The elegant 5-star St. James’s Hotel & Club, an Althoff Collection Hotel, welcomes the holiday season with a festive program that includes special menus, caroling, a Festive Afternoon Tea, and rooftop and private-suite terrace views of New Year’s Eve fireworks over the city. Guestrooms and suites are adorned with decorated Christmas trees and baskets of clementines, while this year’s Nutcracker theme appears in tree ornaments, banister decorations and red-and-green nutcracker figurines greeting visitors at arrival.
© St. James’s Hotel & Club
On Christmas morning, guests will find a stocking hung on their door as a seasonal surprise. Earlier in December, the hotel fills with song on December 14 and 20 when carolers perform and complimentary mulled wine and mince pies are offered to guests. Seasonal dining highlights include tasting menus at the on-site Francatelli restaurant, where dishes draw on recipes associated with the banquets once served at Queen Victoria’s table by Chef Charles Francatelli, the restaurant’s namesake.
The Festive Afternoon Tea, created by Executive Chef William Drabble, presents a selection of seasonal treats such as Santa’s trifle, a Christmas-tree chocolate sponge with orange mousse, and a chocolate and kirsch cherry yule log. Freshly baked traditional scones arrive with strawberry jam and clotted cream, and a variety of finger sandwiches—like butter-roasted turkey with homemade cranberry, port and orange compote—complete the offering.
© St. James’s Hotel & Club
Located in a quiet corner of refined Mayfair, St. James’s Hotel & Club is a member of Leading Hotels of the World and part of the Althoff Collection. The hotel sits close to Buckingham Palace, the Royal Academy of Arts and the upscale shops of Jermyn and Bond streets, and is within easy reach of the London Coliseum, where The Nutcracker will be staged this holiday season.