A London Splurge

The Kimpton Fitzroy is an amazing hotel. We absolutely loved our stay there in June 2024 when we were in London a few days before my birthday. It is around the corner from the Russell Square tube station (Piccadilly line) and walkable to the British Museum.

Happy 50th anniversary!!!

It's just outside your Mayfair/Belgravia areas, but I really enjoyed a splurge stay at the Ampersand Hotel in Kensington 4 years ago. Very easy access to the South Kensington tube station and several museums. We had been to the Ampersand for their science themed afternoon before and lucked out with snagging a post-covid deal the summer of 2022. Absolutely wonderful hotel. Happy 50th Anniversary!

On my last trip, I had hoped to visit Hoppers, which has four locations. Is that a chain? Not to me. It's Sri Lankan food. A friend recommended it. I'm intrigued by the Hoppers Experience, which is a multi-course menu of shared plates.
https://www.hopperslondon.com
If you will be there on a Sunday, I really enjoy the roast lunch. Here is a list of TimeOut's picks:
https://www.timeout.com/london/food-and-drink/londons-best-sunday-lunches#google_vignette
I can vouch for William IV in Hoxton, which my friend and I were able to get a table at last minute. Reservations are generally recommended.
Happy Anniversary!

I can't help with hotels, but for theatre- Gillian Anderson will be in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf which will be on in November. I just got tickets for that one myself and can't wait.

For hotels Claridges or The Goring

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/hotels/?msockid=0914a00663296e1204e4b6d962e66f80&sortOrder=desc&sortBy=rating

I vote for Mayfair, you can't beat the neighborhood or the proximity to all of London. It's the kind of area where people have so many cars in their garage already they park their Ferrari on the street!

A few years ago we stayed at the Chesterfield, it's a very nice hotel but our room was pretty small. Huge dining room/breakfast room for some reason, a cozy bar. There are numerous restaurants nearby, easy walk to Trafalgar, Leicester and Piccadilly.

I’ll let others suggest accommodations.

Food offerings:
Dragon Inn Richmond
River Cafe Hammersmith or River Cafe Putney. The latter for breakfast
Mari Deli and Dining Restaurant
Joy King Lau in Chinatown
Fotia in Marylebone

I’ve always thought Belgravia and Mayfair are bit dull, not that I have spent a lot of time hanging out with the rich people!

If I wanted to splurge staying in London I would look at the Langham, at the top end of Regent Street or the Landmark by Marylebone station. That said, they are both so nice they might be outside of your budget!

For a restaurant I have always loved Brasserie Zedel. It’s not partIcularly expensive but the room feels special.

Congratulations! I would have chosen London too, without a moment's hesitation.
My husband and I had a wonderful meal at Cora Pearl, not far from Covent Garden. Lovely service, tasty food, not noisy.

Enjoy!

Oh how wonderful! I haven’t stayed in Belgravia and have stayed in Mayfair, but prefer closer to Covent Garden and Bloomsbury. In that price range, I’d go for the Covent Garden Hotel (or another Firmdale hotel in a different location) or The Bloomsbury Hotel (in an upgraded room). However, you know London well enough to know which area suits you.

For restaurants, so many wonderful choices! We keep going back to Noble Rot and always have a lovely experience, especially for a long lunch.

For Indian food we love Gymhkana and Veeraswamy.

Friends who travel a pay grade above ours love The Stafford. It fits the Mayfair location.

For restaurants, a couple of suggestions. Bocca di Lupo - on Archer Street in Soho, nearish to Piccadilly Circus. Or Bancone, small chain - there are 3/4 in London. www.bancone.co.uk

So many wonderful suggestions! I'm looking forward to looking further into all of these. It seems you've all left me spoiled for choice. Thank you all for sharing your recommendations!

I stayed at the Stafford many years ago when I was earning a Middle Eastern-paid salary.
It was lovely , but might be a tad expensive now!
It’s certainly central.
A good memory.

CJean, first, congratulations on the 50th. Thats an aceivement that is both inspirational and a monument to a life well lived.

To all of you who have given us their congratulations, a heartfelt thank you. We both consider ourselves lucky and blessed. I married the love of my life who is still my best friend.

Claridges the best for that luxury hotel experience. The Ritz Restaurant for the best grand hotel food, honestly it's so brilliant and precise.

We are not particularly wealthy but trade off having the latest car on finance (the battered old volvo is very convenient with kids and a dog), to have experiences like the finer hotels in London once a year.

Because DH has been so generous with this trip, I'd like to do something for him. He was career Air Force, and since retiring has been a docent at our National Air Force Museum. I think he would really enjoy visiting a similar place while in England. I think Duxford might be a tad too far out for a day trip, but I've seen that there is the RAF Museum London at Colindale. If any of you have been there, can you comment on it?

Unsure why I forgot a fabulous dinner I had at Brassiere Zedel. Would be perfect for an anniversary dinner.

CJean
Regarding the Air Force museum: Here's link to a forum discussion you would find helpful. Note my post which talks about my brother's personal story/Canadian connection about the Stranraer plane that should be there (I hope as I haven't gotten there, yet).

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/getting-from-paddinton-station-to-royal-air-force-museum-with-colindale-station-closure

Cat mentioned Gillian Anderson's show. We saw Bryan Cranston and Nicola Walker in their shows in November. It's fun to see the film stars on stage.

And...Happy Anniversary! Our London based holiday season trip was somewhat of a celebration of our 45th.

Yes, the RAF museum in Colindale (or I would say it is in Hendon) is very good. Easy to get to on the Thameslink (via St Pancras) to Hendon.

I visited the RAF museum in Hendon last week when on a city break with my wife. I found it fascinating. There are 6 hangers with aircraft from various eras.
We were staying in Central London, caught the Northern Line tube to Brent Cross station, caught a 210 bus just outside to Brent cross Shopping Centre as my wife stayed there while I caught the 186 bus from the centre's bus station to Heritage Road bus stop for the short walk to the museum. I'm sure you could go one step further on the tube to Colindale then either walk or bus there. As is the case in London, the longest I waited for a bus was 5 minutes.
Apart from Duxford, you have the RAF museum Midlands at Cosford, 150 miles from London.

The RAF museum is a great choice. Another place that I think is awesome along those lines, much less well known, is the Battle of Britain bunker in Uxbridge, reachable by Tube. It’s the real deal. The first is a wonderful museum full of amazing planes. The latter is an actual Fighter Command control room where history took place that is fully explained on a good tour (book online in advance). You can’t go wrong with either.

Another vote for the RAF museum. It is really well done and loads of aircraft to see.