Is a new Soho hotel enough to persuade you to give up the creature comforts of home for a Zone 1 weekender? Andy Silvester says yes
It’s January; freezing temperatures, an overhanging sense of guilt over Christmas indulgence, and that indescribable but immediately identifiable smell of ‘wet’ on the tube. It’s hardly a surprise that thoughts turn to going away.
So where will it be? The tree-lined beaches of Mauritius? The slopes of the Dolomites? What about… central London?
So-called staycations are nothing new, but that usually means summer in Cornwall. A holiday in zone 1? Surely not.
The arrival of the Broadwick Soho might be enough to persuade you. The 57 room, independent hotel is one of a number of new openings in central London over recent months, but unlike some more hoity-toity others it has leant into the wild energy of WC1.
Interiors are designed by Martin Brudnizki – of Annabel’s and Scott’s fame – so it’s hardly a surprise that the Broadwick feels fantastically opulent. Artwork (“is that a Bacon?”, my companion asks, and not about breakfast) is gallery-worthy and the hotel’s different common areas even have seasonal, curated playlists.
Owned by Noel Hayden, whose parents ran the legandary Mon Ami hotel in Bournemouth in its heyday, the management team of Jo Ringestad, Joshua Gardner, Andrea Gelardin and Randall & Aubin restaurateur Jamie Poulton is a who’s who of London hospitality.
If a night out in Soho is about all the things, all the time, then this is the hotel equivalent. A ground-floor bar-cum-cafe Bar Jackie sits atop a Dolce Vita-era Italian restaurant Dear Jackie (the braised rabbit pappardelle is spectacular) complete with an extensive Italian-accented wine list.
But the jewel in the crown is the hotel’s rooftop bar, Flute, where mixologists are going out of their way to mix up the classics in the just-the-right-side-of-kitsch animal print upholstered, sequin-walled space.
For all the delights – and the Broadwick ticks off most of them – the real charm of a stay there is Soho on your doorstep. There’s a real thrill in dusting off the cobwebs of the night before with a brisk stroll around the early-morning streets of what is still an iconic part of the capital – and the world – and remembering it’s on your doorstep whenever you want it.
There is something gloriously indulgent about a Soho weekender – even more so when you don’t have to get an Uber home. I can’t recommend it enough.
Andy Silvester was a guest of Broadwick Soho, 20 Broadwick Street, broadwicksoho.com. Rooms start from £595 including VAT and breakfast.
