Room For Two – Pan Pacific, London

BY MATT BRACE

Imagine the glamour and style of a five-star, Singapore-brand property in the heart of one of London’s oldest and most historic neighbourhoods. That’s the Pan Pacific London. Take five in the light and airy Orchid Lounge, gaze over the East London rooftops from your king-sized bed, work out and chill out on the Sensory Wellbeing Floor (an entire floor dedicated to health, fitness and relaxation), sip cocktails in the romantic Ginger Lily bar and dine together on a masterful mash-up of Asian and British cuisine at Straits Kitchen restaurant.

Overview

The stakes must have been high for this 237-room hotel when it opened. It is the Pan Pacific’s first property in Europe and competes with some serious five-star brands in this truly global city. The result is a welcoming, luxurious and romantic bolthole which makes a great couples’ retreat and a lovely place to come ‘home’ to after a day tramping the noisy, busy streets. You will be greeted by the hotel’s porters, dressed in smart Greatcoats, and ushered into the calm lobby. Minutes after leaving the city’s rough and tumble you will be floating in the 18.5m infinity pool, warming up in the sauna, or taking a bath in your room’s marble bathtub. This is what it must feel like for the cashed-up financial whiz-kids who own apartments in this neck of the woods.

Location

This is a fascinating, buzzing part of this ancient city. The hotel is next to the site of the Roman wall – built 1,800 years ago to protect what was then Londinium – and near one of the wall’s former gates, Bishopsgate. It’s about a five-minute walk from the Gherkin, 15 minutes from the Tower of London and 10 minutes from Spitalfields, once a huge fruit and vegetable market and now a centre for fashion, antique and gift stalls, and scores of food and drink outlets. You can also walk to fabulous restaurants, the famous curry houses of Brick Lane and some of London’s oldest pubs.

Look and feel

Those who know the Pan Pacific brand will recognise the lovely Asian echoes such as sakura cherry blossom motifs and Japanese porcelain. It might sound like an odd fit for gritty old London but the contrast works well. In our room we found rainforest-green sofa cushions and a teapot decorated with sakura, while in the bathroom was a trio of jade-green miniature bamboo sticks. The pool area is designed to feel like a blend of Singapore and the Mediterranean, with a lovely 18.5m turquoise pool and cute deckchairs. It is part of the Sensory Wellbeing Floor, which also includes a state-of-the-art 24/7 gym, sauna and steam rooms and a fabulous spa – don’t miss the 60-minute Mindful Recharge treatment, which includes an Indian Head Massage and a Calming Recovery Express Facial.

Service

Apart from one or two very minor issues, including some delays in the Straits Kitchen restaurant (easily forgiven because the food was delicious), the hotel’s multinational crew ran the place like clockwork.

Best room for two

We had an Executive City View room (43–53sqm) on the south-east corner of the building, with great views of the glistening glass-and-steel office blocks of the financial district and the rooftops of the Whitechapel neighbourhood. We luxuriated on a ridiculously comfortable bed backed by a beautiful mauve wall hanging, and sipped tea from the pretty Japanese porcelain cups. In our bathroom was a large, tiled, walk-in shower and a marble bathtub. Normally we don’t get time to use bathtubs but we were there in autumn and London was wet and chilly so the opportunity to warm up in the deep tub with Jo Loves (Jo Malone) amenities was too good to pass up. If you really want to go for gold book one of the suites. We particularly liked the look of the 63sqm Devonshire Suite with its wallpapered artworks, in-room weights set and views to St Paul’s Cathedral in the distance.

Food and drink

The chefs at the hotel’s restaurant Straits Kitchen have done a great job of marrying Asian dishes with local UK produce to deliver delicious and innovative dishes. My wife (the carnivore in the family) became instantly enamoured with the Peking pancakes which included dry-aged Gressingham Duck from Suffolk, about a 90-minute drive north-east of London. My North Atlantic cod in a laksa with braised pak choi was equally delicious and we shared a yummy blackened eggplant side with yellow curry sauce and lemongrass. Dessert was a Gula Melaka crème brûlée with a mango lime compote and mango coriander sorbet, inspired by Singapore’s proximity to the Malaysian state of Melaka.

After dinner, we found a quiet table in the corner of Ginger Lily and kicked back with – appropriately for a romantic long weekend – two Mon Amour cocktails: amaro, champagne, golden lily cordial, lemon juice and golden lily essence.

Breakfast the next morning was fun! A great spread of salads and cured fish, and one of the best congees ever; the Asian influence strikes again.

Sustainability

As well as the basics (energy-efficient lighting and motion sensors, AC heat recovery mechanisms, low-flush loos, etc) the hotel sources 95% of its ingredients from within the UK (reducing the carbon footprint) and at least some of the spa’s products (Naturalia Sintesi) are cruelty-free and paraben-free. In our room we found other sustainable elements, including bamboo toothbrushes, wooden razors, cornstarch shower caps and bamboo toilet paper.

Couples will love

Floating together in the turquoise infinity pool and relaxing on the poolside deckchairs, slinking into a dark corner of Ginger Lily for a nightcap, having a long lie-in on down-soft sheets in the luxurious comfort of their room, and exploring the millennia of history and culture in this amazing part of London.

Book via the hotel’s website https://www.panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pp-london.html, call +44 (0) 20 7118 6888 (toll-free in UK: 0800 031 8255) or email enquiry.pplon@panpacific.com