The new addition to IHG's London portfolio attempts to inject a new lease of life into an historic former government building, Queen Anne’s Chambers. In an area where politics, business and influencers come together, the hotel is situated right next to St James Park station and is within a few minutes' walk of Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament. The hotel offers 256 rooms, 7 meeting rooms and exceptional dining at the Blue Boar Smokehouse and Bar.
The dinner, drinks, overnight stay and brunch were all courtesy of my lovely friend Katie who works in the head office and when she asked if I would be her plus one, I jumped at the chance to experience abit of "understated luxury" as they call it.
Regal revolving doors controlled by delightfully polite men dressed in grey suits and hats led us to the stunning lobby which was a vision in itself. A fabulous glass roof gave oodles of natural light with a splendid view of the lobby bar.
We were given an Executive Room which was absolutely out of this world. Everything from the room size, furnishings and little touches (like the latest issue of Harpers Bizarre propped up on the pillow) went down an absolute treat with me! I am also rather impressed with techy gadgets and I can confirm that there were gadgets a-plenty. The rooms are decked out with a swanky TV/Mirror combo as well as Bose speakers throughout, with seperate controllers in dressing room, bathroom and bedroom. Whilst we were getting ready, we obviously tested these bad boys out by getting into our robes, standing infront of the mirror and doing our makeup and hair to the musical stylings of Rhi Rhi (and abit of Kanye West was thrown in for good mesaure).
It was at this point that we made our way down to dinner. We were promptly greeted by the Maitre d and shown to the bar which can only be described as a secret speak-easy that could have easily been a creation of Chuck Bass (ohhh yes, I said it!). Unfortunately, we were famished, so decided to skip the bar, save it for later and head for the meat.
I went for Duck Eggs and Wild Mushrooms to start which was simply devine. The Duck Egg was covered in breadcrumbs and laid over some marinated mushrooms on a slice of light toast. To follow, I went for the standard Fillet Steak option that I regularly go for, however this one was stuffed with Oysters. It was cooked to perfection (medium-well) and served with exquisite home cooked chunky chips. At this point, I could barely move but Katie and I decided to share the Poached Pear, which again, was just divine. With a steak that rivals Gaucho and service on par with my afternoon tea experience at The Ritz, the whole experience was nothing short of exceptional.
We then went onto Kings Road and mingled with some questionably named people and headed back to the plush King size bed that awaited us. After a delightful 9 hour sleep, we returned to the Blue Boar for a full english brunch which was exquisite!
Overall, an AMAZING hotel in an awesome location. If you want a cheeky overnight stay and a spot of luxury, definitely give this new IHG addition a go! A solid 9/10.
Peace,
O x
