Hampton Court finally gets a hotel fit for regal purpose
Been down to Hampton Court lately? You’ll know The Mitre, a hop, skip and a head roll from the gates of Henry VIII’s palace its very regal self; cute as your average button, right on the river, bucolic views for days? That’s the one. Well, it was running a little ragged of late. The sort of place you’d poke your head in and go, ‘If only they’d zhuzh, we’ll be all over this place.’
Guess what, they’ve zhuzhed. And not your average zhuzh, either; we’re talking eye-popping, budget-breaking, smart-for-London-Town zhuzh. Oh, but in an oh-so-classy, respectful-of-its-history way. You can tell we’re impressed by all the hyphens.
Dating back to 1665, when Charles II – so much better than I. He liked to drink – was doing his thing, The Mitre has now slipped into that revered genre of modern-historic British boutiques, where craftsmanship, playful eccentricity, oodles of personality and gin maketh the luxury bolt hole.
There are two restaurants – 1665, the riverside brasserie which does very English fancy and the more laidback Coppernose – plus the Riverside Boat Bar (clue’s in the title) which also doubles up as the world’s first Whispering Angel concession. Whispering Angel being ‘the most famous rose in the world’. We can’t wait to be the judge of that. And like that wasn’t enough, The Mitre will also rustle up a picnic by the river. And like that wasn’t enough, their vegan offering is tip-top, so halos all round. Oh, and bag the Henry VIII suite for views of the river and Hampton Court, complimentary tickets to the latter, daily complimentary cheese ‘n’ wine down in 1665 and a totally free mini-bar. They had us at bar.
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