I like London in the summer. All of those huge parks look lusher and greener and the streets get quieter. Its also gets a lot easier to get a booking in the city’s busiest restaurants. The only thing that puts me off is the cost of staying anywhere half decent. However, I see that you can have a luxury double room at The Cadogan Hotel on any night between August 14th and September 6th for €99 (plus, for some odd reason, VAT).
The only proviso is that you have to make the booking between July 10th and 17th. The Cadogan Hotel is on Sloane Street, close to Knightsbridge, not far from the revamped and rather wonderful Peter Jones department store on Sloane Square (the thinking person’s Harrod’s) and within brisk strolling distance of the lovely Chelsea Physic Garden on Swan Walk. It also comes with quite a history. Oscar Wilde was arrested in room 118 and King Edward VII regularly turned up there for his liaisons with Lily Langtree. The Cadogan Hotel, 75 Sloane Street, London SW1. Phone: + 44 20 7235 7141; www.cadogan.com.