We were invited along to try out their “Revealed” package for the night – An overnight stay at Sofitel London St James including breakfast, afternoon tea for two in the Rose Lounge as well as a “Revealed” cocktail for two in St James Bar.
“Revealed” pays homage to a selection of artists, revealing intimate moments when inspiration comes to life through their everyday situations, be it over lunch or simply walking about. The images, from Paris Match, have been selected by Olivier Widmaier Picasso, the grandson of Pablo Picasso.
Hotel lobby
On entering the Sofitel St James, you can’t help but be impressed by its former life. The grandeur of days gone by is embraced, with pockets of information about banking as well as tasteful portraits of the previous owners on the walls. With the cycling “Tour of Britain” happening just outside, the lobby was surprisingly tranquil and no cheering could be heard.
Revealed feature in lobby
A LCD display shows highlights from the exhibition – a glimpse of what is to come within The Rose Lounge, however first it was time for a “Revealed” cocktail, a sumptuous combination of St Germain elderflower liqueur and Bombay Sapphire Gin, the fragrant spirits are mixed with fresh fruit and a cleansing green oolong tea served from a teapot. The cocktail was deliciously light, fruity and perfect for the St James Bar with its Coco Chanel boudoir-inspired interior.
Revealed cocktail being poured by our server
The delicate Revealed cocktail
It would have been very easy to spend the afternoon sampling all of the cocktails from the bar! However, it was time to check out the “Revealed” exhibition and have afternoon tea!
Afternoon tea finger sandwiches
Beetroot-coloured bread brightened up the sandwich selection with a heavenly selection of fillings which were light enough to leave room for scones and pastries!
Afternoon tea pastries
A choice of two delights each from a large selection. It was the hardest decision of the day! Delicate morsels filled with cream, coulis and more. And after all that we headed up to our room for a quick peek at the “Tour of Britain” which was practically on our doorstep.
View onto Pall Mall, Tour of Britain visiting
King-sized bed
The room had everything we needed: Coffee-maker, TV, internet, air-conditioning and the view onto Pall Mall topped it off.
The best bit for me however was the bathroom…
Perfect bathroom
A huge bath with a separate shower – sometimes you just want to have a long soak in a bath you can almost swim in! Robes, slippers, Hermès toiletries and even a skin scrubber were provided. A good night’s sleep for me was just about guaranteed!
The following morning breakfast was served in The Balcon restaurant, which is worth a peek at night for the balcony itself (and the charcuterie plates). There was a large buffet selection of fruits, pastries, hot and cold dishes as well as dishes to order.
Breakfast Menu
Breakfast buffet
Breakfast from buffet within The Balcon restaurant
The scrambled eggs were almost as good as mine (that’s praise – it’s taken years to perfect my art!) with herby chipolatas and tasty non-fatty black pudding. This buffet would definitely set you up for a full day exploring London.
But all too soon it was time to head homeward. We had a lovely night at Sofitel St James and enjoyed the “Revealed” exhibition (and cocktail!). The “Revealed” package is available at www.sofitel.com with room prices starting from £545 for stays until 30th October 2015, subject to availability. This would be an ideal package for a special occasion visit to London (birthday, anniversary etc).
Exterior of hotel
Many thanks to Sofitel London St James for the opportunity to visit and review, we received the stay for free but this did not influence our review, paws up honest.