The Stafford is well-placed in St James's, a London neighbourhood well-known for its luxury offering. Nestled in a cosy, no-through road nook between Green Park and St James's Park, it's a postcode that appeals to the senses with its promise of indulgence and renewal: the extravagance of Fortnum & Mason, its anachronistic gentlemen clubs and barbers, cigar emporiums, fine wine merchants and the crisp, bespoke suits of Jermyn Street.
The hotel's location, positively hidden from view, gives the feeling of a retreat. A kinder, gentler corner of London, it's a mood which permeates the property. While a lot of its brash neighbours go full tilt at gold-plated lavishness, sometimes egregious opulence, the sumptuousness here is a lot more easily worn. It comes through in an attitude; their approach.
The staff is cheery, personable and efficient with excellent tips on the neighbourhood. Other guests coo that the property is like a home-from-home; visitors even get personalised business cards. A bit cute I'd say but most people seem to find it endearing. It's a difficult trick to pull off in any case, the feeling of genuine comfort and ease in a central London hotel.History here has cultivated a familiar, warm and informal setting (even other friendly guests seem vaguely familiar, like a nice version of distant cousins) rather than the starchy atmosphere to which some other high-end joints succumb. With a 105 rooms and suites -- 24 rooms in the Main House and the Main House public areas have recently been renovated -- it's just about the right size to pull this off.
This all comes at a high price, of course, but this does translate -- if this is the kind of place your money can reach -- into a real drop in, switch-off and tune out time; one pretty good definition of luxury, and a little sanctuary from the crowds and the traffic.
Rooms
Rooms are spacious with lots of natural light. Hues of crystal and light grey blend with shades of brown sugar and tobacco to create a subtle mix of bold and floral design. Beds are big and modern, with spotless, crisp linen and super-comfortable; the kind that make you feel like an ecstatic breakfast advert in the morning, smiling like a goon despite yourself. The bedroom area -- with liberal wardrobe space -- adjoins a large twin-sink bathroom: huge, downy towels perch on hot rails like blooming magnolia; the toiletries are the kind you'd not just steal but be happy to give as gifts (no, I didn't...); and there's enough room to splash around like a St James's Park Pelican.
A separate sitting area allows you to spread out, with generous workspace, Satellite TV, complimentary Wi-Fi and Bose CD/Radio/Ipod dock, plus a few classic books thrown in for good measure. And it's very quiet. It's no surprise to learn they've had a few film stars stay as you really do have a cut-off-from-the-world privacy here, while being bang in the middle of everything. My room in the Mews, a newer cluster separate to the main hotel, looks opposite onto the peaceful and beautifully converted Carriage House rooms and suites of the 18th century stable Courtyard. Below, under its balconies filled with flowers are some potted trees with a few tables to take in the scent and an evening drink.
The American Bar
The American Bar gets its own heading here because it's a bit of an institution. For a start, they've only had two Bar Managers in the last 50-odd years. Secondly, it's such an eccentric and warm curiosity. Memorabilia from around the globe swarm all surfaces: signed celebrity photographs cram the walls; while sporting artefacts and baseball caps hang from the ceiling. Born in the 1930s cocktail era, when Manhattans and Martinis started to slide into London courtesy of North American visitors, the collection of trinkets it has amassed reflects its passing trade. The bar staff is geniality itself, waiters dressed in shabby chic, serving up their famous ice-cold Martinis and 'Boss' Brew' -- a dark English beer brewed by Daniel Thwaites. You pretty quickly get the idea you could lose yourself for a while in a place like this.
The Stafford Cellars
If you get a chance take a tour of the 380-year old stone, vaulted working wine cellar with underground corridors to St. James's Palace, then jump at it. Available for private hire and wine tastings, it's a real treat to stroll around under the instruction of the man with the keys, Gino Nardella, loyal at the Stafford for more than 40 years and a Master Sommelier, one of around 180 worldwide. The crepuscular surroundings and glinting, constantly changing inventory of between 18,000 and 20,000 bottles, gives a hint of the atmosphere purportedly conducive to Royal shenanigans years past, when the underground corridor was used as a short cut.
Tea & Cake
Breakfast is a prompt but relaxed and unobtrusive service, in a roomy elegant English restaurant, which opens out on to a lounge and drawing room with comfy sofas offering Afternoon Tea throughout the day. The English breakfast itself is delicious; individual parts of the plate to sit back and savour, with staff on hand to explain where they source produce locally. It may even give you the energy to tackle the Fitness Suite later on if you're not tired from the shopping scene outside. Or, you know, feel adequately sated for an early Martini.
A hotel experience is a good one if it confounds expectation, positively. I'll admit, I thought The Stafford may be a little stuffy, a bit staid. There's even a little, unfortunate chip I'm happy to come clean on carrying when visiting this kind of time-honoured, luxury residence, call it a reverse kind of snobbery. It's the highest compliment then that this place knocked it off. It's opulent, welcoming and personal yes, but not pompous or ersatz like a lot of the tinny ostentation that is often de rigour with an established luxury hotel. For a place so recognised, it's swimming against the tide. And good luck to it.Rates: Double rooms start from £235 excl. VAT and breakfast; suites start from £460 excl. VAT and breakfast.
Stay hosted by Kempinski (www.kempinski.com)
