The Chesterfield Mayfair, London UK

Ordered in the lobby lounge of The Chesterfield Mayfair, a lovely Red Carnation Hotel in the heart of London.

My last business trip of 2021 and my last business trip before being a father of two just happened to be my first international business trip since… a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, so at least it felt like!

2 days and 3 nights to make the most of my time in London was both a challenge as well as a thrill. My meetings were all prescheduled, thankfully, so while I was attending the World Travel Mart conference, there was no need for any last minute attempts to generate business or hoping I’d find someone in the crowd.

The conference was at the ExCel London, which honestly felt like the middle of nowhere. Originally I was booked to stay next to the conference center, but I just pictured myself lodging in a desolate location with literally no tourist activity, that when I realized hotel prices in Mayfair were actually cheaper than by the ExCel, it was an easy choice to switch to a more bubbling and quintessentially London part of town.

I chose the Chesterfield Mayfair for a few reasons, but mainly because it was clearly an archetypal and classic British hotel. Even though it is a Red Carnation property, it felt more like an independent establishment, and I loved that.

The Terrace Bar was open 24 hours and frequented by tourists and business travels alike. My personality tried to marry the two attitudes, and on my final day, I wore comfortable clothes and brought my laptop to crush through work emails prior to heading out to the conference.

Hungry and excited, I chose their self-titled Chesterfield Club Sandwich. Email after email, I pounded away on my laptop while listening to the conversations around me – and couldn’t help but laugh when one gentleman told his colleague he needed to find 30 rapid PCR tests for his group heading to America the following day… they don’t make traveling easy anymore, but since England had clearly given up on any attempt at controlling covid, I wasn’t upset at this hurdle all had to jump through.

Classic from every angle with a hint of independence and breaking free from tradition, the Chesterfield Club Sandwich was a solid personification of the hotel. Delicious ingredients melding together to produce a delightful, albeit too large, meal, was everything I could hope for in my pre-conference morning lunch. When the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, you cant help but smile.

The standout ingredient was a double edged sword, however: the sourdough bread was both elegantly fluffy and tenderly crispy, yet its holes made the holdability somewhat challenging during the end of the meal.

I couldn’t finish it all and nor did I try. The French fries, as addictive as they were, I held my temptations back. I was off for work, very content, and knowing I wouldn’t need another meal till dinnertime.

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