This time around it has nothing to do with fiction. It’s a description of my travel.
My fiancé and I love London. We have been there numerous times and have stayed at the Ibis Euston Station, Marriott Maida Vale, The Dorchester, twice at the Four Seasons Canary Wharf , The Bentley (Waldorf Astoria Collection), The Park Tower, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Jumeirah Carlton Tower and this weekend 15.01.11 to 16.01.11 at the Andaz Liverpool Street.
We live in Dublin and our preferred choice of transportation to and from the airport is the Airlink, a bus connection provided by Dublin Bus. There are other options as well, like the Aircoach or taxis.
Since November 2010 Dublin International Airport has two terminals. The new Terminal 2 looks stunning. Unfortunately we hadn’t yet the chance to use it, but hopefully coming soon. Etihad has moved already and a few flights for the Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus are also departing and landing there. If everything goes as planned Aer Lingus has moved all flights to the new terminal by March 2011.
After printing our boarding passes at the BMI Check in Area 2 in Terminal 1, we went through security and made our way to Burger King. It’s our favorite place to have breakfast at the airport. We both had an orange juice, my better half had bacon and cheese butty and a sweet chili chicken wrap. I had 9 pieces of mini pancakes with syrup. After breakfast we strolled comfortably to our gate, doing a little bit of shopping on the way. Soon it was time for boarding. The Airbus A319 had the new seating and we were delighted to try it out. The cabin has a clubby feel with blue seats and brown armrests. There are no head rests available and it was a slight disappointment for my fiancé, who is tall. It is uncomfortable for him. Being much smaller than him, it wasn’t an issue for me. At first the seating felt uncomfortable, but it seems they are shaping themselves after you and we had the best nap ever on the short flight (50 minutes) to London Heathrow. We traveled light and hadn’t any check in luggage with us, so we could go straight for the exit and get tickets for the Tube.
We got off at Knightsbridge to check out, if Harrods, the famous department store, had Leica cameras. We were especially interested in the D-Lux 5 and the C-Lux 3 (Point in shoot cameras). Even if a price list claimed, they had the C-Lux 3 still available, it was already sold out and a disappointment for us. They also didn’t have any hand grips for the D-Lux 5, so we decided to check out the Leica Boutique at 34 Bruton Place. The nearest Tube station is Bond Street and only a 15 minute walk. The personal at the Leica Shop was very helpful and friendly. They explained, they had the C-Lux 3 still available, but only limited, because it’s no longer produced. We were also told the different functions of each camera and could try them out. We decided to come back in a few weeks time to buy a few products. Unfortunately we had a tight budget this time around, otherwise the cameras would have been ours immediately. Our next stop was the Andaz Liverpool Street, where we stayed for one night. It was easy to find. Just get to the street entrance, you have to climb a few stairs and then get out, you see McDonalds on your left (not tried, but looked always full). The Square outside commemorates the Kinder transport. Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland were saved and arrived via train at Liverpool Street Station, prior to the Second World War. The Memorial was created by Frank Meisler, a famous sculptor, who lives in Israel.
When you pass McDonalds and turn to your left, go straight, maybe for 50 m. There are two red brick buildings and both belong to the Andaz. The lobby is in the second building. The façade is classic. The building dates from 1887 and was built by Charles Barry, the grandson of the designer of the Houses of Parliament, also named Charles Barry. Originally the hotel was known as the Great Eastern Hotel and was a Victorian Railway Hotel. It is a Grade II listed building. Since November 2007 it is rebranded as Andaz by Hyatt.
The inside of the hotel looks completely different. It’s contemporary furnished in earth colors. There is also an atrium, reaching to the top floor. Check in was at a huge table to the left with tablet PC’s. We were offered a welcome drink of our choice and received an upgrade from a King Room to a Large King Room on the 2nd floor. We also received a short explanation about the amenities available in the hotel. We were then shown to the elevator.
My fiancé had started taking photographs with his Nikon D90, while I checked in. Now on the 2nd floor he was photographing the atrium. We were disturbed by a lady, asking, if he was “the photographer”. She came by herself to the conclusion he wasn’t the guy she was looking for.
Soon afterwards we saw the real photographer and the bride arriving for the wedding photographs. On the first floor are all the meeting rooms located and you have a great view over the foyer. It’s Zen like designed with Bonsai trees and there is also a cool space with sofas, chairs and lighting like you are on a film set. It made me promptly want to book the Andaz’s sister property, the former Riot Hyatt, Andaz West Hollywood, California.
When my fiancé was satisfied with the photos he had taken, we went to our room. By the way I think he is a photographic genius and excellent editor. He won’t believe me, though.
Our room was large with a wooden floor at the entrance and extremely high ceilings. I guess they were around 3.5 m (ca. 11 ft) to 4 m (ca. 13 ft) high To the left is the bathroom and healthy mini bar, to the right two coat hangers. The bedroom also has a carpet, a red chair and a table, a leather covered bench in front of the huge bed, a flat screen TV, you can swivel, a dark wood wardrobe, a blond wood writing desk with Eames chair and Jacob Jacobsen lamp.
The mini bar contains snacks (nuts, biscuits and chocolate covered coffee beans), pear juice, water and beer. The snacks and non alcoholic beverages are free. There is also a kettle, cups, glasses, tea and coffee making facilities available. All products are either sourced from the UK or are fair trade. When ever possible they are organic, too. Another perk are free local calls, music and free wired and WIFI internet access. You can also access the internet via TV. It is fast, but doesn’t always function the way you want it to. We had left our net book at home by the way.
The bath room is tiled in Art Deco Style and large with one round sink, a small cupboard to store your cosmetics, a hot towel rail, toilet and a bath tub. There is no handheld or separate shower available. Bath room amenities were by Plantation. We knew the brand already from our stay at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower.
The toilets are loud, that is undeniable, but they are special. The hotel couldn’t dig underground because of the tube lines running directly underneath the building, so when you flush the toilet, the waste is sucked upwards and goes through the roof to leave the building. It’s also eco friendly and uses only 20 % of water than when you flush an average toilet.
There are international TV channels available including Bloomberg, CNN and BBC.
In the wardrobe you have a safe, Yukata robes, a few hangers and a luggage rack. Storage could be a problem, if you stay longer
You also have an alarm clock and an iPod docking station in the room.
There is 24 hour in room service available and 24 hour dry cleaning/laundry services.
The views from our room were over the City and the construction site of the Heron Tower, where a new (the third) Four Seasons Hotel, an all suite and residence property, is going to open later.
The hotel offers a fitness center and spa treatments, a business center, 5 restaurants and bars (1901, Miyako, Catch and Champagne Bar, Eastway, George Pub).
After more photographs and exploring the room we went to the Barbican Art Gallery for the show Future Beauty 30 Years of Japanese Fashion. It runs until 06.02.11. It exhibits works by Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Jun Takahashi, Rei Kawakubo and many more. It was highly interesting and the reason, why we visited London in the first place.
We spent around two hours at the exhibition and found loads of inspiration and interesting design.
In the evening we had dinner at Eastway, the Andazs brasserie, it’s in the first building, I mentioned earlier. We liked the interior with fans and dark wooden furniture with a long bar as the focal point. We were directed to a small table with two chairs at the window. At first we thought the space would be too few for us, but it turned out alright. We decided to have the three course dinner for 18 GBP per person. As drinks we chose a large bottle of still water (It’s organic and from Wales.) and two hot chocolates. Our starter was Smoked Salmon Tartar. He had as main course the chicken wrapped in Parma ham and served with greens, I had pangasius fish with red peppers and black olive mash. As dessert we both had ginger bread with lemon curd. All was fantastic, the staff attentive and dinner was finished within an hour. The total came in at around 55 GBP including 12.5 % Service Charge.
We made use of the free lounge in the lobby and had some more pear juice. Afterwards we retired to our bed room for a good nights sleep. The beds are very comfy and if the light wouldn’t have been perfect for photography, we would have spent a little bit longer in bed and maybe taken a bath. The call of the photographer was stronger, though.
After the photo session we went to breakfast at the Eastway. We had a la carte breakfast, consisting of hot chocolate and freshly squeezed orange juice for both of us, crumpet with ham and poached egg for me and French toast with berries for him. It cost around 35 GBP including 12.5 % Service Charge. Afterwards we went to our room packing and were slightly late checking out. We received a friendly call from a member of staff and were asked, if we needed the room longer. We were nearly ready to leave, so I confirmed we were on our way out.
The Andaz Liverpool Street promises you casual luxury and you definitely get it. We were very happy and are more than willing to return soon.
After check out, a little bit time was left to explore the area further. We found the Nido Tower, the highest student accommodation in the world. It’s an interesting building and most rooms seem to have views over the Gherkin.
We took the Tube back to London Heathrow Terminal 1. Unfortunately our flight with BMI was 1.5 hours delayed because of technical problems with the aircraft. The flight was with an Airbus A320 with the old seating and event less.
I hope you enjoyed the travel report. As always any feedback is welcome.
Your writer1976 © 2011
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