Berkeley Homes’ One Tower Bridge Show Apartments Launch

Last week I headed to One Tower Bridge to view their luxury apartments. The building is truly beautiful, even from the outside. I headed in and everyone was friendly and smartly dressed, just as you would expect. I see a model of all of One Tower Bridge and it looks very impressive.

They have 356 units in total and have already sold 309. Cambridge House has been launched and that is their flagship block. There are 36 units in total in Cambridge including 3 Duplex Penthouses.  There are private gardens, a new street, Duchess Walk, is being built which will have shops and restaurants. A boutique hotel with 70 bedrooms is also being launched

The apartments are stunning, every little detail is perfect. As I walked around, glass of champagne in hand, I wanted to become a multi-millionaire very quickly. As did every other person who saw them. They are gorgeous apartments: the ultimate in luxury.  Take a look at the pictures and see for yourself. The view is also incredible, as is the location. You are very close to the South Bank but this side of the river is quieter, more calm.

Honky and Casa Forma also did an excellent job of designing the show flats. I loved the sumptuous surroundings.

Berkeley Homes’ One Tower Bridge sales team will be welcoming prospective buyers to an onsite marketing suite for the first time.  In addition to the onsite marketing suite, Berkeley is launching two spectacular show homes, which do justice to the development’s extraordinary location on one of London’s last remaining great riverside locations, at the foot of the world-famous bridge.

The Casa Forma apartments 

1.03 Casa Forma Kitchen 1.03 Casa Forma Living Area 1.03 Casa Forma Living Area

Coinciding with the milestone of the first completions at One Tower Bridge this month, the two-bedroom show apartments, located in Cambridge House, the river-facing block, will provide the first enticing glimpse of what life could look like inside these exceptional residences.

Inspired by the distinctly British character and charm of the Thames Walk location, Berkeley Homes has commissioned acclaimed interior designers Casa Forma and Honky to each present their own London aesthetic in one of the show apartments.

The Honky Apartments

1.01 Honky Apartment EnSuite Bathroom 1.01 Honky Apartment Living Area 1.01 Honky Apartment Terrace

Just as each of the development’s nine blocks is slightly different in character – with variations in architectural styles, size and height to complement the skyline and showcase the magnificent views across the River Thames – the individual show apartments have distinctly different style sensibilities and features, yet each one has perfectly captured the energy, vibrancy and tasteful luxury that are part of living in the capital. The designers have all expressed their personal vision for One Tower Bridge using beautiful bespoke materials and furnishings and original artwork against the interior architects’ strong base palette.

Buyers can look forward to a home that anticipates all the needs and requirements of contemporary luxury living. All of the apartments are fully fitted with the finest materials and technology, including Miele integrated appliances, built-in coffee machines, wine coolers and individually designed oak cabinets for the custom-designed ergonomically planned kitchens.

Each apartment has a private balcony, terrace or roof garden, and also features the very latest in integrated Smart Home Technology, allowing residents remote access to adjust the automated blinds and switch on the underfloor heating system or air conditioning as they disembark from a long haul flight, as well as control the state-of-the-art security system. The technology hub also communicates wirelessly with the lift, automatically recognizing residents and delivering them to their floor.

Designed by internationally celebrated architects Squire and Partners, these luxurious one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments and penthouses offer an opportunity to live on the South Bank, right beside London’s iconic landmark – which is marking its 120th anniversary this year – and just a short walk from both the Tower of London and the Shard.

Harry Lewis, Managing Director at Berkeley Homes (South East London) Ltd, comments: 

“This is an extraordinary moment, as One Tower Bridge takes the next exciting step towards completion. The stylish interiors designed by Casa Forma and Honky reflect brilliantly all the values and virtues of One Tower Bridge, and will help buyers to get a sense of the complete experience of living in this one-of-a-kind development in a truly inspirational setting.”

Prices at One Tower Bridge start from £1,130,000.

 

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Things To See: The Eiffel Tower | Travel

I have to start this piece by saying that the Eiffel Tower has a special place in my heart, as just over a year ago my fiancé whisked me away to Paris and proposed to me. After his proposal we went to the Eiffel Tower. Before I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time I always thought it would be long and thin. In fact, the Eiffel Tower is huge, both in height and girth. It is so vast and impressive that it is impossible to not feel just a little insignificant in it’s shadow. It is easy to see why the Eiffel Tower is one of the most famous attractions in the world, and is seen in countless movies and television shows.

Paris

Even more shocking and surprising is that this genius of architecture and human ability is now 125 years old. How they had the technology and ability to do this 125 years ago always makes me wondrously impressed. It took 300 workers, 18,038 pieces of wrought iron, 2.5 million rivets, 10,000 tons, 984.25 feet high and two years, two months, and five days of construction to complete. Not bad at all.

The Eiffel Tower

Photo credit: Catherine Balavage

 

The Eiffel Tower is a must see, especially if you live in Europe as it is so easy to get to Paris. Especially on the Eurostar. And there are many amazing and reasonable priced hotels near the Eiffel Tower which can be found through Hotel Direct After getting over my general awe of just how huge both the base of the tower, and the height was, we went all of the way to the top. I even went out into the balcony at the very top. It was a little scary but I did not want to pass up the opportunity. The view of Paris from the top is absolutely amazing and it is quite an adrenaline rush.

In it’s 125-year history more than 250 million people have visited the Eiffel Tower, making it the most-visited paid monument in the world. Here are some more facts:

The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Photo credit: Catherine Balavage

The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Photo credit: Catherine Balavage

The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Photo credit: Catherine Balavage

The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Photo credit: Catherine Balavage

The Eiffel Tower is more than one colour. It is darker at the top and lighter at the bottom to counteract atmospheric perspective. It is also painted every seven years to protect the tower from rust. Fifty to sixty tons of paint is needed to paint the entire tower.

The Eiffel Tower was meant to be taken down after twenty years. In the end the French military and the French government used it for radio, and later tele, communications. When the towers permit expired in 1909, the City of Paris renewed it indefinitely.

The people of Paris originally hated the Eiffel Tower. Parisians thought it was an eyesore and newspapers received angry letters saying it didn’t fit into the feel of the city. Apparently, novelist Guy de Maupassant hated the tower but ate at its restaurant everyday. When people asked him why he said it was because it was the only place in Paris where he couldn’t see it.

eiffeltowercatherinebalavage

The Eiffel Tower changes height. Because it is made with wrought iron the metal expands when exposed to heat. This increases the towers height by 6.75 inches.

The Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world until 1930 when New York City’s Chrysler Building rose up to 1,046 feet 

Apparently, the Eiffel Tower wasn’t the brainchild of Gustav Eiffel.  It was his senior engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier who designed the tower. Gustav Eiffel sent the engineers to the head of the company’s architectural department, Stephen Sauvestre. After Sauvestre’s edits, Eiffel finally got behind the plans and he also bought the right to the patent.

The Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France

Read our Paris In Instagram Pictures pieces for more great things to do in Paris.

 

The Italian Boys Putney | Restaurant Review

Putney, London, has a lot going for it. One of those things are Italian restaurants and one of the best is the newly refurbished The Italian Boys on Putney High Street. They have a good menu with a large selection of food to choose from. It takes us ages to choose what we want but the staff are patient and don’t rush us. We order some prosecco to start and it is very good wine. Some of the best prosecco I have ever tasted.

We finally decide on our starters: I have the Calamari Grigliati Con Polentina Fritta: Fresh grilled squid, pan fried polenta stuffed with peas & mint, slow roasted herbs & cherry tomato dressing and my colleague has Gamberoni Al Prosciutto Croccante: King prawns wrapped with crunchy Parma ham & lentils sauté. The calamari dish is superb, just make sure you add all of the ingredients together and don’t eat them separately. The chef really knows what he/she is doing and has an excellent grasp of flavours and the knowledge to put them together to make a stunning dish. I was incredibly impressed. The prawn starter was also superb, the sauce it came in was amazing and this dish made even the humble lentil into an ingredient worthy of a Michelin-starred restaurant. We cannot praise the starters highly enough: just absolutely amazing.

italianboys1 italianboysclamari

For our main we had the Merluzzo Con Pancetta Croccante E Uova Di Quaglia: Pan fried filet of cod wrapped in crunchy pancetta served with clams & quail eggs with spinach & butter sauce and the Ravioli Di Zucca Con Pancetta: Ricotta & pumpkin ravioli, pancetta & rocket with butter sauce. The mains were just as good as the starters: absolutely amazing. The cod dish is unique and delicious and the ravioli is first-class. The food is so good that this restaurant is unforgettable, you think about the meal you had long after and you just have to go back for more.

italianboysravioli
italianboysputneyFor dessert I had ice-cream and my colleague had the Torta Della Nonna. The ice-cream was great. You get three scoops and I had chocolate with cookies, strawberry and a very alcoholic rum. This was superb ice-cream, showing that Italian Boys even gets it right on the simple things. The Torta Della Nonna is a Tuscan dessert known as ‘grandmother’s cake’, it was also brilliant.

italianboysicecream italianboysThe Italian Boys is a must go to restaurant for all Londoners, not just those in Putney. Both the food and the service is first-class.

 

Address:157 Putney High St, London SW15 1RT
Phone:020 8780 1988
Hours:  7:00 am – 11:00 pm

The Heathrow Experience

The new Heathrow Terminal 2 opens on the 4th of June 2014 and its set to be the best, most opulent and tremendous one yet. With 62 fabulous shops and fine dining areas all for you the traveler. This meticulously designed experience is all about the passengers. Making it a truly wonderful visit, you will just long for more time to wander about, shop and even have a luxury relaxing massage, shower and a nice rest before your flight. This sounds too good to be true but trust me I had the chance to test this all out recently and boy oh boy was it good!! Each shop has travel in mind and each and every one has thought of everything from keeping the kids happy to keeping you completely spoilt rotten.  IMG_1754IMG_1756

Thomas Pink has a new state of the art personalised digital touch screen shirt maker. The Personally Pink gadget where you can choose the shirt, collar, colour, size and all the little details of your choice and they will create your shirt and get it specially delivered to your home within about 4 weeks. You now can be your own shirt designer and no one will have the same as you! IMG_1757IMG_1760IMG_1764IMG_1769

Cath Kidston, the British known institution of vintage kitsch is the best place to drop in for gifts and all those amazing holiday items you always want to purchase last minute. The shop will feature unique travel inspired designs at the terminal.

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The amazing Sunglasses Hut have a very cool device called the Magic Mirror that allows passengers to try on frames with virtual technology!! I spent ages trying on the coolest new designs. The store is set to also feature a Luxury room with some High end fashion brands. On leaving the event I looked into my goodie bag and low and behold they had popped a pair of the latest Folding Ray-Bans in the bag! What a fab event and we all got totally spoilt.

Magic Mirror

IMG_1787IMG_1799Having some fun at the even! Its not all work and no play at Frost. Work hard play hard, haven’t you heard our motto!!IMG_1802Dixons Travel is my kinda place. This new Leica camera is on my ultimate wish list. All hand made and a photographers dreamy dream. I did joke and pretend the pinch it but with a price tag of around £4000 I decided it wouldn’t be a good idea if they ever wanted me for a Photo shoot!! Now on the other hand these babies below are more in my price range, the latest sound box that connects to your phone wirelessly. The sound that was heard coming from these was tremendous. I need one for photo shoots that are in extreme places without electricity. Just imagine this dinky little number by the pool playing your favourite tunes or sitting sipping a nice glass of red while watching the sun go down, with delightful chill out music in the background. Whats brilliant these are just under £100 too!IMG_1803IMG_1807At the World Duty free bar we got to sample the cocktails and whiskeys. I opted for my all time favourite that is a Virgin Marry. I have to say it was possibly the best one I have ever had. Compliments to the gentleman creating them.The World Duty Free section will be offering whisky tasting, complimentary facials, massages and treatments, all are amazing I can reassure you. IMG_1812IMG_1813Now for the highlight of the day for me and that was the Plaza Premium Lounge. This will be the only independent lounge offering the most exquisite taylor made massages. With an incredible array of highly trained and courteous staff, this company has you and only you the passenger at the heart of what they are offering. First class treatment that fulfils every wish, every tiny little desire you might require. It will have 5 sleeping suites, shower rooms, business centre facilities, Wi-Fi workstations, private resting areas and a free restaurant, not just a cold buffet either, but with really sublime hot food, delicious Moorish premium dishes . For just £38 you can have 2 hours of access that includes all the above and you could even have a an exclusive wellness spa massage, you must book when you know you are visiting Terminal 2 as the massage I had was sublime. All this and there is also a Champagne bar. I really need to book a holiday and hope for delays!! Their ethos is service and superior service at that. Sleek, contemporary and accessible to everyone, Five star luxury at reasonable prices. Their products are delicious too, and the candles…well the candles. You will just have to visit them to experience this for yourself won’t you! IMG_1821IMG_1831Tearing myself away from all that for a spot of salmon sampling and caviar slurping. Nothing else would have done it mind you. Caviar House and Prunier offers incredible Balik salmon, caviar, chocolate and champagne. Every one of us at the event was overwhelmed at the flavours. I was instantly taken back to my childhood sitting on my fathers boat, lapping up the sea breeze and the salty air. This caviar not only tasted triumphant but made me feel like I had been whisked off on holiday. IMG_1839IMG_1842IMG_1851The ice bar was amazing, full to the brim with treats.IMG_1852IMG_1853IMG_1866IMG_1876With all this going on at the Terminal would you need anything else, oh yes you could. Personal shopping is the ultimate experience in its self and at Heathrow its all complimentary. With over 400 outlets at your disposal you can book a consultation with one of the accredited stylists fluent in 38 languages. Heathrow has thought of everything thats for sure.IMG_1880Now for some fun foodie news as Heathrow also welcomes Heston Blumenthal and his fantastic team to Terminal 2, with the opening of The Perfectionists’ Cafe. Celebrating all this is British from burgers made by grinding the meat grains in the same direction to create the most juicy and delicious burger you have ever eaten. Crunchy fresh cooked chips with a wicked batter coating. Pizzas cooked in wood burring oven and the option for a 15 minute menu if you are in a hurry.

I can’t wait to fly with Heathrow and want to thank them so much for hosting the mind blowing #ExperienceT2 it was by far the best press day I have been to this year. With 2.5 Billion invested in this development you are really in for a wonderful holiday right from the moment you step into the airport. Right what flights are setting off from Terminal 2….?!!!

Follow them on Twitter @HeathrowAirport and Follow me too if you like for more reviews, fashion and fun on Twitter @sarahbacchus Jump on over to www.slbstyle.com for more lifestyle, fashion and beauty.

Busaba Eathai Restaurant review

It is quite shameful that we had never eaten at Busaba Eathai before, and, jeez, had we missed out. The food is amazing, the drinks are amazing and the entire place is first-rate. The manager was knowledgeable, friendly, generous and was known by a large amount of the diners. There were a lot of regulars.

We started off with the selection below. Yes, started. One of Busaba Eathai‘s most popular dishes is the Thai Calamari with ginger and peppercorn. It’s the one at the top of the pictures. It’s amazing. One of the best calamari dishes I have ever had. We also had fishcakes (yummy and with a great sauce), pandan leaf chicken which falls apart when you open the leaf and a great yellow bean dish which had a good kick to it.

Our mains were equally amazing, I had a curry that was specifically made milder for me. My colleague had glass noodles which were amazing and delicious. The dish was full of flavour and had a lot going on. For drinks we also had one of the best prosecco’s I have ever had, a good beer and an excellent non-alcoholic cocktails. I had an amazing Grapefruit mojito with vanilla, mint, lime and chilli.

Busaba Eathai is a brilliant restaurant and I will join their large following of regular customers. It is also possible to have a great meal without blowing your budget here. There are many branches in London so check out their website below.

foodthai

asianfood beer bloomsbury7

meal bloomsbury5 bloomsbury4 bloomsbury3 drink mocktail prosecco restaurantreview thaifood

teabiscuit

We finished with tea and biscuits.

@busabaeathai

http://busaba.com/

Address: 22 Store St, London WC1E 7DF
Phone:020 7299 7900

A London Pub For Every Occasion Book Review

A London Pub For Every OccasionA London Pub For Every Occasion is an amazing book for a number of reasons:

One: It has a chapter on pubs with cats. PUBS WITH CATS!! This has made me very happy and from now on, if anyone ever wants to find me, I will be in one of the pubs that have a cat.

Two: It has maps. I love maps, especially fun, brilliantly illustrated maps.

Three: It whittles down the 7.000 pubs in London and makes them easier to navigate by separating them into occasion. This is obvious from the title but with someone else doing all of the legwork, this pocket book becomes very handy indeed. It is divided into 22 sections to suit every whim. It has 161 of the capital’s usual and unusual pubs to best suit the mood or occasion. It is beautifully illustrated in black and white.

There are pubs for cold days and for sunny ones; pubs with cats and pubs that welcome dogs; pubs for parties and pubs when you just want to be alone; pubs where you can have breakfast and some you’ll never want to leave. It is the ultimate pub guide.

London Pub MapThe guide is weighted to the centre of London, the part of the city in which all Londoners have an equal share, where friends from the south and north of the river meet on common ground.

Herb Lester Associates, who made the book,  say ‘The book’s selections are based on dogged research filtered through a genuine appreciation of the pub, the ale or the odd animal roaming around. The handy fold-out paper map makes sense of the confusing territories away from a familiar pub routine many of us fall into,’

Published in hardback by Ebury Press on 1st May at £9.99

A London Pub for Every Occasion: 161 tried-and-tested pubs in a pocket-sized guide that’s perfect for Londoners and travellers alike

 

A Day In Bloomsbury | Travel & London Gems

Out of all of the boroughs in London, Bloomsbury is one that holds a special place in my heart. It is a classy, beautiful borough with a very special touch, an air of sophistication and lots of great independent shops. It also has culture at The British Museum.

We headed to Store Street to eat, drink and be merry.

Our first stop was The Life Goddess for lunch.

The Life Goddess is an amazing Greek deli which also sells lots of amazing Greek produce. We started with an amazing platter which had lots of great dips, cheese, olives and vegetables. (a tomato is actually a fruit but you get my point), and then for mains we had Roasted Vegetables in a light tomato sauce and a pork belly with potatoes in an amazing sauce. We didn’t have time for dessert as we had to head to The British Museum. The food was good and reasonably priced.

We also had some really good white wine and a rosé. We really liked The Life Goddess. It has great food and a relaxed atmosphere. I would also recommend the Life Goddess for vegetarians. The platters are great and the roasted vegetables dish I had was amazing. And that is coming from a carnivore.

29 Store St, London WC1E 7BS
020 7637 2401, @TheLifeGoddess

bloomsbury2lifegoddess lifegoddess lifegoddess3 greekfood food food1 lifegoddess4 lifegoddess5 lifegoddess35 whitewine wine

Beyond El Dorado exhibition at the British Museum.

I love the British Museum and was very excited to go to the Beyond El Dorado exhibition. With 200 artifacts from Bogota’s ‘Museum of Gold’, it was more bling than Jay-Z, Beyonce, Elizabeth Taylor and J-Lo combined. El Dorado means– literally “the golden one” and the magpie in me was in heaven. The exhibition was brilliant, if a little busy. People were queuing round the block. (which isn’t a complaint as art should be seen by as many people as possible)

The exhibition is full of wonderful models and masks made of gold and wonderful literature to read on the walls. This is an eye-opening exhibition not just because of the objects on display, but also because of all of the facts, videos and information. The connection of gold and cocaine (mixed with lime!) in Colombia was also interesting. It would seem decadence was the order of the day in ancient Colombia and we were rather shocked but glad to have had a glimpse of it.

We also managed to catch a glimpse of the Rosetta Stone. Something no one should go to London without seeing at least once.

bloomsbury1

Next up was dinner at Busaba Eathai.

It is quite shameful that we had never eaten at Busaba Eathai before, and, jeez, had we missed out. The food is amazing, the drinks are amazing and the entire place is first-rate. The manager was knowledgeable, friendly, generous, funny and was known and liked by a large amount of the diners. There was a lot of regulars.

We started off with the selection below. Yes, started. One of Busaba Eathai‘s most popular dishes is the Thai Calamari with ginger and peppercorn. It’s the one at the top of the picture. It’s amazing. One of the best calamari dishes I have ever had. We also had fishcakes (yummy and with a great sauce), pandan leaf chicken which falls apart when you open the leaf and a great yellow bean dish which had a good kick to it.

Our mains were equally amazing, I had a curry that was specifically made milder for me. For drinks we also had one of the best prosecco’s I have ever had, an good beer and excellent non-alcoholic cocktails. I had an amazing Grapefruit mojito with vanilla, mint, lime and chilli.

Busaba Eathai is a brilliant restaurant and I will join their large following of regular customers. It is also possible to have a great meal without blowing your budget here. There are many branches in London so check out their website below.

foodthai

asianfood beer bloomsbury7

meal bloomsbury5 bloomsbury4 bloomsbury3 drink  mocktail prosecco restaurantreview thaifood

teabiscuit

We finished with tea and biscuits.

@busabaeathai

http://busaba.com/

Address: 22 Store St, London WC1E 7DF
Phone:020 7299 7900
We were incredibly impressed with how beautiful Store Street was. You can spend an entire day there, eating well and taking in the atmosphere, along with some boutique shopping. A real London gem.

Other places to check out on Store Street are One Alfred Place, Frost’s first ever restaurant review (oh, the nostalgia) and the Store Street Gallery.

@storestreetwc1

What do you think?

The Knight Residence Serviced Apartments Review

logo-tkr1.png.284x60The Knight Residence is a modern 6-storey townhouse on a quiet street between the two main train stations in Edinburgh, Haymarket and Waverley. There are two topiary balls in silver sparkling pots on either side of the front door. And a buzzer entry system for residents who have not yet checked in. Colin Stone MA, the General Manager of The Knight Residence, greets us from the concierge desk, situated in the lobby between the front and inside doors, and gives us a tour of the facilities and our city two-bedroom apartment.

Coffee & DVD’s

First things first: the keys. We are given a front door key and a key to our apartment as well as an electronic key ring sensor that opens the inside door of this townhouse. A nifty safety feature that I like.

The ground floor of The Knight Residence is a cosy living space full of newspapers and DVD’s. There is also a press and go coffee machine incase residents want a cappuccino to go. My partner is instantly drawn to the smell of roasted beans and makes us each a coffee before taking a seat on one of the two armchairs.

“We offer free wifi,” says Colin while calling the lift to take us to the 2nd floor. “But you can rent any of our DVD’s for £2.00 if you want a change from Netflix or Blinkbox.”

I often get lost in big hotels and forget where my room is. But that won’t be an issue here. When Colin ushers us from the lift to our apartment, we notice that all the doors have namecards on them. Ours says ‘Miss M Volpi,’ which makes us smile.

Colin opens the door and deposits our bags in the first bedroom. This apartment has a video ID entry system (incase you are expecting guests), laminate floor in the hall, one twin bedded room and one double room (each with a wardrobe, dressing table, set of two white bathrobes and slippers, alarm clock and TV),  bathroom, lounge, dining room and kitchen. Every room looks chic and clean. And there is plenty of natural light.

The Kitchen

“We’ve stocked the kitchen with a few breakfast essentials for you,” says Colin while walking into the open plan sitting room and dining area that adjoin the kitchen at the back of our apartment. “Just to make you feel at home.”

The fridge contains two large cartons of fruit juice (orange and cranberry) and there is a sliced white loaf ready for toasting in the bread bin. But what impresses me is the selection of cereals, biscuits, jams, spreads, teas and coffees all displayed in a large wire storage rack on the kitchen counter.

There is Alpen, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, and Weetabix. Shortbread that looks homemade. Good quality raspberry and strawberry jam and orange marmalade. There is a choice of either Lurpak butter or Flora spead and teas ranging from herbal to traditional. There are fairtrade sachets of instant hot chocolate and freeze dried coffee (both strong and decaf) alongside a large 4-cup cafitiere with one pouch of freshly ground coffee. I often have trouble deciding what I would like to eat for breakfast. But The Knight Residence really does offer a selection of morning food to suit all palates.

The kitchen is fully equipped with toaster, microwave, hob, oven, fridge, sink and washing machine. There is a selection of cutlery and ceramic plates/mugs as well as plastic plates, cups and bowls for children. You could easily prepare a home cooked meal here. And we are sad that we have pre booked a table at Amarone restaurant instead.

The Bathroom

Colin shows us where the bathroom is before leaving us to get ready for our evening out in Edinburgh.

The bathroom is lit by spotlights and has a mirrored back wall. It’s a big space with a neat toilet basin and a sink big enough for two people to use at the same time. There is a bath with an electric shower overhead on the far side of the room and a heated towel rail next to the door.

The Knight Residence is big on protecting the environment. Not only are their profits from the car park used to plant native trees in Scotland (www.trees4scotland.com), their choice of toiletries are all eco-friendly and in eco-friendly packaging. I’ve never come across the ‘BeeKind’ range of products from Gilchrist & Soames before. But it’s a snazzy concept in looks, logo and logic.

“BeeKind to yourself by not using products with parabens, phthalates or artificial colours. BeeKind to your neighbours, animals, waiters and waitresses. Most importantly, BeeKind to the environment so future generations can enjoy your planet’s breathtaking beauty.”

The 30 ml bottles are all made from paper and the main ingredient in each product, whether it be shampoo, conditioner or body lotion, is honey. A portion of BeeKind’s proceeds are used to support honey bee and sustainable pollination research.

The Knight Residence also encourages you to re-use your towels instead of having them washed ever day of your stay.

The Personal Touch

“If you need anything at all, just ring down to reception,” says Colin before exiting our apartment. “We can order you a taxi for later or provide you with personalised directions and a map of how to get to where you want to go in Edinburgh on foot.”

My partner and I veg out in front of the TV for an hour to unwind, before phoning Colin and asking him to book that taxi…

The Knight Residence is much more than a home from home. It’s a haven of efficiency and environmentally friendly living. ALL your worries are obliterated from the moment you step through that door with your name on it. And ALL you can do is relax and let the pampering begin.

If the personal touch is what you’re looking for, then The Knight Residence should be on your accommodation list for that next trip to Edinburgh. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

 

*Our City two bedroom apartment was £402.00 per night. It accommodates 4 adults and 1 child.

Other prices are as follows:

City studio apartment: £264.00 per night
City one bedroom apartment: £287.00 per night
City two bedroom apartment: £402.00 per night
Comfort one bedroom apartment: £264.00 per night
Comfort two bedroom apartment: £402.00 per night
Comfort three bedroom apartment: £598.00 per night

*Rates quoted are inclusive of utilities, service and VAT. Ancillary services, such as phone, fax or newspapers, will be charged as taken.

Car Parking is charged at £7 per night. Profits from car parking are used to plant native trees in Scotland. www.trees4scotland.com

 

We like…

 

THE LOCATION

 

THE BUILDING

 

THE STAFF

 

YOUR NAME ON THE DOOR OF YOUR APARTMENT

 

THE SECURITY

 

KNIGHT KNIGHT SLEEP TIGHT TEDDY BEAR

 

THE KITCHEN SUPPLIES

 

THE ECO TOILITRIES

 

THE SERVICE

 

 

Contact details:

 

The Knight Residence

12 Lauriston Street

Edinburgh

Scotland

EH3 9DJ

United Kingdom

 

Telephone number: +44 (0) 131 622 8120

Email: info@theknightresidence.co.uk

Website: http://www.theknightresidence.co.uk/