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Just before I embark on my epic ‘Mexico to Antarctica‘ by land trip I paid a visit to one of my adopted homes, England. I went to university in England from 2002-2006, thinking it was a world apart from my upbringing in Ireland, little did I know I had much bigger adventures ahead. Anyway, my Central and South America trip will take the best part of 8 months; which means leaving my girlfriend behind in Thailand for pretty much the entire duration. To sweeten the blow I invited her to a whirlwind trip of the UK and Ireland for a couple of weeks before I set off, the first stop on the trip was London, and I figured Jaa, my girlfriend, was deserving of a spot of luxury in the city (especially after I made her transit in Mumbai airport for 9 hours over night to save some pennies!). The luxury came in the form of the Nadler Hotel, Soho. And what luxury it was. Of all the hotels I’ve stayed in in London over the years, the Nadler has just jumped straight to the top of the pile. I can’t get enough of these sexy, boutique, modern hotels and the Nadler ticked every box I had. Let me run you guys through my obsession with it. The Hotel: It’s tough to choose which hotel to stay in when you’re in a huge city like London. All the hotel search sites scream a million different thing, and one thing’s for sure – I’m not keen for yet another generic chain hotel. It’s gotta be boutique, it’s gotta be sexy, it’s gotta have some wow effect and the location has to be spot on. The Nadler just had everyone else beaten hands down, so straight to the Nadler I went. Location: As I mentioned above, the hotel is the definition of modern, boutique functionality but the location trumps even that. The Nadler is slap bang in the middle of Soho, the West End and Oxford Street. If you’re hungry for some London shopping, it doesn’t get better than this. Literally a 3 minute walk to the main strip. If it’s a show in the West End you’re after (like me), then it’s better still. I went to see ‘Thriller’ in the Lyric Theatre (amazing by the way), and to be able to take a 10 minute stroll from your hotel to the theatre is convenience beyond convenience.

The view from my room, right in Soho

  Atmosphere: The Nadler oozes modern cool. The colour scheme, the logo, the staff, the rooms. It made me feel like James Bond checking in for an assignment in London, and although my girlfriend wasn’t impressed with me running around the corridors humming the James Bond theme tune, I was having a great time. Luxury: This is where you really get your money’s worth. Being greeted by your name on the huge Samsung Flatscreen was one thing, but being greeted by it from my four poster bed, now that’s something else! The Bose Speaker system in the bathroom was a classy touch, even though I spent less time listening to Mozart, and more time listening to how Chelsea were getting betting the football on Match of the Day. I’m a huge believer that every luxury hotel should have a bathtub, and Nadler didn’t let me down here either, complete with a quality bath set. There’s nothing like soaking your weary, shopped-out London limbs in a steaming hot bath. Price: London doesn’t come cheap, with the real estate here being arguably the most expensive on the planet. So the Nadler’s rates pleasantly surprised me. A single room starts around $180 USD (120 GBP), I stayed in the suite for that extra indulgence (read: impress my girlfriend even more before I disappear) and it was worth the extra money for the wow factor of the 4 poster bed alone. Breakfast: I’m a huge hotel breakfast snob. If I’m going to pay the big bucks for a hotel, a nice bed and a good sound system doesn’t cut it. What are you feeding me in the am, folks. OMG did these guys knock this choice out of the park. The Nadler has a partnership with a local French/Italian bakery, they don’t do their own breakfast. I’ve never seen this arrangement before and I was a little skeptical, wrong Johnny boy, very wrong.   You’re issued an order form (foccia and parma ham, fruit salad, croissants, pain of chocolat etc), you tick what you want and it’s delivered, fresh, to your room in the morning at the time of your choosing. This blew me away. The breakfast alone would have me coming back to stay here again in the future. I had planned to write a nice, succinct review for these guys but sometimes I’m compelled to share just how awesome one place can be, and these guys were that awesome. So if you’re looking for somewhere funky to stay in London, check it out. It’s worth a few extra pennies, believe me. Happy travels!