Girls Night Out with: Thistle and Cumberland
October 19th, 2011 by Holly
Planning an event in London, then check this out. The Penguins girls hit the big smoke and visited two luxury four star hotels in the heart of the West End. If purse strings are tight for your next London meeting, corporate event or conference then consider the genuine Art Deco Thistle Hotel at Marble Arch – classical yet with a contemporary twist. And, trendy media types and fashionistas will simply love the Ocean meeting room and Carbon Bar in the Cumberland Hotel, Oxford Street. Here’s what the Penguins girls had to say….
Ed.
It was a gorgeous Autumn evening when we left the Penguins’ office in Windsor all dressed up for a great night out in the West End. After a spot of retail therapy (naturally), we made our way to the
Thistle Hotel just off Oxford Street for canapés and some much-needed fizz . The bar was just brilliant for people watching against the backdrop of a bustling Oxford Street below. Fully refreshed, we explored the hotel to check out the guest bedrooms and all-important meeting rooms. Space certainly isn’t an issue in this hotel with 692 bedrooms including suites plus an extensive array of function rooms – in fact 18 in total!
We have to say, you can’t beat the Thistle for location and the Marble Arch room is the business if you’re looking for something a bit special for a Board or Executive meeting. It has the most amazing views of Marble Arch (no surprises there then!) but also impressive carved wooden walls steeped in history, setting this room apart from most West End functions rooms. We didn’t stay for dinner but popped our heads into the restaurant. We loved the contemporary diner-style booth seating and could imagine de-stressing over a steak and glass vino after a hard day’s work. All in all, a great contender if you’re looking for location location location, great value and 4 star function rooms for your corporate event or Board meeting.
We could have stayed longer but our mission was two in one night, so we headed off in the direction of
The Cumberland Hotel also in Oxford Street. Media moguls and fashionistas will love this trendy London venue for events like product launches and cool parties. Reception was just like walking into an art gallery with mood lighting and contemporary artwork accenting the large and spacious reception area. What is really clever is that the light can be tailored to a company’s brand – how cool is that for a hotel? With bedrooms galore (1019 to be exact) and a Michelin starred restaurant to boot it has everything for that cool corporate event. This hidden gem would be perfect for small groups or for hiring out exclusively for special media clients or agency dinners.
We chose to eat at the Gary Rhodes Brasserie because we’d heard so much about it. The Penguins girls can thoroughly recommend the steak, mushroom risotto and the ubiquitous sticky toffee pudding which satisfied even the sweetest tooth (Holly!) Although, we were slightly disappointed with the Gary Rhodes salad when it arrived to which we all said “But it’s just a salad!”
Those of you looking for a bar for those edgy events, the Carbon Bar is a media and celebrity dream. Its industrial style decor of chains and raw wood is perfect for the London media and agency crowd or those looking for something a bit cool and funky for their corporate event or Xmas party. And check out the 26 meeting rooms especially the Ocean meeting room. Not only does it have a really cool name but it's modern, funky and get this. It has its own scent machine which we loved. Perfect for those perfume launches we feel.
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