London town hall reopens as luxury hotel

by Melanie Nayer on

What’s one way to restructure an old building? Turn it into a luxury hotel.

The old town hall in the heart of London‘s East End officially reopened as a luxury hotel on May 12, featuring 98 luxury rooms and apartments all within walking distance to London’s financial district.

The hotel developer, Design Hotels, kept much of the town hall’s aesthetics in place when renovating the building for hotel guests. Many of the original interiors, including a council chamber, marble hallways and spiral staircases, are still intact and part of the new hotel design.

The Town Hall Hotel offers studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom options with various interior designs, some with modern kitchens. Artwork was provided by local London artists and the hotel also features a gym, a pool and a restaurant by Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes.

Rooms range in price depending on the amount of time you stay. For the hotel rooms, a double bedroom will run you £290.00 a night (approximately $427 USD) for 1-6 nights; £247.00 a night for 7-28 nights; and drops to £203.00 a night for stays more than 28 days. Comparatively, a one-bedroom apartment costs £345.00 a night (approximately $507 USD) for 1-6 nights; £293.25 a night for 7-28 nights; and £241.50 a night if you stay longer than 28 days.

The hotel opens in plenty of time to capture the pending tourist rush for the 2012 Olympic Games, which city officials hope will revitalize the East End area.

London academy school staff dropped £4,000 on ‘team building exercise’ at luxury hotel

by Melanie Nayer on

File this under “what not to do” with excess funds from the company:

Senior managers of a north London academy school spent more than £4,000 (approximately $6,000 USD) of public money on fine food and boutique hotel accommodation for a “team-building exercise”. This same academy is facing an ongoing battle with teachers over “compulsory redundancies,” according to The Guardian.

Leaked hotel bills from the five star Threadneedles Hotel in London show nine staff members from Crest boys’ academy in Neasden dined in the hotel restaurant and spent the night in rooms that cost up to £339 (approximately $600 USD) a night.

While these kind of company events might be suitable for some businesses, the Crest boys’ academy is under hot water for this one. The academy, located in one of London’s more deprived neighborhoods, is run by E-Act, a charitable trust foundation, and four months prior to the luxury splurge let go of seven teachers, which resulted in a teachers’ strike.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families said all of the hotel bill was reimbursed from department funds except for £341, which was the company’s bar tab. Apparently, the headmaster has offered to repay that portion of the expense.

London hotel gives guests an iPad during stay

by Melanie Nayer on

You can buy an iPad for $499, or you can rent a suite at The Berkley in London for £1,850 (approximately $2,800 USD) and get to use an iPad during your stay.

Let’s break that down a bit:

One iPad at $499 to own and use whenever you want or
The use of an iPad for one night when you rent a suite in London for £1,850
£1,850 = approximately $2,800 (as of the date of this article)
$2,800 will buy you 5 iPads (plus tax and shipping, if necessary)

The draw here is that the iPad isn’t available in the UK until later this month, so the London hotel is tempting guests with the coveted iPad for use during their stay. The Berkley’s in-suite iPad will include a variety of games, videos and comics for children as well as downloads of several newspapers, ranging from Le Monde to the Wall Street Journal. The hotel iPad will also come complete with guided tours of London and plenty of Apple iPad applications to help guests plan their London itinerary.

You have to stay in a suite to get use of the iPad. Or, you can just buy your own iPad.

British Library investigates the power of maps

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Maps tell us much more about a place than just where to go. The history, culture and biases of mapmakers all find their way into these uniquely geographic works of art. A new exhibition at the British Library titled Magnificent Maps aims to give visitors a closer look at the culture behind maps, bringing together a one-of-a-kind collection of important historic maps from as far back as 200AD, special events and an interactive website.

The maps featured at the British Library exhibition aren’t just your average Rand McNally fold-up. The event’s centerpiece is the Klencke Atlas from 1660, the largest book in the world, coming in at over five feet tall and six feet wide. Among the other 80 some odd display pieces is range of never-before-seen artifacts, including a miniscule coin showing a map of the German town of Nuremberg from 1773. The exhibit aims to show the maps in a new light, one in which they are not just reference tools but works of art, often created by powerful kings and countries hoping to further their own purposes. In connection with the special events, the BBC has also launched a series of content on maps, including special programming and articles surrounding the topic.

It’s easy to take maps for granted as factual, scientific documents. But as Magnificent Maps tries to show us, these documents are open to interpretation. The exhibit is happening from April 30th through September 19th of 2010 at the Library’s headquarters in London.

Daily Pampering: Hollywood-inspired spa treatments at Claridge’s in London

by Melanie Nayer on

The Spa at Claridge’s in London is debuting a new spa treatment menu inspired some of Hollywood’s finest. The new treatments, created for both men and women, take their queue from some of our most notable icons, like Clark Gable and Grace Kelly.

In one of the three treatment rooms at The Spa at Claridge’s, choose one of the many new offerings including the “The Grace Kelly” treatment – a 1-hour cellular facial, a manicure, pedicure and a light lunch; or the “Clark Gable”, which comes complete with a 1-hour deep-tissue massage, 1-hour cellular facial catered toward the men. Additional treatments include:

“The Fred Astaire” – a personal training session, facial, back massage
“The Vivien Leigh” – a back massage, facial, manicure with “Miss Scarlett” polish, an eyebrow clean-up and Darjeeling tea.

Claridge’s, the iconic Art Deco landmark in Mayfair, has been a destination of choice for discerning travelers and Hollywood’s elite. The hotel features luxurious rooms and suites, the legendary Claridge’s Bar and Fumoir Bar, and is located in the heart of Mayfair, steps away from London’s best boutiques and restaurants.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.