At Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Lanesborough, Christmas Day lunch isn’t bookable as a table — it’s a multi-night package. Here’s the honest 2026 picture.
Three years in Marbella, told honestly — the hotels worth the price, the restaurants worth booking, and the streets only locals use.
The Old War Office. Churchill’s corridors. MI5 vaults turned cocktail bar. Raffles London at The OWO is unlike anything else in London — and it knows it. After two paid nights in January 2026, here is the honest verdict: extraordinary building, world-class Spy Bar, one of the best hotel spas in Europe. The room, though, needs a rethink.
The Chancery Rosewood is London’s most architecturally considered hotel opening in a decade — Saarinen’s former US Embassy on Grosvenor Square, restored by Chipperfield, with interiors by Dirand. 144 all-suites from 570 sq ft, Carbone’s first European outpost, a genuine 25-metre pool in Mayfair, and butler service from every category. JP reviews it honestly at £1,280 a night.
The Alanda Hotel sits on Marbella’s Golden Mile — the most prestigious stretch of coast in southern Spain — and does something no other five-star on that address does: operates entirely on halal principles. No alcohol, no pork, no compromise. Rooftop infinity pool, beach access, spa with hammam, and halal dining, all in one place. If you’ve been settling for less in Marbella, you don’t have to anymore.





