The big day’s over and the honeymoon is yet to begin
– but where can your clients spend the first night as
newlyweds that’s big on the ‘wow’ factor but
suitably close to the airport?
Whether it’s James Bond-style retractable ceilings or
slinky Perspex four-posters that set their pulses racing,
we’ve chosen a selection of hotels near main UK airports with
quirky touches that guarantee the love birds a night to remember
before they jet off to further-flung climes.
All of the hotels below offer commission. Don’t forget
prebooking the airport car park can save clients money on the gate
price and earn extra commission too.
| 41 |
Location: 41 Buckingham Palace Road, London,
five minutes’ walk from Victoria station; 40 minutes by tube
to Heathrow or 30 minutes on the express train to Gatwick
| Master Room – 41 |
Ooh! factor: where to start? This Red Carnation
Hotel is the smallest five-star in London, with just 16 rooms and
four suites. However, inside its character is large. A gloriously
decadent black and white colour scheme lends an Art Deco feel
– you feel like a character in a film, or an Agatha Christie
novel.
Check into the master suite for a view into the Queen’s
garden (the hotel looks over the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace)
and lie back on the king bed. Hit the button on the remote control
and the ceiling retracts to reveal a conservatory roof, so you can
settle in for a night under the stars. In the bathroom
there’s a mirrored ceiling – if you’re into that
kind of thing.
How to book: Red Carnation Hotels welcomes
bookings from the trade. See the website at redcarnationhotels.com
and use the special agent log in.
Sample product: a stay in the master suite,
with bed and breakfast, leads in at £340 per night.
| The Grove |
Location: Chandler’s Cross,
Hertfordshire, a 30-minute drive from Luton Airport.
Ooh! factor: for a sexy start to married life,
try The Grove, where rooms ooze of romance and seduction –
think Perspex four-poster beds hung with dark purple linen, topped
with black ostrich feathers, free-standing baths and working
fireplaces. Palatial gates and a sweeping driveway lead newlyweds
to the rambling former country home of the Earls of Clarendon. Opt
for the Presidential Suite with its glass and marble bath and
four-poster bed with views across the 300-acre estate. If
there’s time visit the Sequoia Suite, the couples’ area
in the £30 million Sequoia Spa, where treatment beds for two,
twin showers and a deep-jet double bath– often decorated with
roses and candles – await.
How to book: call reservations on 01923 296010.
Mention it’s a honeymoon booking for treats from champagne to
homemade chocolates in the room. The hotel is just a 30-minute
transfer from Luton Airport, where parking starts at £26.60
for a week off-site in March through Travel Trade Extras.
Sample product: prices lead in at £210 for
a double room in the West Wing Rooms and £360 for the Mansion
Rooms, with breakfast.
| Prestonfield |
Location: Edinburgh, nine miles from Edinburgh
Airport.
Ooh! factor: the richly decorated Prestonfield
hotel resembles a flamboyant Moulin Rouge-style film set, perfect
for full-on romance in opulent surrounds. Swathes of velvet and
brocade adorn the 17th century mansion – an A-list celebrity
bolthole –giving the ornate, saucily-styled rooms a distinct
boudoir feel. Beds are big, cushion-laden affairs in candle-lit
rooms, with antique décor hiding all mod cons, while bathrooms
are marble with blood-red glass mosaic. Book the Ramsay Suite with
its silver sleigh bed which has hosted the likes of Joan Collins. A
black-kilted driver is on hand to take clients to the airport, or
why not suggest a dramatic Bond-style departure by helicopter from
the hotel’s very own helipad?
How to book: call 0131 225 7800 for
reservations, best made well in advance. The hotel is a 15-minute
drive from the airport and helicopter transfers can be arranged for
around £200. Parking at the airport starts at £24 for a
week with BCP.
Sample product: prices lead in at £195 to
£250 for the Ramsay Suite, including full Scottish
breakfast.
| Hotel du Vin, Birmingham |
Location: in central Birmingham, a half-hour
drive from the airport.
Ooh! factor: the converted Birmingham and West
Midlands’ eye hospital is now a five-floored paean to art,
style and fun with endless romantic appeal. The 66 rooms are
arranged around an inner courtyard – choose the enormous
Penfolds Grange Suite with its 8ft bed, ‘his and hers’
roll-top Edwardian baths and double, stand-alone rain shower. It
even has its own private mini-gym for the so inclined. Celebrations
can continue in the Bubble Lounge – designed in the style of
Venice’s Café Florin – where 60 types of champagne
are in stock.
How to book: call 0121 200 0600 for
reservations, with rates commissionable to agents. Honeymooning
couples receive a complimentary bottle of house champagne. The
airport is eight miles from the city and eight days’ parking
cost £44.80 through first4extras.
Sample product: the Penfolds Grange Suite costs
£350 room-only, other rooms start at £125.
| Pavilion Hotel |
Location: Hyde Park, London. A short walk from
Paddington station, 15 minutes to Heathrow on the Heathrow
Express.
Ooh! factor: a self-styled fashion, rock
‘n’ roll pad, the Pavilion Hotel’s eccentric
glamour makes it a hit with a model and musician clientele. Of the
30 themed rooms, ‘Casablanca Nights’ is a magical
Moorish fantasy with a ceiling twinkling with silver and gold
stars, swathes of leopard print and an Edwardian bed draped with
mosquito nets. Then there’s ‘Cosmic Girl’ with
its fake-fur covered and illuminated glass brick bed, or the
peaceful ‘White Days, Soul Nights’ with gilt and
crystal wall sconces and window pelmets fashioned from an antique
wedding dress. Be prepared to rub shoulders with the likes of
Jarvis Cocker and Jules Holland.
How to book: call 020 7262 0905 for
reservations but plan well ahead as it books up quickly. Heathrow
is easily accessible from Paddington station, but there’s a
Rolls Royce or purple Lamborghini Diablo for transfers.
Sample product: double rooms cost £100,
including breakfast.
| Hotel Pelirocco |
Location: Brighton, 28 miles from Gatwick.
Ooh! factor: a fantastically kitsch and quirky
interior lurks beneath the sedate Georgian townhouse façade.
The vast Bubble Suite with its 8ft round bed, mirrored ceiling and
giant plunge bath for two is a sexy, space age-inspired creation
full of curves and circles. The racy Nookii Room comes complete
with a Kinkybed’ with ‘shackles’ and black satin
sheets, while Betty’s Boudoir – inspired by 1950s
pin-up Betty Page – has a huge en-suite spa bath.
There’s also a ‘Something for the Weekend’ menu
with goodies including furry handcuffs and feather boas. Hopefully
the complimentary PlayStation in each room won’t be used. The
new bar’s excellent cocktail menu – open until 4am at
the weekend – is worth leaving the room for.
How to book: to reserve call 01273 327055. Each
of the 19 rooms and one suite, themed around art, music and pop
culture is different, so find out your clients’ tastes.
Gatwick is a 30-minute train ride or 40-minute drive. Parking at
Gatwick starts at £46.80 for eight days in April with Purple
Parking.
Sample price: the Bubble Suite starts at
£240 per night, other doubles start from £90, including
breakfast.
