Thursday, 12, March 2015

Written by
Nicola Brady

Secrets of a Concierge: The Marylebone Hotel

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Here, he shares his top secrets about London, including the best markets, shopping tips and the first thing every guest should do when they arrive.

While they’re in London, I would always advise my guests to visit the Victoria & Albert museum in South Kensington. It’s an incredible museum with a huge amount of exhibitions. But locally, the best hidden secret is The Wallace Collection. It’s a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries and it’s housed in Hertford House on Manchester Square. Luckily, it’s just a few minutes walk from the hotel itself.

London is full of lovely markets. Depending upon the time of year, I would most certainly suggest a visit to either Portobello or Borough Market. A short distance from The Marylebone Hotel, Portobello Market is one of my favourite places to visit on a Saturday. You’ll find the long road lined with antique stalls selling everything from vintage suitcases to unique art. There are plenty of cafés to sit with a coffee, too.

Your first point of contact when you get to The Marylebone Hotel should be the Concierge! They are full of fantastic ideas and are here to help solve any problems or queries that you may have. We can also help in your more unusual requests, or help to find the impossible!

Don’t forget you can also make contact with your Concierge prior to your arrival.

We will be able to recommend and assist in making reservations at the most popular restaurants, bars and clubs and also advise about the best shows to catch whilst in London. We can book and reserve everything beforehand, which will leave you with peace of mind of having everything planned before your stay.

Having been born and bred in Wembley, this is an area of the city where I feel most at home. I’m a huge Football fan (Chelsea FC!!) and Wembley is the home of English Football. Wembley Stadium is a UEFA category four stadium. With 90,000 seats, it is the second largest stadium in Europe and the largest stadium in the United Kingdom. Full stadium tours and behind the scenes tours are highly recommended. 

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The most popular question I’m asked is “How far is Selfridges?” With The Marylebone Hotel located literally a stones throw away from Oxford Street and Bond Street, shopping is always on our guests’ minds. We have three large department stores all within a ten-minute walk, as well as all of the shops of Oxford Street, Bond Street and all the other surrounding areas. It’s a shopper’s paradise!

Again, it’s a good idea to pay a small visit to the Concierge before venturing out and we will be able to advise you of the many sales that may be taking place and direct you accordingly. We may even have some special discount and VIP passes available!

Meeting different people every day who have different queries and challenges really keeps me on my feet. London is one of the world’s best cities and with so much going on, research is key. 

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Making contacts with the right people is also really important, to ensure I am able to get the best for my guests. I could not see myself doing another job as I get a lot of satisfaction from meeting and exceeding my guests’ expectations.

You can read more about The Marylebone Hotel here.