Luxury and the arts From houses to cars and from Hockney to van Dyck, a profile of the best and the worst
The launch of the 2014 Range Rover Sport
Tomorrow, 26th March 2013 at 7.30pm EDT, the 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport will be unveiled at the 113th New York Motor Show. In a departure from the traditional way in which cars are launched, Land Rover have drafted in James Bond star Daniel Craig to star in a video advertising campaign that will accompany this. It will conclude with a live-stream movie shot in “secret locations” around Manhattan.
A review of the St. Ermin’s Hotel
I first visited the St. Ermin’s Hotel close to Scotland Yard in St James’s in June 2012 for the first Intelligence Book of the Year Awards. Today, I will return there to attend a reception to announce the second winner of this annual prize by judges Andrew Lownie, Dan Mulvenna, Glenmore Trenear-Harvey, Michael Smith and Nigel West.
As I reported in my last article on this Victorian property, the St. Ermin’s Hotel’s links with the worlds of politics and espionage are indeed strong. Built in the Queen Anne revival style to the designs of Edwin T. Hall (1851 – 1923) in 1887 and completed in 1889, the horse-shoe shaped building was originally a mansion block prior to being converted to a hotel that opened in 1899 after a major refurbishment by the theatre architect J. P. Briggs (1869 – 1944). Briggs remodeled the public areas and created a spectacular neo-Baroque entrance with balconies, ornate plasterwork and a double staircase.
Due to the building’s proximity to the powerhouses of government, the St. Ermin’s Hotel became a meeting point for officers of the Secret Intelligence Service and, as a result, various traitors and spies. Some worked from offices in the building and amongst them were Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Laurence Grand and Eric Maschwitz. Others came there to be interviewed and the hotel’s bar, The Caxton Bar, is renowned as having been a noted meeting place for secret intelligence officers.
One of the most notable meetings at the St. Ermin’s Hotel was held in 1940 when Winston Churchill brought together a group to join him in “Setting Europe Ablaze”. These founding members of what was to become the Special Operations Executive (SOE) took over an entire floor of the hotel and carried out covert operations from there throughout the Second World War. MI6 were stationed two floors above and then in the 1950s, the hotel’s bar was the meeting point of Guy Burgess and his Soviet counterpoint when he passed intelligence to the USSR.
Following on from a £30 million refurbishment to designs by Dayna Lee of Los Angeles-based Powerstrip Studio, the 331 rooms and suites at the St. Ermin’s Hotel are now comfortable, well appointed and decorated in a contemporary style. The two that I inspected, whilst perhaps lacking the charm of a boutique hotel such as Blakes, are absolutely ideal for a business traveller or tourist given the location close to the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. They are well worthy of their four star rating and I slept well given how centrally located the hotel is.
The Caxton Grill, the hotel’s restaurant, continues the traditions of the St. Ermin’s in that it plainly is the haunt of politicians and policeman. Whilst dining there, I met an officer from Scotland Yard who was involved with Operation Yewtree. I can report that, though I had a most fascinating conversation with him about Savile, Davidson and Clifford, I did not leave with any state secrets that I could share here. The restaurant also featured on a recent episode of the BBC One’s MasterChef with Gregg Wallace and John Torode and frankly one could also imagine Hercule Poirot having taken rather a liking to it also. It is modern in style and features wooden flooring, bright décor and snazzy seating.
The restaurant features a menu that focuses on a Josper grill. This £17,000 hybrid barbeque–oven, which I saw so cleverly used by Chris Golding at Beauchamp Place’s Galoupet, allows a chef to cook, barbeque and roast at the same time over charcoal embers at temperatures of upto 600 degrees. Filled with Kentish hardwood every morning, the Josper recirculates smoke via adjustable draughts and, for example, as a result, it takes only about a minute to char infuse lamb and thick-cut beef sirloins. The real thrill of it, though, is that the Josper process ensures that none of the flavor or natural moistness of whatever is cooked in it is lost.
I began with a salad of soured plums, gorgonzola and blackberries (£8) that was colourful and most welcome on a grim winter’s day. My companion tried a roast celeriac and truffle veloute (£7) that though perfectly adequate, did not truly excite.
I continued with a half Temple Farm chicken (£20) that was cooked on the Josper Grill. Well presented and served with a green peppercorn sauce and some garlic and parsley French fries (£4), the cooking process was clearly illustrated. The meat was tender and I must say it was one of the best pieces of chicken I have eaten in years. My companion, an Icelandic financial titan, maxed out on a 300g vintage dry aged sirloin steak (£30) served with béarnaise sauce. Again, cooked to perfection, he was impressed.
Though more than amply fed, we finished by sharing a chocolate fondant (£7). This simple dish melted in the mouth and the accompanying ice cream was just superb.
Wines in the restaurant start at a very reasonable £19.95 for the house white and rise upwards to the £300 a bottle range. A Chablis is priced at £41 and a Gavi di Gavi at £33. The restaurant’s bar, the Caxton Bar, offers a huge array of cocktails but I must say I was rather sad that none of them were spy themed.
The most quirky thing about the St. Ermin’s Hotel is that it has its own colony of bees. “Bees… In Wesminster?”, I hear you cry. Yes, indeed, 200,000 of them prosper on the roof of the hotel and produce the most delicious honey that is available to guests. From three hives, the Buckfast bees, described as being “good tempered”, have fantastic access to London’s parks and travel within a three mile radius collecting pollen and nectar. “London”, states the hotel’s website, is “a perfect environment for bees as… cities actually trap heat, which means they can start foraging earlier in the year than rural bees and continue later into the autumn”. Who’d have thought it? Where once lived spies, now prospers a colony of bees.
St. Ermin’s Hotel, 2 Caxton Street, London, SW1H 0QW. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7222 7888. Website: http://www.sterminshotel.co.uk
Follow the St. Ermin’s Hotel on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/sterminshotel
Read our report on the first Intelligence Book of the Year Awards at: http://thesteepletimes.com/da-steeps-speaks/long-live-the-spies
The $95 million apartment of the world’s richest travel agent remains for sale after six months of marketing
The Sherry-Netherland is one of New York’s finest skyscraper apartment-hotels and one of the city’s best known landmarks. The world’s richest travel agent and co-founder of Liberty Travel, Gilbert Haroche, who occupies the entire 18th floor with his wife Charlene, put his apartment there on the market for $95,000,000 in September 2012 but six months later it remains for sale.
Five of the best palaces in the trees
When one thinks of treehouses, one generally imagines pretty rudimentary creations built out of old boards and bits of rope. Now, though, treehouses are becoming more and more extravagant. As individuals such as J. K. Rowling and the Duchess of Northumberland construct vast palaces in the trees in their gardens, The Steeple Times examines five of the best:
A 1954 Pegaso Z-102 fails to sell at Amelia Island
Earlier this week we reported that a one-off Spanish supercar, a Pegaso Z-102 Series II cabriolet by Saoutchik, was to go to auction at the RM Auctions sale at Amelia Island today, Saturday 9th March 2013.
Images of Rolls-Royce’s latest model, the Wraith, are leaked ahead of its Geneva debut
When someone “incurs your wrath”, they make you angry but with the addition of an ‘I’ the word comes to be a Scottish dialectal word for “ghost” or “spirit”.
Today, 5th March 2013, Rolls-Royce launch their latest model, an elegant fastback based on the Rolls-Royce Ghost. Named the Wraith, the car was to be unveiled this morning at the Geneva International Motor Show but pictures were leaked onto the Internet late last night and we reveal them for you here.
The stylish Wraith is the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever with a delivery that is said to be “effortless, but dramatic”, thanks to a 6.7 litre V12 engine and 8-speed automatic ZF transmission. A phenomenal 624 bhp / 465kW is available to the driver while the 0-60 mph can be achieved in just 4.4 seconds, compared with the Ghost’s 4.7 seconds.
With a stiffened suspension, the Wraith is said to be “distinctly on the sport[s] side” and a “Rolls-Royce to drive, not be driven in”. Of it, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, suggested:
“[The Wraith coupé] has a hint of menace in the design that is new to the brand, but with the driving experience and performance to live up to that promise”.
As is to be expected from this iconic brand, styling, finish and attention to detail have also been given utmost consideration during the Wraith’s development. The interior of this four seat vehicle, for example, features Starlight Headliner technology which consists of 1,340 fibre optic lamps hand-woven into the roof lining to give the impression of a glittering, starry night sky.
In his statement about the Wraith, Müller-Ötvös concluded:
“Today we launch the ultimate gentlemen’s gran turismo, a car that embodies the spirit of Charles Stewart Rolls… The most powerful Rolls-Royce in history, Wraith promises the sense of adventure and speed that drove our founding forefather. But of course, Wraith’s starting point is luxury, refinement and quality, traits that remain as important to Rolls-Royce customers today as they were more than a century ago”.
First deliveries of the Wraith will be made in the final quarter of 2013 and prices are expected to start at around £225,000.
Rolls-Royce may feel a little peeved that images of the Wraith have bolted from the stable a little early but, instead, we would suggest, they should be extremely proud of what they have let loose. Wraith not wrath is what is required.
For more details about the Rolls-Royce Wraith, go to: http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com
A rare Spanish made supercar heads to auction at Amelia Island
Spain is not a country that one naturally associates with supercars but between 1951 and 1958, Pegaso, a company known for producing buses, trucks and tractors, manufactured approximately 84 state-of-the-art sports cars. One of these rarities, a one-off 1954 Z-102 Series II cabriolet with bespoke bodywork by the renowned French firm Saoutchik, goes to auction at Amelia Island this Saturday, 9th March.
The sale of a $100 million Californian estate with a catch
If you were to spend $100,000,000 on a house, you’d expect something impressive. I imagine you’d want acreage, vast amounts of space and something luxurious. Stunning views and a prime location would be a must but at the bottom of your list, no doubt, would be something that someone purchasing a place for even a $1 would expect – that being that you’d be able to actually move in.
The revival of the shooting brake
The 2012/2013 shooting season may well be over, but one of Italy’s finest automotive design houses, Bertone, are about to showcase a shooting brake they have created to coincide with Aston Martin’s centenary and their having worked with the English brand for 60 years at the 2013 Geneva International Motor Show.
The tale of a pioneer landowner reduced to bankruptcy and a Baywatch babe fighting off her debtors
Former Baywatch babe turned animal rights campaigner Pamela Anderson purchased 23445 Malibu Colony Drive in Malibu, California in 2000 for $1,800,000 with her then husband and subsequent on-off lover Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. She has just placed the property on the market for $7,750,000 as part of an attempt to solve her financial woes. (more…)