Jet Set: Intercontinental London Westminster

The  last time we visited London in 2009, we stayed in Kensington which is such a lovely neighborhood, but this time around, we wanted a really central location that was within walking distance to a lot of the important sights. I know that some people prefer to spend a little less on their hotel rooms, saying that they only sleep there, but I am of the complete opposite school of thought. Fabian and I splurge on nice hotels whenever possible and believe that one’s accommodations play a major role in your overall travel experience. The ideal room is spacious, comfortable, well-appointed and serves as a respite from a long day at business meetings or tourist activities. While planning our trip to London, we quickly settled on the Intercontinental London Westminster. Located within the historic Queen Anne’s Chambers, this five-star property just opened earlier this year which was very attractive to me—everything would be crisp and new! The property has already been named to Conde Nast Traveler’s Hot List for 2013. In addition, the location is pretty spectacular—just around the corner from Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and the Thames, a few blocks from Buckingham Palace, and less than a mile walk from Trafalgar Square. The St. James’ Park underground station is right across the street, which was also super convenient. The immediate area could use a few more shops and restaurants, but you’re just a stone’s throw from everything, so it really isn’t a big deal. Because the hotel is situated in London’s political epicenter, paintings and sculptures can be found throughout the property depicting some of Britain’s most well-known political figures.

{The Lobby}

This is not a sponsored post and our stay wasn’t comped, but I felt compelled to share our experience at the Intercontinental London Westminster because we loved it there so much. The hotel is beautiful and the staff are all top notch—completely professional, yet friendly and eager to help. We arrived before 10:00 am last Saturday and were told that our room wasn’t ready. Feeling completely jet-lagged and craving nothing more than a shower and a quick power nap, we went to the Starbucks across the street for a coffee while we waited. After 45 minutes or so, we came back and were told the room still wasn’t ready. Sensing how tired we were, Sarah from the front desk was kind enough to take us up to the Intercontinental Club where we could get some rest and enjoy some snacks. She then told us that we had been upgraded to a larger room than the one we had originally booked and that we would have access to the Intercontinental Club throughout our stay for breakfast, afternoon tea, and pre-dinner cocktails in the evenings. Having Club access was such a nice luxury!

{Emmeline’s Lounge}

{I loved walking by the gorgeous flower displays on our way in and out of the hotel everyday.}

  {When our room was finally ready, we were thrilled to see that it had definitely been worth the wait. We were graciously upgraded to a Junior Suite that had a long corridor entrance which you see above, a spacious bedroom, huge bathroom with rainfall shower and a separate tub, and a huge living room. For anyone who’s ever been to Europe, you know that space is the ultimate luxury and we were quite lucky to have plenty of it.}

{The rooms are well-appointed in shades of white, cream, gray, and orange. The bed was very comfortable which can also be hard to come by in Europe.}

  {The TVs are located inside of a glass wall which Fabian thought was the coolest thing ever.}

{Our bathroom featured a large, spacious vanity with double sinks.}

{The Miller Harris toiletries smell divine!}

{Seeing as how we are both tall, we are always super excited when our hotel doesn’t have a super low showerhead. Our shower included a wonderful rain shower as well as a traditional hand shower and it was quite nice to have the option.}

{Lovely Loveseat in the Living Room}

{I really liked the curves of the writing desk as well as the shagreen-upholstered top.}

{A Fun Little Chaise in the Living Room}

If you’re heading to London anytime soon, you should definitely consider the Intercontinental London Westminster. It was easily one of our favorite hotel stays in recent memory. I will have more photos and details to share from our trip later this week!