With the Tower of London and Tower Bridge situated opposite the hotel’s grand neoclassical entrance, Four Seasons London at Ten Trinity Square is the luxury hotel group’s exciting new UK property, promising a haven in the heart of the City, complete with two acclaimed fine dining restaurants (La Dame de Pic London and Mei Ume), two ballrooms ideal for conferences or weddings, a private members club (The Club) and a state-of-the art spa and gymnasium.
Ten Trinity Square is a landmark building, opened as the headquarters of The Port of London Authority by Prime Minister David Lloyd George in 1922. After a lavish refurbishment and reconfiguration by Four Seasons, the result is a hotel that is modern, almost futuristic in feel, yet one that echoes the elegance and prosperity of the 1920s. There’s a carefully judged masculinity blended with subtle touches of femininity such as the heavenly-scented FS signature floral display in the lobby, ensuring an inviting ambiance for both business and pleasure.
Like the hands of a clock, the reception and restaurants are situated off the circular Rotunda, with an original glass dome which emulates that of nearby St Paul’s. An all-day lounge, dining and bar space with a grand piano as its centrepiece, it’s already a popular spot for meetings, afternoon tea, or cocktails with friends or lovers come the evening. A regular programme of live music really hits the spot.
Arriving ahead of check-in time, we headed to La Dame de Pic London for a gourmet lunch (a good value £29 for 2 courses, £39 for three), where Anne-Sophie Pic, the first female chef to be awarded three Michelin stars since 1933 for her restaurant Maison Pic in south-east France, was granted a Michelin star here for her innovative style of French cookery after only eight months of opening – undoubtedly lending the new hotel a clear selling point. Famed for her precision-perfect food, Pic’s vibrant, unexpected flavours are partnered with bold, simple presentation that can sometimes appear sterile due to dainty portions and a mass of clean, undecorated white porcelain background. The taste of each dish, however, is brilliantly conceived and highly original.
La Dame de Pic London
Le Dame de Pic London offers 21st century French cookery at its most innovative and abstract, a style that is proving popular with the more adventurous business crowd, for the atmosphere is more a pretty laboratory with exemplary technicians (including the front of house team) than a romantic date venue, with sophisticated food and wine that cries out to be analysed and poured over by knowledgeable, experienced fine-diners. Like Pic’s surprise combinations, it’s an environment I wasn’t sure if I would warm to but ended up admiring. How could you not when the woman gives you a white cubist millefeuille with Tahitian vanilla cream, Jasmine jelly, and voatsiperifery pepper foam? A signature. In case you were wondering, voatsiperifery is a rare pepper with a powerful pine flavour.
One of 100 rooms, our high ceilinged honey-oak panelled Executive Suite was equivalent to three normal size hotel rooms and akin to sleeping in a very luxurious boardroom. If Mad Men inspired your bedroom fantasies, then this could be just the place. Whether you take your secretary or your wife is your call. To round things off, there is a well stocked mini-bar, a 55″ Samsung TV (for those who need other forms of entertainment), a marble and mosaic tiled bathroom with all the glamour you come to expect from Four Seasons and stylish Bottega Veneta toiletries that are more aimed at men. My companion was certainly difficult to say no to after taking a shower.
FS London at Ten Trinity Square’s sleek subterranean spa is one of the finest to open in the capital, with a 14 metre heated vitality pool, dry sauna and steam room, eight treatment rooms and a 24-hour fitness centre. You are lucky indeed if a) you live or work near enough to justify a membership or b) you can afford one. The therapy menu, with a strong male focus for the weary businessman, is a who’s who of premium skincare brands from Morocco, Switzerland and Germany such as the organic, plant-based Amala which featured in my incredible hour-long facial.
Despite being sceptical about facials due to past reactions to some extremely expensive products, I trusted my therapist when she assured me that there was nothing to cause irritation – far from it. My skin was cleansed using Amala’s hydrating range; brightened with a gentle scrub and analysed using a UV light to highlight to my therapist the condition of my skin and elasticity. I’m not as young as I used to be, but I was secretly proud when she announced that anti-ageing products were not required. If I make a habit of sessions like this hopefully I can keep it up. My face was then massaged with Amala’s dreamy cocoabean rejuvenating face treatment oil before being treated to a clay mask which carried on getting to work whilst she relaxed me further with a scalp massage.
Ten Trinity is bright, glamorous and modern, and where else could you book a private evening viewing of the Crown Jewels, including the famed Cullinan Diamond. Which begs the question – when are the diamond jewellery display cabinets in the lobby going to arrive? If you feel like moving in, that isn’t a problem either, ‘The Residences’ are Ten Trinity’s 41 similarly styled luxury apartments; independent living whilst boasting all the perks and amenities of being a permanent hotel guest. If only. You gotta love Four Seasons. For sheer exuberance and forward-thinking style this venue is a 10 – a sparkling edition to their UK portfolio.
Four Seasons London at Ten Trinity, 10 Trinity Square, London, EC3N 4AJ. Double rooms start at £430 per night not including breakfast. For more information and reservations please visit the website.
