Vibe: Always a bit more rock and roll than some of its neighbours in London’s Luxury Quarter, the opulent 404-room May Fair has both pedigree and panache—with a dash of whimsy thrown in for good measure. Spot the celebrity! Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, a variety of soccer players. The hotel also has a big Middle-Eastern clientele. You may even see a bowler hat or two, worn with absolutely no irony.

Rooms: Though ornate, rooms have lots of space for your own things and big bathrooms. Bold colours and patterns reign here throughout all the various room tiers, including bright red furniture, zebra-striped tables, and padded crocodile-print headboards and benches. Suites are even more opulent, gussied up with even brighter colours—fuchsia, yellow, turquoise—plus lots of shiny objets and quirky surprises like a bathtub lit from within.

F&B: All warm and woody, the May Fair Kitchen serves an extensive menu of Spanish and Italian small plates, including pizzas, pastas and risottos, plus grilled meats and fresh seafood. Adding even more to the variety, it also serves a few Mexican and Peruvian dishes from two other nearby restaurants operating under the same Kitchen banner. The A-listy May Fair Bar is legendary, with one of the best cocktail menus in the neighbourhood. Think: homemade infusions and out-there herbs. When you offer bespoke, floral-infused cocktails on the garden terrace, you’re pretty much at the top of your game.

Extras: The 200-seat luxury screening room is one of the best private cinemas in town. Comfort reigns supreme: The Italian leather seats have little fold-out tables for your snacks.

THINGS TO DO: LONDON GAY BARS

Off-Site: London’s Luxury Quarter always dazzles. The hotel is steps away from Green Park, a stone’s throw from leafy Berkeley Square and a short walk from Hyde Park Corner. Knightsbridge and Kensington are just down the road; this neighbourhood is as posh as you can get. Everyone who walks the streets is beautifully dressed, unsurprisingly, as Saville Row is about six streets over. The luxury shops of Old and New Bond Streets are sure to tempt. Jermyn Street, where royal family members gets their shirts and shoes made, is a five-minute walk away. The Buckingham Palace gate is a 10-minute walk.

Rate: $$$$

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We’ve always been a big fan of gay business crowd cocktail-party throwers Village Drinks, whose after-work shindigs are still drawing them in many years on (and nary a hipster beard in sight). But only finding a speed-dating event listed during our weekend in London, we had to press on, and Soho seemed the best starting point.

Weirdly, Comptons of Soho on Old Compton Street was still fun, and MUCH CLEANER than I seem to remember from the early 90s, when I was the chicken in a room of hawks. The music was from this century, which was a good start, and the wood-panelled walls and corners were lined with singles – one hand in the pocket, one hand with the pint. “Are you a couple?” asked a hirsute hairdresser to whom we’d just been introduced. “Yes,” we said, only to have him drift away from the conversation seconds later. Classic Comptons. We carried on down the street to Village on Wardour, and found a coveted perch directly under the go-go dancer. Entertainment was also provided in the form of a few higher-than-high Welsh ladies in the big smoke for a Saturday-night knees-up. Couldn’t understand a word. Happily, all the Christmas decorations remained in tact, but we can’t say the same for our dignity. Still, despite the Shadow Lounge closing this past autumn, the ‘hood remains a fun pool to dip your toe into.

By the way, dinner at nearby Ceviche Soho, a Peruvian hotspot on Frith, was stellar. Have the Pisco Sour.

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