*I was invited to enjoy dinner and a stay at The Cavendish in return for a frank & honest review*

After what could best be described as one of the most unusual years of my life, as the kids returned to school and freedom to travel around the country more normally resumed, my best friend and I decided we were most definitely due a bit of girls downtime in my favourite place and former home, London. 

I’ve been asked to visit a number of hotels lately but when the opportunity to review The Cavendish arose, I couldn’t have been more delighted to accept.

 

Bang in the heart of historical Mayfair – Fortnum & Mason’s next road neighbour to be exact – this location, a mere three minute walk from Green Park Tube Station on the super efficient Jubilee Line, is en pointe for a weekend in a bustling metropolis with so much to see and do.

We were blessed incredibly with an early autumn surprise heatwave which added to the mix to create one of the most enjoyable, relaxing breaks I’ve had in a very long time.

Post lockdown, things look very sterile across most parts of the hospitality industry and The Cavendish in particular has clearly taken guidelines incredibly seriously, with stringent cleaning protocol in line with their ‘Ascott Cares’ manifesto, mandatory mask wearing and extensive hand sanitising stations on site.

Our king executive room was a corker, substantial bed, amazing view and sumptuous monochrome decor. Perfect.

Then came the upgrade….

Standout for us was the impeccable attention to guest from each member of staff. Nothing was too much trouble for them and this was highlighted when we had a small issue with the air con in our room. Without question, we were immediately upgraded to a junior suite, champagne welcoming us to our level up. We thought the first room was great but here we had two vast inviting beds, a lounge area with sofa to relax on and plenty of wardrobe space for all our shopping finds.

I ambled to my favourite salon nearby for my first haircut in what felt like forever at Jo Hansford, where the lovely Michaela is in charge of my locks. An hour later and we’d not only put the world to rights but I felt like a new woman, exiting with bouncing curls and a spring in my step.

We headed to the restaurant for a mouthwatering three courser in the hotel restaurant, accompanied by a perfectly chilled bottle of Tattinger.

The menu in the 2AA rosette fine dining restaurant, the Petrichor is concise and I like that. Too much choice or overcomplicated dishes is not my preferred option, our selections were easy to make whilst still building up our anticipation of delicious comestibles.

Burrata with roasted chilli and pepperonata for me and smoked salmon with quails egg and soda bread for my gal. Flavourful and moreish, it was the perfect prelude to our headline feature.

 

I opted for roast cornfed chicken from the main courses whilst Andrea plumped for a juicy sirloin steak which left neither of us disappointed. The fusion of the succulence of the chicken and the crisp cool drizzled baby gem lettuce was an inspired combo.

 

For the piester resistance we coupled up the hot chocolate fondant and the poached pear confections to try some of each, well it’s only polite, right?

 

 

 

 

After our wonderful meal, we made our way to nearby Berkeley square to Sexy Fish to enjoy the one of the many hotspot bars which punctuate the London nightlife scene.

Heading back home to The Cavendish after dancing the night away was a joy, knowing we had such an amazing place to rest our head.  I took my favourite baby pink silk pyjamas from one of my favourite websites, Truly, in which I always get an amazing nights sleep.

 

After a bit of a laze next morning and a giggle reviewing the night before, we mustered the energy to go for a run. Well, the backdrop of the capital is so amazing, it would have been wasteful not to.

 

The concierge was so helpful, suggesting where to go after asking what distance we wanted to aim for, going so far as to provide us with a map of a run route. What a lovely touch.

 

We ran past Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, across Westminster Bridge – and managed a joyful 6k which went by so quickly with great company, the sun shining and world famous sights.

We definitely felt like we earned our breakfast and ate heartily before reluctantly handing back our keys. Checkout is a very decadent 1pm on a Sunday, so we were able to have such a leisurely indulgent morning without any feeling of being rushed.

The restaurant was soothingly quiet and the welcoming manager on duty couldn’t do enough for us. Be warned, she’s a feeder! Her suggestions for breakfast were so tempting I felt like I ate enough for two people and then some.

 

Starting with a freshly squeezed orange juice I’d been longing for the whole run, a generous platter of zesty fresh fruit followed by poached eggs with smashed avocado on toast (sides of bacon & sausage respectively) with a mouthwatering chilli zing, we could not have been more sated.

 

We felt so sad to depart The Cavendish, it truly felt like such a welcome home from home. We left our bags there for the rest of the day and headed out for drinks and a late lunch, well we had to walk that huge brunch off first!

The retail therapy options are limitless with high street intersecting high end across the districts of Mayfair, Covent Garden and West End and beyond. We popped by Liberty to take home some beautiful fresh flowers and checkout the latest looks for the coming season.

We then ambled to Aqua Spirit, a fabulous rooftop bar nestled between Carnaby and Regent Street with views to die for.

Later when we could, we ate at Cafe Concerto on Piccadilly, a stones throw from The Cavendish and a hop, skip and a jump away from the looming train back to reality.

I cannot recommend the hotel highly enough. We’d go back in a heartbeat and will be keeping a close eye on the surprisingly affordable special offers they have regularly to do just that. Do let me know if you go to The Cavendish following my review and let me know how you get on.

Have you been to The Cavendish before, did you love it as much as we did?