What is a staycation? Have we ever really decided on a definition? Is it a holiday in your home country? Your home city? Your actual home? How about a holiday in a house that you can pretend is your home? That’s very much the offering from the Townhouse, a five-storey, two-bedroom, Georgian-fronted property that adjoins (by a secret corridor no less!) the five-star Great Scotland Yard Hotel, in Great Scotland Yard.
The actual former inhabitants of the site are reputed to be a grand lot: Scotland Yard is thought to get its name from visiting Scottish Kings and Queens who would stay there, including Henry VIII’s sister, Margaret; though of course it’s been better known of late (well, late by comparison to the 16th century) as the one-time headquarters of Sir Robert Peel’s Metropolitan police. These days the Townhouse is the temporary home of – well, the hotel would be too discreet to tell you of course – but let’s just say those with disposable income for whom a luxurious extensively kitted-out London pad would be just the thing.
And when we say London pad we really mean London – the location of the Townhouse makes Buckingham Palace seem positively suburban. Here, a minute’s walk one way, is Trafalgar Square; there, five minutes in the other, are the Houses of Parliament; right across the street is Horseguards Parade. You couldn’t be more central without bedding down at the foot of Nelson’s Column.
But for all the bright lights of the city, the Townhouse offers plenty of reasons for a quiet night in. There’s a sexily lit wine cellar-cum-games room, a TV den and fully equipped kitchen in the basement, an elegant parlour, and even a handsome desk from which to write some deep thoughts, should the urge take you. Oh, and both comfortable bedrooms come with en-suite bathrooms replete with copper bathtubs, if you need to put your brain on pause.
What about if all that soaking leaves you peckish, and the thought of walking eight minutes into Soho seems too much? The Great Scotland Yard Hotel can supply room service directly to the house, to be taken in the 12-seater dining room if you like, or you can also pop next door to the hotel for a cocktail at The 40 Elephants lounge bar, or a dinner at Ekstedt at The Yard, the London base of Sweden’s favourite chef. But the best part about a stay at the Townhouse, assuming you haven’t flown in from say, LA, or Monaco, or Dubai? The effortless, passport-free journey home.
3-5 Great Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2HN, greatscotlandyard.com
