Draycott hotel, NHM and Hamleys

At the end of last week we went to stay in London at the Draycott hotel. The Draycott hotel is a five star luxury hotel in the desirable Borough of Chelsea and describes itself as the epitome of elegance.

We set off on Friday morning and were a little hampered on the journey, as we weren’t aware of the M4 closure. Consequently, it took us around three hours to get to London (a 45 minute journey). We arrived around 2 o’clock, Ava and I went in ahead, while Hubby chivalrously went to find a car park locally. It was pouring down with rain, but even through the rain the Draycott was a gorgeous building.

The staff were really friendly and hugely professional. I get the feeling nothing would’ve been too much trouble. Baby and I went up to the room to have our first glimpse. We were both so excited when we saw it. Once through the main door, we were faced with two further doors on to the right and one straight ahead.

The door to the right lead into Ava’s bedroom, which was snug, but perfect for a child.  She even had her own bathroom and TV on the wall.

The door straight ahead lead to a corridor, opening up into the main double bedroom. Off the corridor was our bathroom and in the main room was space for a living area with settee, chair and desk and TV. A lovely roaring fire was the focal point of the living room area and a huge king-size bed was at the other end of the room. Ava couldn’t help but bounce on all the beds! We looked out of the window and a room overlooked the gardens of the hotel. It was such a wonderful place.

There was a definite feeling of service like it used to be. Care being taken of customers, in a way that many places fail to do in the present day. They offer complimentary tea and homemade biscuits at 4:00pm, champagne at 6:00pm, hot chocolate and biscuits at 9:30pm, with an honesty bar in the hotel lounge.

After a while hubby arrived back a little sodden from his walk and we decided to head off to the Natural History Museum. Maybe a little foolishly, we decided to walk and I think we underestimated how much 0.9 of a mile is when you have a 3 1/2-year-old in your party. Eventually, we arrived and were greeted by a beautiful carousel outside. Obviously Ava wanted to have a go on the carousel straight away.

The is no admission charge for The Natural History Museum. Only a certain amount of people can be let in at any one time. So that was a little queue, but it went down really quickly. Once inside we explored all the museum had to offer. I freely admit that I’m not normally interested in historical matters and the thought of spending time in a museum is not appealing. However, this place is wonderful and Ava loved it!

This is Ava’s impression of the scary Lion!

We spent a lot of time looking at the mammals and fish, before having a quick drink in the cafe. When we had our fill of exploring and it was nearly time for Ava’s dinner, we decided to call it a day. We headed to the cafe bar which was right next door. The cafe bar is adjacent to the wonderful ice rink, which was so festive in all its twinkly light splendour. I think I could have stayed in there all night, it was so festive.

We found a seat by the window, which gave us a clear view of the ice rink and the gorgeous twinkly lights in the trees. At this point Ava had started to flag quite dramatically. Ava decided she wanted to return to the hotel to go to sleep, rather than go to the fireworks as planned. You know they’re tired when they choose sleep! We grabbed a cab and headed back to the Draycott.

Hubby and I then chilled out for the rest of the evening, apart from an hour where I watched a webinar and he went to the local pub! Bloggers gonna blog! We all slept really well and Ava woke around her normal time of 6 AM. Hubby had asked for the breakfast to come to our room.. As he is healthy eating, he had fruit and Ava had a mini English breakfast. All of it was yummy, so  I’m told.

It wasn’t too long before it was time to say goodbye to the Draycott hotel, thank them for our stay and say hello to Hamleys.

Watching the giant bear open the store.

I think from the moment she set foot through the door, she went toy blind!

After watching Trolls earlier in the week, we decided Ava could have her first Build-a-Bear toy. Obviously, she chose Princess Poppy!

Ava’s mind was blown, she helped the lady make Poppy, put magic in her heart and popped it in, with a specially chosen sound. Then off we went to pick her clothes!

We had such a magical time in London, not least for the part played by The Draycott. Thank you so much for our stay, it was just wonderful.

Disclosure: We were guests of The Draycott for the evening in return for our honest review.