Malmaison London Review

The Malmaison London is set in Charterhouse square, a picturesque tree lined square in the heart of the city, a stone’s throw away from Spittlefields market. On arrival this historic hotel invites you inside, in the foyer you are greeted with the sight of the claret and cream chequer board carpet, a seductive champagne bar sits in the lobby with tables that have inbuilt champagne verses, a spiral iron staircase leads down to the restaurant below, upon peering over you get a touch of the dramatic theatrical styled restaurant with its jester qualities, indulgent black, reds and cream echo throughout.

The silver metallic lift doors open and take us our room, on arrival I notice the consistent Malmaison qualities, deep warmth is added by the plum walls and carpets, artistic photography of Smithfield’s market and the local area mount the walls before us. Behind the jet black doors lies a boudoir of love, our bedroom overlooked the square below, we were struck with a feeling of suburban decadence. Our room was a good size and felt clean and spacious, we had a large plasma TV, along with a cd player and access to a great selection of cd’s and dvd’s via the huge catalogue available to guests. The bed was gorgeous and complete with a mountain of plump pillows. There is a seductive feel to our room, but this comes without a cheap feeling being present, a touch of Moulin Rouge glamour is present.

Breakfast is served in the basement, down that ornate spiral staircase, mentioned earlier; there is also lift access for the athletes amongst us!! The ambiance in the breakfast room is lavish, it is like dining in an extravagant restaurant. The theatrical décor, is instantly eye catching and highly exuberant. A continental buffet is server in a lighted wine themed room, being surrounding by shelves upon shelves of wine at 8am is quite an experience but it is to be expected as character is oozing from every section of this hotel. A vast selection of jams, chocolate spreads and peanut butter are available to spread on Moorish bread or a selection of continental pastries if you prefer. Pastries are freshly baked and some even slightly warm from the oven, tearing apart a Malmaison cousant send a shiver of the continent through ones spine and in a flash we are ALMOST back in Paris. A small selection of breakfast cereals are on offer but more appealing is the cooked breakfast menu that sits on our table. Kippers, egg benedict on muffins, breakfast rolls, porridge and a full English breakfast is on offer. My colleague orders two breakfast rolls, they arrived petit and perfectly filled, you can opt for a choice of sausage, bacon or eggs, on this occasion we chose bacon which was cooked perfectly and held a large amount of flavour. I decide to try porridge as this is often cooked poorly at many hotels – the Malmaison didn’t let me down, my porridge came piping hot, cooked to perfect consistency and a mix of water and milk left it neither too light nor too heavy.

The Malmaison although tucked away in a beautiful historic square in London but is still in the heart of a city and within easy reach of all the tourist attractions. It’s a relaxing, beautiful and calming place to stay, perfect for professional travellers, young couples and people who wish to experience an authentic side of London.