End of January calls for comforts, we mean carbs and calming nights.
London’s hottest opening Jacuzzi brings Italy to Kensington, and one of the UK’s most creative hotels helps you melt into your inner zen. This is what we’re booking this week.
EAT HERE Jacuzzi, Kensington
Big mama strikes again. The group’s 4th outpost in London and their most luxurious opening to date, Jacuzzi is reflective of its Kensington postcode, both with it’s bountiful interiors and its indulgent menu filled with only the very best Italian prodotti. From land to sea, the menu features a range of dishes inspired by traditional recipes of various Italian regions. Highlights include Saltimbocca alla Romana, Lobster Risotto ai Frutti di Mare with a rich deeply- flavoured cuttlefish ragu, filled with frutti di mare, including Cornish lobster and masses of clams and Pizza al Caviale topped with smokey burrata and Transmontanus black caviar. To accompany the food – the wine list is an ode to Italian bubbles, the only deserving pairing for big flavours like caviar, bottarga, truffle and oysters. Spanning 3 floors and spread across 4,000 square feet, Jacuzzi is a pleasure palace filled with endless Italian artefacts from Sicilian lemon pots to Murano glass, 1,000 vintage bottles on the wall, and Versace flip-flops. There is even a retractable glass ceiling on the Sicilian mezzanine floor, which becomes a sunlit terrazza in summer.
DRINK HERE The Dorchester
The Dorchester has unveiled its ground floor, featuring reimagined iconic spaces including The Promenade, Vesper Bar and the new Artists’ Bar, following a lengthy renovation. Stop by the Artists’ Bar for table side cocktails, champagne, seafood, surrounded by an original collection of artworks by British artists. Or perhaps the Vesper Bar, led by head bartender Lucia Montanelli, drawing on the links from the James Bond series to The Dorchester, and the author, Ian Fleming, who invented the Vesper Martini. The bar’s new interior is inspired by the spirit and elegance of the roaring thirties, a time when manners were important, yet mayhem was celebrated. In the summer months, head to the outside terrace views towards Hyde Park or the upper snug bar area for more privacy.
SLEEP HERE Beauty Sleep Bundle at Birch
Keep your wellbeing at the top of your agenda with some well needed beauty sleep and an escape to Birch. To tone down the new year tension, melt into your inner zen with the special Beauty Sleep bundle. Stay for one-night, enjoy two invigorating massages and a space in one of their daily yoga sessions, you’ll be loosey-goosey in no time. Or unwind with your stay at one of Birch’s several rolling workshops, from Mosaics with artist Jo Thorpe to Journaling & Hatha Yoga with Katie Forsythe (one of Birch’s resident yogis). Sometimes all you need is just one night off.
USE THIS Artah
Did you know that your immune cells are more sluggish in cold temperatures? As the cold winter doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, ensure that your immunity is at its best in the colder months by including the Artah immune essentials. The key ingredient Vitamin D3 is essential for every aspect of our health, especially with the lack of sun from the months of October to March. This immune boosting duo of Essential D3/K2 and Cellular Defence is perfect to reinforce the immune system when you need it most.
VISIT THIS Kew Gardens Orchid Festival
The magical Orchid Festival at Kew Gardens is back bigger and better than ever for 2023, running from Saturday 4 February until Sunday 5 March. Head to the Princess of Wales Conservatory to admire a selection of colourful blooms that this year take inspiration from the biodiversity of Cameroon – the first time the festival will celebrate an African nation. There will also be larger-than-life animal sculptures hand-crafted by a team of expert horticulturalists from real plants, including towering giraffes, roaring lions and a troop of gorillas, to highlight the wildlife of this West African nation. This is one exhibition that’s sure to brighten up the winter months.
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