Midday Follies
“Love is patient, love is kind.” Corinthians 13:4
The Victorians were radical about town planning. In 1874 the Jacobean Northumberland House just north of the Thames opposite Waterloo in central London was swept away to create Northumberland Avenue. It would be another seven decades before Listing to protect British heritage would come into place. Manolo Guerci records in London’s Golden Mile (2021), “Northumberland House is the westernmost of the Strand palaces, one of the last to be erected and the last to disappear, with a history that spans nearly three centuries.” Tall buildings sprung up along this broad boulevard running from Trafalgar Square to Victoria Embankment. Metropole Hotel would soon become one of the impressive additions to this new townscape.
Francis Fowler (circa 1819 to 1893) and James Ebenezer Saunders (1829 to 1909) are not household names but they were clearly talented architects. Metropole Hotel commissioned by the Gordons Hotels Group was their design. Both men were members of the Metropolitan Board of Works (the forerunner to London County Council) although later removed for corruption. The 600 bedroom Metropole Hotel swung open the doors in 1886 to Savile Row frock coated gentlemen and their Liberty parasol holding ladies. “Meet at the Metropole” became a high societal signifier saying.
The hotel’s proximity to Whitehall Government Offices and the Palace of Westminster meant it was commandeered in both World Wars. In 1936 the building was purchased by the Ministry of Defence and remained in government use until the Crown Estate sold it in 2007. Four years later, the 283 bedroom Corinthia Hotel swung open the doors of the former Metropole building and the adjoining 10 Whitehall Place to Boss suit wearing gentlemen and their Balenciaga bag holding ladies. “Call by the Corinthia” has become a high societal signifier saying.
A storied site history includes Sir Winston Churchill watching the end of World War I street celebrations on 11 November 1918 from the windows of the building. In the 1920s the Metropole was well known for its Midnight Follies cabaret. Spies used one of the rooms and a network of underground tunnels led to government properties nearby. Another room was dedicated to monitoring UFOs. Sir Conan Doyle was a frequent guest: The Sherlock Holmes Pub on Northumberland Street is named after the author’s most famous literary creation. The press conference in James Bond movie Skyfall is set in the hotel.
Corinthia Hotel is an urban château, an impressive wedge of late Victorian architecture terminated by a bowed corner overlooking Whitehall Gardens. A double height oriel bay window projects over the main entrance on Northumberland Avenue. Pairs of Ionic (not Corinthian!) pilasters with swagged capitals frame the fully glazed doors. The basement and double height ground floor of the main block are faced in white stone; the upper five floors are faced in golden stone. The adjoining block is fully faced in white stone. Francis and James Ebenezer didn’t hold back on ornamentation, designing heavily decorated elevational grids of cornices and pilasters and window surrounds. A double row of dormer windows in the steep pitched roofs (some covered by fish scale tiles) is sandwiched between two storey high chimneystacks.
Afternoon tea is one of the truly quintessential British traditions. Top London hotels like to give it a quirky take and Corinthia is no exception. A chilled bottle of Lysegrøn, a Copenhagen Sparkling Tea, is the original accompanying elixir for the dry curious. As the sommelier pops the cork, a fresh citrus and green tea scent is released. The lively taste has notes of lemon grass and orange peel. There are long lasting hints of Darjeeling and green apple.
Hierarchically uniformed staff lead guests up and into the Crystal Moon Lounge named after the 1,001 crystal Baccarat chandelier hanging from a central seven metre diameter glass dome. “There’s just one red diamond orb,” the restaurant manager points out. “That’s appropriate for Valentine’s Day! We are using red striped fine bone china today too.” Ah, Valentine’s Day, the celebration of romance named after the saint whose remains are in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, Dublin. Romantic gestures will end with the party favour: a red box of English breakfast tea. “Would you like newspapers?” The Financial Times and Telegraph are delivered to the table. So is The Column, the hotel magazine. One of the waitresses is a fellow Emerald Fennell fan. “Wasn’t Saltburn just the best film? I’m off to see Wuthering Heights on my own later. I can’t wait!”
A glass of hot black Alfonso tea is the liquid amuse bouche. And then a neat row of finger sandwiches arrives (crusts are for starlings). Clarence Court egg mayonnaise with truffle on sourdough bread; Secret Smokehouse smoked salmon, nori and lime on brioche bread; and salted cucumber, chilli and coconut yoghurt on onion bread. Turns out coronation pepper is the new coronation chicken. The sandwich selection is bottomless: this is gonna take time. Cancel the matinée!
A waitress presents a white box of plain and sultana scones with organic strawberry jam and blackcurrant and Star Anise jam with Cornish clotted cream. For a moment, it’s like being teleported to a Week St Mary tearoom. The serving staff are all rather wonderful and good fun. Linen napkins are continually folded and laid; the tablescape constantly updated. “More Milk Oolong?” China is having a fashion moment.
Somebody strikes up chords and chromatics on the grand piano: I Can’t Help Falling In Love with You; I Will Always Love You; You’re Too Good to Be True … An unfallen avalanche of sweets appears. The yellow fruit finds a theme in lemon drizzle cake (an Irish country house favourite) and calamansi cheesecake (Philippine lemon). Apple and Speculoos (Belgian and Dutch crunchy delights) gâteau; pistachio and white chocolate cookies; salted caramel and milk chocolate tart; and vanilla religieuse all take the biscuit. In a good way.
“Afternoon tea is our signature service,” explains the Director of Food and Beverage Daniele Quattromini. “The Crystal Moon Lounge is right here in the middle of the hotel. It’s such a unique space. And we’re fortunate to have a designated time and space for afternoon tea. Our Baccarat crystal champagne flutes match the chandelier above. We have three antique trolleys from the 1920s.” A temporary display of photographic portraits by Lorenzo Agius adds familiar faces to the surroundings.
Corinthia Sparkling Afternoon Tea is one of hundreds of elevated experiences available through SupperClub Dining and Lifestyle Concierge. The Abu Dhabi based company offers members an international luxury range of buffets and brunches, tables and trips, midweek getaways and weekend spas. Just some of the other participating hotel groups include Four Seasons, Mövenpick, Raffles, Rosewood, Sofitel, Waldorf Astoria. SupperClub always lives up to its tagline: “Exclusive benefits, curated offers and frictionless bookings all in one seamless ecosystem.”
In Betjeman Country (1985), Frank Delaney writes about the poet and architecture critic Sir John Betjeman. Frank notes, “Outside in the sunlight, Whitehall shimmers impersonally … ‘Just as an old church is the history of its parish in terms of stone, so is Whitehall the embodiment of England,’ Betjeman wrote carefully. ‘The weakness of this analogy is that whereas most churches are open for the public to inspect, it is well nigh impossible to see inside Whitehall.’” The conversion of this secretive office block back to a hotel, 140 years after it first opened to the public, allows access once more to one of the vast stone buildings of this historic quarter. Corinthia Hotel has added personality, reinstating palatial glamour to Northumberland Avenue. The Financial Times review of the newly released film Wuthering Heights is a reminder love doesn’t always reach perfection. Unlike Sparkling Afternoon Tea in the Crystal Moon Lounge.
Upon leaving, the pianist Kevin Lee plays Moon River, keeping the crepuscular mood lit. He quips, “I’ve done the maths. You’re too young to remember this!” Quite the exit.
“Love never fails.” Corinthians 13:8
