The Jetpacker

The Sofitel St. James is a five-star luxury hotel in a prime location in central London.  At the time of this writing, it was ranked #8 out of 1,151 hotels in London on Tripadvisor with 95% recommending it.  To say this place is one of the best hotels to stay in London is a terrible understatement.

Of course, with all those accolades comes a steep price.  But everything in London costs at least an arm.  It was New Year’s, we wanted to treat ourselves to some comfort and be in a great location.  So we decided to splurge and throw in the leg too.

The Sofitel St. James is only a five-minute walk from Trafalgar Square, where the National Gallery is located.  Actually, I’ll let this oddly funny quote off the Sofitel’s website tell you where they’re located:  “The hotel lies in the heart of St. James’s, a prestigious and lively district of London within walking distance of St. James’s Park, Buckingham Palace and the renowned gentlemen’s clubs.”  What?  Renowned gentlemen’s clubs?

A.) I’ve never heard of these alleged renowned gentlemen’s clubs.  I guess the guidebooks and all the websites that list the 100 best things to do in London forgot to mention those.  (But Wikipedia didn’t.)

B.) I like how the site alludes to Buckingham Palace as being just as big of a tourist attraction as a gentlemen’s club.  “Here we have one of the most famous palaces in the world.  And over there?  Boobs.”

Anyway, everyone else had their chance to sign the Sofitel’s praises and now it’s our turn to join the vocals.  The hotel is classy, refined and proper; everyone speaks softly and politely and the staff was helpful and informative.

The room was surprisingly spacious for London.  Normally hotels in the city are nothing more than elaborate walk-in closets.  Our room had enough space for us to toss around our dirty laundry and still maintain a presentable appearance.

This was my first time having turn-down service, and I’ve gotta say, coming back to the hotel room and seeing that little piece of chocolate sitting on my pillow elicited the kind of excitement I only get when I open up my e-mail and read “3 new messages.”

Our window view of the railing was a let down, but the TV made up for it.  For some reason, we got hooked on watching darts.  The World Dart Championships was taking place in London at the time, and even though we had no clue about the rules, it was thrilling to watch.  We got a kick out of it when the announcer shouted “180!!!” and the drunk crowd would erupt and wave signs.  I never imagined one of my goals in life would be to get wasted and shout “180!!!” with a bunch of drunks in London, but I must attend this event in the future.

The best part of the room, hand down (remember, we had to lose an arm just to pay for the place) was the bed.  If a cloud could somehow be turned into a mattress, this is what it would feel like.  There would be no wars if everyone slept in these beds.  There would also be no productivity.  The bed was so comfortable, we spent way more time sleeping than our schedule allowed.  The bed was so large and so soft, it would literally swallow us.

Now onto the worst part of the room.  And I can’t really knock the Sofitel for this because it seems to be an issue everywhere.  But what the heck is up with the showers in London?  Apparently the Brits don’t like taking comfortable showers.

Problem #1:  Weak shower head.  I’d get more power out of a garden hose.

Problem #2:  The shower “door.”  There’s a thin pane of glass that only shields about one-third of the shower.  That’s barely enough room to tuck yourself behind the glass.  Water sprays everywhere all that cold air comes rushing in so you can’t lock in the warmth.

Problem #3:  The towel rack is practically inside the shower.  I don’t know about you, but I prefer my towels dry.  To their credit, however, the towel rack at the Sofitel is heated which is really nice.

Minus the baffling shower system, the Sofitel St. James is worth every one of the thousands of pennies you’re likely to shell out to stay there.  Great location, great service and heavenly beds make this one of the best hotels in London.

Sofitel St. James London
http://www.sofitelstjames.com
6 Waterloo Place
London, SW1Y 4AN, United Kingdom
+44 20 7747 2200