hand worked screens, leather club chairs, and British art pottery. It has the feeling of a latter day Explorers Club or the eccentric compilations of a very serious collector.

Each room is different-not cosy per se, as the floors are hard wood and the art is minimal-but supremely comfortable with hidden amenities and a box filled with childhood sweets. The tubs are Moroccan tile, and your hanging clothes are hidden in antique armoires.

Room service is provided by the restaurant off the lobby, Locanda Verde. It bills itself as “rustic Italian cuisine”-full flavored salads with hazelnuts and pear, ravioli with sage butter, or grinders with Italian sausage or a starter jalapeno/crab crostini. It is noisy, buzzy, and bistro -ish with a lively bar scene and some inventive house cocktails.

The downstairs spa and pool are romantic and Asian in feeling-lounge chairs of bamboo, stairs made of hand hewn wood and rope. The spa treatments are unique, and available only to the guests. The gym is very well equipped-I kept feeling like the next hot thing would be working out there to get in shape for a movie or two.

This is place to meet good friends, have a drink, play cards, not so much to see and be seen. The atmosphere is purposefully discreet and quiet.

The Crosby Street Hotel

The Crosby Hotel opened in the heart of New York’s Soho a bit over two months ago. The facade is white – dramatic – relentlessly chic in a neighborhood of red brick.

Opened by the darlings of the London Hotel trade, the Kemps, it has been an immediate success. Kit Kemp is known for her wide ranging reinterpretation of English design. She whimsically mixes tapestry chairs with pop art-ish paintings of Queen Elizabeth, 1960’s lamps, driftwood, and African artifacts. The effect is of a rather charming collection of an eccentric uncle in London. Walls are painted shades of saturated green, ceilings are very high, and the light is fabulous. Each room is individually decorated and different from the rest.

The restaurant is a combination of striped banquettes, a wall of telephones, and hanging lamps in hot luminescent colors. The food is an inventive remix of old standards – Maine lobster roll, fish and chips, club sandwich, steak tartare – and some “nouvelle” choices like sheep's milk cheese panini with roasted vegetables.

Service is surprisingly good for such a new hotel-the concierge department is very well versed, room service is smart and efficient, and the attitude is personal without sacrificing professionalism.

Nouvelle India

At the annual Virtuoso Travel Symposium in Las Vegas, there were a number of provocative and unique travel experiences that caught my eye…
India has had an explosion of luxury products in the past couple of years. The challenge with India is the sheer size and unpredictability of transport. Two new concepts that handle this issue are: itineraries by private plane and a new luxury train. Private plane travel allows clients to discover the palaces, forts and high mountains of the north while enjoying the sun, beaches and distinct culture of the south. Itineraries are surprisingly affordable- around $5400 per person-not bad for private plane travel.
The luxury train will cover both the Taj Mahal and safaris to view India’s tigers. It has ensuite bathrooms with all gourmet meals and private excursions with sumptuous staterooms at $800 per person per day.

Hotel updates Espana!

Madrid continues to amaze as a capital of art, food, and architecture.......unfortunately the Ritz Hotel there needs a major update. Great location, amazing management, incredible old fashioned but delicious fine dining.....however the old girl needs a bit of a lift and we are not talking eyes only.

For some reason two of the other "Grandes Dames" in Spain have similar issues: the Maria Cristina in San Sebastian, close to Bilbao and the Basque Country, and the Alfonso XIII in Seville. The Alfonso is the biggest offender: not only does it need an update but the staff are surly and push the most expensive rooms. Least you think I am being too harsh this report has come from three different clients.