London - which area?

[RosieLig]

Hi

Planning a trip with some girl friends in April. We're into nice lunches/drinks/shopping (but not Oxford Street!) Smart but not Mayfair smart! We're in our 40s so no desire to go clubbing!

Where should we base ourselves? It's 2 days/1 night so want to stay centrally.

Thanks!

How young are the girls? Do you need family rooms, sitters etc? How many DDs and how many adults?

Or are you after smart because they're old enough to be left upstairs in rooms but you're after good bar/restaurant in the hotel for that reason?

I like shopping along Kings Road, if it's with girlfriends.

One of my friends stayed at the Dean Street Townhouse in Soho last year. They upgraded her room and we met there for drinks before going out (we are mid 40s). The bar has a good atmosphere and we went back there after dinner & going to the Jazz bar at Ronnie Scott's (Cuban music) for more drinks. It was very pleasant. Easy to get to Oxford Street, Covent Garden from there and also easy to catch the bus/tube down to Knightsbridge or just to walk to Green Park.

Thanks! I'll look into both of those. Edith - its my girlfriends so no children.

What sort of food do you fancy & how much do you want to spend? My friend wanted to eat well so we booked a Michelin starred Asian - Yauatcha but I'd also like to try Nopi, the Ottolenghi restaurant in Soho/Regent St (North of Piccadilly). If you fancy a light lunch somewhere smart you can have wine & canapés at the Savoy in the restaurant you get to if you enter from the Strand. They have a choice of about 8 and you can choose whether you want to have 8 or 16 & whichever you fancy. One of my friends who goes out a lot enjoys going to the Corinthian for meals. Another friend stays at the Mandarin Oriental, I had a drink there with her before Christmas and it was very nice (but expensive).

for shopping I would definitely go to kings road. For food, if you stay anywhere near the Shard, there is a fantastic Spanish restaurant in Bermondsey Street called Pizarro's.