How to Visit London Like a Local

Coming to London nearly two years ago from Le Bristol in Paris to run the glamorous 73-room Beaumont hotel in Mayfair, General Manager Jannes Soerensen has quickly taken to the city and all its delights. The Beaumont, the first hotel by renowned London restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, definitely keeps Soerensen busy. From our recent look around, the hotel is in pristine condition — he’s hired polishers and painters from France to keep everything sparkling — and humming with happy patrons (the hotel runs over 85 percent occupancy year round). Beyond that and the hotel’s doors, we grilled Soerensen on his favorite London haunts for you to pass on to your Gen-Y clients.

What are your favorite restaurants? While Eric Fréchon at Le Bristol will always be my culinary hero, I enjoy the casual, democratic approach of London’s restaurants and always refer guests to Fischer’s in Marylebone — it is like being transported to Vienna in the early 1900s. Palomar, in contrast, is a loud, buzzy restaurant in Soho, superbly serving the food of modern day Jerusalem.

What are your favorite pubs? I don’t tend to go to pubs very often ... I actually prefer to drink a glass of wine. Near my home in Marylebone, we like to go to Clarette, a new wine bar with a fantastic French wine list, in what was, in fact, a pub with beautiful stained glass windows.

What about museums? Within a few minutes’ walk of The Beaumont, you will find Manchester Square, one of the best-preserved Georgian squares in London and home to The Wallace Collection, which is one of London’s smaller and more charming museums, well known for its wide collection of art, paintings by artists such as Titian, Rembrandt, Hals (The Laughing Cavalier) and Velázquez, and probably one of the best collections of 18th Century French art and design outside France.

Where is the best shopping? London is a mecca for men who take their clothing seriously, with so many extraordinary craftsmen still working in Mayfair on bespoke clothing, for instance at Anderson & Sheppard. If budgets don’t run to that, just on The Beaumont’s doorstep is Private White V.C., selling an English designed and made collection using the finest regionally sourced fabrics. Hidden away in Shepherd’s Market is Gladstone London, a British accessory brand with a range of exquisite calfskin bags and accessories — some of our most loyal guests are given a bag to keep at the hotel between stays.

Staying at The Beaumont

One accommodation at The Beaumont that may intrigue Millennial guests is ROOM, a sculpture by Antony Gormley that is also an architectural extension to the hotel. The interior is a cave-like fumed oak-clad bedroom in a suite of rooms; the exterior is a giant crouching cuboid figure based on the artist’s body. 

The Beaumont’s more conventional rooms and suites have been designed in soft Art Deco style. Original works of art abound and guests have access to a selection of classic in-room movies and books. 

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