The Capital Hotel

The Capital Hotel & Apartments London - Reviews

19 April 2010

Top 3 reasons to stay at the hotel:

1. Best Wine List. Make sure you visit The Capital's restaurant while you're staying there. The dining room is a warm space contrasting bold red furnishings with wood and neutral tones. The service is gracious and professional and, above all, the food is excellent. It's easy to understand why the restaurant has won numerous awards over the years. I started with seared scallops in a delicate curry sauce, followed by turbot and seaweed butter. I finished off my meal with the poached rhubarb desert – delicious. My partner began with an appetizer of duck foie gras ravioli and then a main course of roast grouse "Old England". It's a pleasant surprise to find a restaurant serving predominantly French inspired cooking that specializes in game dishes. There is a good cheese selection which is clearly arranged making choosing far easier than usual. Perhaps the top tip is the wine list which is one of the best I've seen in a while. The wine menu has range and depth with bottles from the affordable right through to the pricier end of the spectrum. The restaurant has a policy of only applying a small corkage charge to bottles with a cost price of £100 or more which means that, without the usual restaurant mark up, this brings some truly wonderful wines within reach. For those of us with less expensive tastes the list also includes wines from the Capital group's very own vineyards. I can thoroughly recommend the Levin rosé as an aperitif.

2. Fashion Capital. If you're a fashionista then The Capital is the ideal place to base yourself whilst in London. The hotel is located on Basil Street bang in the middle of the golden shopping triangle formed by Sloane Street, Brompton Road and Beauchamp Place/Pont Street. The hotel is only a few well-shod steps from the emporiums of Harrods and Harvey Nick's and the chic designer boutiques on Sloane Street and Beauchamp Place. Even if you can't afford to splash the cash then window shopping and people watching are just as much fun. Then, once either your feet or your credit card are maxed out, make the short walk back to the hotel to enjoy afternoon tea served in Sitting Room. The room is light and stylish but still comfortable. There's a selection of teas (or coffee if you prefer) accompanied by a range of sandwiches, cakes and traditional scones, jam and clotted cream. The baked goods come from The London Bakery which is part of the same group as The Capital. The bakery supplies some of London's top hotels and clubs which probably explains why it's difficult to resist scoffing the lot! If you feel like really spoiling yourself then order a glass of champagne as well and just lux out. Teatime can get busy so booking in advance might be a good idea.

3. The Capital Concierge: Going the extra mile – literally. A good concierge can make a huge difference to any hotel stay. We found the concierges at The Capital extremely approachable and knowledgeable. For example we arrived at the hotel late on our first evening and asked the concierge on duty for recommendations for a local restaurant that we didn’t need to book. We also didn't want anywhere too fancy after our long flight. The concierge instantly came up with a range of suggestions and offered to telephone the restaurant to let them know we were on our way. Sadly we never got to meet Clive Smith the head concierge. We were told that if you don't fancy jogging by yourself he will join you on a five mile run around Hyde Park. I'm sure guests requesting directions for their morning run would be amazed to find the head concierge jogging along beside them!

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