Sofitel St James London

The Sofitel St James is located at the crossing between Regent Street and Pall Mall, ideal for business and leisure. I have stayed there more than in any other hotel in London and absolutely love it.

The hotel is set in a beautiful 19th century building, with a double height entrance hall. The reception gives an impression of grandeur, especially around 6pm when the piano is played on the mezzanine and the bar on the far right is buzzing with activity – don’t miss the excellent cocktails. The hotel also has a pink tearoom that the ladies will adore, a recently refurbished gym, sauna and hammam and a restaurant (I have only tried room service, and the quality is good).

The rooms are quiet and spacious (even the smallest rooms have space for a double bed, a desk, a shower/bath and a flat screen TV), elegantly decorated in dark/grey tones, and often feature a « reading corner » with a comfortable armchair, side table and lamp. There is ample space in the cupboards to store all the luggage and clothing away. Finally, rooms have been recently upgraded with Yamaha ipod docking stations/radio which is really great.

But what makes the big difference is the hotel staff attention to detail and willingness to please: they remember your preferences, will bring you your selected choice of newspapers in the morning (even if you don’t have breakfast or room service there), find you a table in whatever fancy restaurant you want to try (and help you with good alternatives if they can’t get a table), and make the extra effort for a particular event.

In my last visit, I brought my wife to London for her 35th birthday – the hotel gave us a great upgrade (at least 2 room types up from the one I had booked), and every evening they had prepared a little surprise for us (I remember fondly the divine chocolate birthday cakes the evening we arrived).

All this at a very reasonable price: from experience, this quality costs 30-50% more in other London hotels. I actually found the Sofitel better than the Mandarin or any Hilton in town.

In one word, don’t miss it.

Hotel location is perfect, and staff service awesome from reservation (special thanks to the reservation manager who exceeded my special requests expectation) to checking-out.

Rooms always clean, great amenities, and new extras such as in room expresso machines available freely upon request.

Of course, this is not a cheap hotel but getting a deal including breakfast makes it more affordable, especially as it is not only buffet based but as you can order on demand meals (try Eggs Benedicte).

I highly recommend this hotel.