Travel: Brown’s Hotel, London

There can be few hotels where history just seems to ooze from every oak-panelled wall, but at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair you can almost taste it.

It was here that Edinburgh-born Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call in Britain. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt visited Brown’s on their honeymoon and Rudyard Kipling wrote the Jungle Book during a stay here. Crime writer Agatha Christie visited many times and based her book At Bertram’s Hotel, complete with characters Canon Pennyfather, Archdeacon Simmons and Lady Selina Hazy, on Brown’s.

A place with the modern conveniences of a five-star hotel, Brown’s retains a sophistication that sets it apart from its often-gaudy competitors. The hotel has a discreet entrance in Mayfair, free from modish gewgaws. You won’t find a football-pitched sized atrium with 25ft-high ceilings here to greet you. Instead Brown’s feels private and cosy.

Since James Brown founded the hotel in 1837, Brown’s has grown by acquiring adjacent townhouses, to leave it with 117 individually designed bedrooms, including 29 suites, all updated as part of a £24 million renovation in 2005.

The Rocco Forte-owned hotel sits in the centre of Mayfair, close to Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace and Oxford Street, making it a perfect location for a sightseeing weekend. The immediate vicinity is a shoppers’ paradise with the exclusive jewellers of Bond Street and the designer shops that sit neatly around Savile Row. While this all makes Brown’s the perfect base to see London, the hotel is so comfortable and alluring that it’s easy to find oneself drawn back to its surroundings rather early in the day.

Afternoon tea at Brown’s (£39.50, also available to non-residents) is an institution and frequently listed in guidebooks as one of the top ten things to do in London. The myriad teas on offer read like a wine list, and the tower of sandwiches, cakes, scones, homemade jam and clotted cream is replenished continuously. All this is served to live piano music: it’s a lovely way to spend an hour or two. Booking is recommended.

Guests can work off any excess with a jog in nearby Green Park or with a session in the well-appointed gym. However, if more relaxation is required then head to the brilliant spa. Here, many of the treatments are tailored for men. I tried the NuBo Gentlemen’s MOT, billed as the all-in-one treatment for the modern man, and consisting of a neck and shoulder massage, a mini facial, brow tidy and mini manicure. Lasting 75 minutes it will leave you completely relaxed and ready to hit the town.

Elsewhere, the hotel’s traditional surroundings have been carefully updated where it matters: the bedrooms. Sumptuous beds with a choice of linen, limestone bathrooms and Bridget Riley prints add a modern edge. The look is completed by ultra-sleek Bang and Olufsen televisions.

I stayed in the Albemarle suite which, at 80 square metres, boasts a series of rooms that are much larger than many London flats. Indeed, so big is this corner suite that I timed how long it took to walk from one end to the other: 26 seconds. If that doesn’t impress, try it at home.

The modern edge can also be seen in the hotel’s main restaurant, Hix at The Albemarle, where a contemporary interior is fused with classic English cuisine including fish and chips, Morecambe Bay shrimps and wood pigeon on toast.

There are plenty of reasons to visit London, but staying at Brown’s is a wonderful treat for the discerning traveller.

THE FACTS

Brown’s Hotel, Albemarle Street, is offering two-night Weekend Treats at £300 per night (plus VAT).