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Review: ‘This central London hotel strikes the perfect balance between luxury and homely comfort’
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This five-star Bloomsbury retreat offers an intimate cosiness and charm that a purpose-built chain hotel could never match.
I’ve often heard of people talking about a ‘home away from home’, but I’m not sure I ever truly experienced it myself until I stayed in The Academy, London. Don’t get me wrong – my home doesn’t look anything like the luxurious interiors of this five-star Bloomsbury retreat – but there’s something about its intimate scale, with a network of cosy reception rooms and quiet corners, that makes it feel instantly welcoming. Made up of a collection of five beautifully restored Georgian townhouses, it has managed to retain a charm that a purpose-built chain hotel could never match.
A wander through the ground floor brings you to The Library, a welcoming, book-lined place to sit back and read, sipping on tea, nibbling on some delicious biscuits, and generally letting the world go by. Not far away, The Alchemy Bar offers a richly decorated setting for bespoke cocktails and speciality gins, extending into a bright conservatory that opens onto a secluded courtyard. Here, weather permitting, you can linger over afternoon tea, a fabulous way to spend a few leisurely hours.
Intriguingly named ‘Mr Ma’s Afternoon Tea’, the ritual is loosely themed around the novel Mr Ma and Son by Chinese author Lao She, which was set in the streets of Bloomsbury that surround the hotel. It’s very much a quintessential English spread, including the classic sandwiches and scones with clotted cream, but with a subtle Asian twist.
And so to the bedroom. I was lucky enough to stay in one of the Bloomsbury Suites at the front of the hotel, overlooking Gower Street and the University of London. Generously proportioned with high ceilings and abundant natural light, it features a huge, extremely comfortable bed, cosy seating area centred around a marble fireplace, and a marble-lined en-suite shower room. It strikes the perfect balance between indulgent luxury and homely comfort – the kind of room you can truly unwind in.
But no matter how beautiful your room, or how tempting it might be to spend the day cosying up with a good book in the library, you’re going to want to go out and explore a little bit of what London has to offer, and the area around the hotel has some real gems. The first and most obvious destination is The British Museum, a five minute walk from your room. You could spend a full day here and still not see everything, or just spend a couple of hours browsing the highlights.
If this institution is a little overwhelming, I highly recommend walking a further 15 minutes to the Sir John Soanes Museum on Lincoln’s Inn Fields, a much smaller, quirkier and more manageable museum, but completely fascinating. You’re also within a gentle 15-20 minute walk of Covent Garden, Liberty, Oxford Street and Piccadilly, so there’s no end of shopping and entertainment, all the while knowing that you have the peaceful cocoon of The Academy to retreat back to when you’re done.
So maybe ‘home away from home’ isn’t quite right. The Academy feels more like the home I wish I had. For a night or two, you can bask in its warm welcome and refined comforts, and imagine living like this all the time.
One of YTL Hotels’ luxury UK properties, The Academy Hotel is a charming boutique hotel in London’s West End. To find out more and book a stay, click here. Rates start at £160 per p/night.
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