Oh man, after staying at the Soho- which I liked a lot, the wifey wanted to try out this place. Well, here we go!
We flew in early and were greeted by some kids at a desk. Jet lag settled in like a mack truck. My eyelids were heavier than a handle of a free Birkin with crazy shoppers latching on. Did I tell you about what kind of experience I had at the Hermes in Paris? I digress.
Our room wasn't ready as expected. I mean, who checks in people before 9 am these days. I don't know. Maybe Motel 6? I was looking forward to a shower to wash away the airplane jive. You know, the jive that you get from the airplane seat, the jive from your fellow passengers that have excess gas, the jive from the lavoratories, the jive from the recycled jive that leaves your skin, well, jivey.
So, we headed out for a nice stroll in the neighborhood. To the left is the Arch, and if you make two rights, you head over to Marylebone Lane. We took the two rights and did some shopping in the cute neighborhood. The jet lag and jet jive settled in at noon, so we headed back.
The room was still not ready, so they offered us some tea. That was so lovely. But as we waited for our tea, the room was ready! The gentleman telling us about all of the amenities (the coffee maker, the television, the fridge that was stocked with free non-alcoholic and non-free alcoholic beverages, the tv in the bathroom, etc) was so kind and helpful that I could not cut him off so I could strip down and jump into the shower and the bed.
This time, the wifey didn't remind me to tip the guy- it's not that she didn't think that he was attractive, but I was literally trying to hand him a tip back when he was telling us about the coffee machine so he could leave us.
The room was small when compared with the Soho, but it was comfortable and served its purpose. The service was wonderful and the breakfast was great! One gent showed us how to get to Paddington Station by map, and then later had to chase down a cab when we decided that we wouldn't be able to make our train in time. He was gracious (if he was at all frustrated by the bumbling Americans-it didn't show) and deserved a tip- but I had no change at the time-I think I gave it all to the guy who showed our room.
If I had any complaints, they'd be minor.
We enjoyed our stay at the Arch. I just wish I could've washed that jet jive off from the beginning. read more