On October 14, London’s Royal Albert Hall will present Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Best of Broadway. According to Playbill, The 7:30 PM concert will feature tunes from Wicked, Mamma Mia!, Chicago, Les Misérables and more as well such MGM musicals as “The Wizard of Oz,” “Kiss Me, Kate,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Easter Parade” and “High Society.” Ria Jones, Mary Carewe, Graham Bickley and Michael Dore will sing, while David Firman will be the musical director.
A few days earlier, Tony winner Idina Menzel will make her solo London concert debut on October 6, 2011, at 7:30 PM. She will be accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, which will be conducted by legendary Tony-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch (who wrote a little show called A Chorus Line).
And next year, the 50th anniversary of the film version of West Side Story will be celebrated June 22-24, 2012. A full live symphony orchestra will play Leonard Bernstein’s score while the re-mastered film is shown in high-definition on the big screen with the original vocals and dialogue intact.
Tickets and more information are available at www.royalalberthall.com.
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| (c) 2011 DUKES London |
If you like your London luxury cranked up to 11, consider a suite at Dukes London, where all 11 hotel suites have been newly refurbished with a striking mix of classic and contemporary design elements.
The hotel worked with designer Shaun Clarkson to renovate each of its suites in a “modern classic” style. In addition, the historical hotel has entered into a partnership with Thomas Goode & Co. to display a rotating exhibit of exclusive items by the porcelain maker in the Duke of Clarence Suite, also known as the Penthouse Suite.
The Junior Suites (combined bedroom and a sitting area separated by an archway) and One-Bedroom suite (with a separate sitting room that includes a dining area for four, and optional connection to a Superior room for families or VIPs) sound great, but we’re most excited about the Duke of Clarence Penthouse Suite, which was renovated last year.
Top Views: This fifth-floor suite has a private outside terrace overlooking Clarence House (the London home of HRH the Prince of Wales) and Green Park.
The suite has a separate living room and dining area (complete with a table for four) and a large bedroom. Good for Families: An adjoining separate Classic Double guest room is available on request. Business-focused guests will appreciate the suite’s five telephones (never miss a call!), and complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi access. Bonus for families (or for grown-ups who haven’t lost touch with the child in them): PlayStations and Xbox players are available upon request. Best of all: Guests can ask for a 24-hour butler service.
Family Friendly: Dukes provides some nice perks for younger guests. Kids under six years old will receive a “Dukesy” dog toy at bedtime, and older children (between six and fourteen years old) will receive a storybook on their pillow at turndown. In addition, the hotel provides children’s slippers and has designated children’s television channels. Playstation games are also available.
Great for summer nights: The hotel’s Cognac and Cigar Garden is now open, so guests can choose from an array of fine cigars (including some Cuban favorites) and sip a fine cognac. The newest addition to the hotel’s bar lineup focuses on bubbly: The PJ Lounge serves Champagne and Champagne cocktails from partner Perrier Jouet.
Big news from across the pond: The Corinthia Hotel London officially opened earlier today during the exciting week of Royal Wedding festivities.
Located on Whitehall Place between Trafalgar Square and the Thames, the Corinthia Hotel London occupies a landmark Victorian building with views of the London Eye and the river from some of its spacious rooms and suites. Others overlook the Royal Wedding route along Whitehall, and you can even see Westminster Abbey in the distance.
Corinthia Hotel London has 294 rooms, including 43 suites, as well as:
* A “Full Moon” Baccarat chandelier in the lobby with 1,001 sparkling crystals.
* Massimo Restaurant & Oyster Bar by Chef Massimo Riccioli of Rome with designs by David Collins Studio.
* Northall Restaurant featuring contemporary British cuisine.
* Bassoon Bar, also by David Collins Studio, destined to be a top London gathering spot.
* ESPA Life, the largest spa in London, sprawling over four floors with a beautiful pool, treatment rooms, a café and innovative services.
* Seven signature suites including The Royal Suite, also the largest in London, with everything from its own wine cellar to a spa treatment room.
* A Daniel Galvin salon with a “movie makeover room” where guests can view hundreds of DVDs to see old hairstyles and fashion ideas.
* And even a Harrods boutique for easy shopping.
For more information, visit www.corinthia.com/london.
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Harry Potter fans have a new reason to visit England. In anticipation of the Harry Potter exhibit’s opening at the Discovery Museum in New York City April 5, walking tour company English Lakeland Ramblers has added J.K. Rowling’s hero to its hiking and walking tours through England, Scotland and Wales. Visiting many of Harry Potter’s locations, Harry Potter Highlights joins the company’s self-guided tours and group trips featuring authors including Jane Austen, Beatrix Potter and William Shakespeare.
Various tours are offered for the Harry Potter Highlights tours, which now feature locations where the movies have been shot. Clients can walk through the Scottish Highlights, the site of many outdoors scenes, before visiting Wales’ Pembrokeshire Coast and Oxford, where Hogwarts scenes were filmed on tours like Scotland’s Highlands and Islands and Welsh Frontiers.
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London So Chic just checked into the Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel in London. The stately hotel on Park Lane was built in 1927 to accommodate the first transatlantic cruise passengers. To this day, the 494 spacious guest rooms are outfitted with an impressive amount of closet space, a vestige from the days when passengers disembarked the ocean-liners with huge trunks and hat boxes.
Grosvenor House is the largest five-star hotel in London, and its Great Room—formerly an Art Deco ice skating rink—is one of Europe’s largest ballrooms, with a capacity of over 2000 guests. From the annual Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair to the British Association of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards, the Great Room is known for hosting its share of star-studded events. In addition, the hotel has 31 individual function rooms.
If you’re interested in traveling to London for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton next month (next month! Already!), be sure to check out www.officialroyalwedding2011.org, the official website for the event, to get all the latest scoops.
According to CNN, the website will have exclusive content including photos, features, videos and links, and “will be the first place to view information such as the details of Miss Middleton’s wedding dress,” the palace promised in a statement.
It may also feature a live stream of the wedding, “subject to further planning work,” the statement said.
William, who is second in line to the throne, is marrying Middleton on April 29 at Westminster Abbey.
The centerpiece of the British social calendar, Royal Ascot– running from June 14-18, 2011– is a national institution. The racecourse sets the stage for some of the best horses in the world, while also providing the opportunity for ladies to don their finest hats. Dorchester Collection’s new luxury country house hotel, Coworth Park, is celebrating the 300th anniversary of Royal Ascot with a slew of Ascot-themed amenities– as Royal Ascot is just a 15 minute drive from Coworth Park.
When guests book a suite, they receive an invitation to borrow one of Stephen Jones’s limited hats from the Coworth Park Couture Millinery Collection for Ascot Ladies Day. In fact, Stephen Jones will be hosting a Pop Up Hat Salon at Coworth Park on Friday, April 15 to advise the best way to choose and wear a hat and also learn 2011 millinery trends. Tickets for the morning salon will include lunch and a goody bag, and one-on-one appointments which will be available in the afternoon subject to availability. Guests can also enjoy a signature Ascot tea, with millinery-inspired cakes created by Stephen Jones and Executive Chef John Campbell, and take home delicious Ascot Hat Cakes, presented in a Stephen Jones hat box.
Deluxe rooms at Coworth Park are priced from £480 excluding VAT, over Ascot dates which are from Tuesday, June 14 – Saturday, June 18, subject to availability.
Don’t have an invitation to the Royal Wedding this April, but still want to celebrate along with Will and Kate? (Who doesn’t?) Celebrants in London can stop by The Stafford London by Kempinski on April 29 at the hotel’s Royal Wedding viewing party instead. Located just steps from Buckingham Palace (and, we hear, frequented by the Royal Family themselves), The Stafford will be celebrating the occasion with a proper party in the hotel’s outdoor courtyard complete with a viewing screen and classic British cocktails and cuisine.
We’ve written several times about Show Off!, the bi-weekly sing-along cabaret event in London where theater and music fans mingle with the professionals and everyone is welcome to conjure their inner Sinatra (or Merman) and belt out a song or two. The event started last March as an occasional gathering in Cafe Koha (right in the middle of the theater district), and quickly picked up steam, drawing a regular crowd of West End performers and their fans. If you love London’s theater scene, or New York’s piano bars, you’ll definitely want to stop by for a post-show drink.
On Sunday, March 6, Show Off! will be celebrating its first anniversary with a special gala at a new location: Green Carnation. The doors will open at 6 p.m. and there will be live music from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. The space at Green Carnation even includes room for dancing for those who might be so inclined!
For more information, visit www.showoffpianobar.com.
We loved the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel in London when we visited it just after opening last year, and now there’s a whole new reason to check the property out: Steiner Leisure has just opened its first UK-based Mandara-branded spa at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge.
Facilities at the spa include nine treatment rooms — one double for couples or friends and eight singles, three of which have en-suite showers.
Additional treatments on the spa menu include signature Elemis facials and detox therapies plus manicures, pedicures and waxing.
Adjacent to Mandara Spa is the fitness center, which includes a gymnasium, steam and sauna rooms, a heated swimming pool and changing rooms.
For more information, visit www.parkplaza.com/london.
