Londons Athenaeum apartments offer a sense of privilege

By Joe Rosen

Dec 05, 2005

Room Key: Athenaeum Apartments

Address: 116 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7BJ, U.K.

Affiliations: Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Reservations: (800) 335-3300

Telephone: (011) 44-207 499-3464

Fax: (011) 44-207 493-1860

E-mail:[email protected]

Web:www.athenaeumhotel.com

Rates: From about $1,134 to $1,308 per night, including VAT. Packages available.

Commission: 10%

Units: 19 Classic British apartments, 11 Modern British apartments. 111 rooms, 12 suites in adjoining Athenaeum Hotel.

LONDON -- If the row of Edwardian townhouses operated by the exclusive Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments, in the West End here, is a wayfarers home away from home -- as the propertys promotional material suggests -- home, sweet home itself must be a pretty posh place.

Individually decorated and featuring the classy extras one expects of a worldly five-star hotel, the Athenaeums townhouse accommodations offer guests the illusion of residency whether ones individual pied-a-terre is booked for the night, for the weekend or -- you should be so lucky -- longer.

Turn the key in the lock of one of the four townhouses and become a Londoner for the duration of your stay.

Located right off Piccadilly in Mayfair, the apartments, which are connected to the main hotel building by a private corridor, boast the attributes of the luxurious Athenaeum proper just around the corner.

These include impeccable service, beautifully appointed rooms, prime location and a sense of elegance that transcends mere glitz and grandiosity.

But it is the sense of privilege, and of being someone special, that comes with private digs in the townhouses 30 one- and two-bedroom flats, that sets these luxurious accommodations apart -- from both their sister hotel property itself and other first-class London hotels.

Both classic and modern

The Athenaeum apartments feature Old World comforts such as daily housekeeping, laundry service and the delivery of fresh fruit and flowers -- if so desired -- as well as New World amenities that include a fully equipped kitchen, with washer/dryer; 32-inch or 42-inch plasma-screen, digital televisions; broadband Internet access; CD and DVD player; direct-dial phones, with voicemail; and a video entry phone and security system.

In addition, townhouse residents have access to the Athenaeums full-service spa, which is equipped with a 24-hour gym, steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi whirlpool and treatment rooms.

As you might suspect, none of this comes cheap.

The 19 flats marketed as the Classic British collection -- thanks to their plush furnishings, traditional wall coverings and fabrics from Colefax and Fowler; Osbourne & Little; and Nina Campbell -- Eleven of the 30 Athenaeum apartments, decorated in contemporary style, as seen here, are marketed as the propertys Modern British collection. go for 650 pounds sterling, or about $1,134 per night, including value-added tax.

And the remaining 11 apartments the Athenaeum brands its Modern British collection -- an eclectic catch-all phrase signifying contemporary styling -- cost 750 pounds, or around $1,308, per night.

Of course, packages that sharply reduce the cost of an Athenaeum apartment stay are available, including:

" Girls Night Out: This plan includes one nights accommodations in a private apartment for four people; a facial, conditioning hair treatment and blow-dry either in-room or in the spa; tea, coffee and cakes during the treatment; bottle of champagne and canapes; and English breakfast for four.

The cost: 195 pounds ($341) per person, per night, based on four persons sharing, or 495 pounds ($864) per room, based on two persons sharing.

" The Royal Experience: This deal is offered in conjunction with Historic Royal Palaces, which oversees the operation of some of Britains foremost tourist attractions, such as the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace. It combines visits to several London landmarks with a stay in the apartments. (For more information on Historic Royal Palaces, see story below.)

The plan offers participants a pass to the London Tower, Kensington Palace State Rooms and the Banqueting House -- the last remaining complete building of Whitehall Palace -- plus one nights weekend accommodations (Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays) for two at the Athenaeum apartments, with full English breakfast for two.

The package also includes tickets to the nearby Royal Academy of Arts, a souvenir guide to Londons royal parks and a map of the Princess Diana Memorial Walk. The cost: 325 pounds (about $567) and up.

For more on the Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments -- which pays 10% commission -- go to www.athenaeumhotel.com.

To contact reporter Joe Rosen, send e-mail to [email protected].

Palaces find upkeep funding a royal pain

LONDON -- Individual royals may come and go, but their palaces remain.

Such is the reality of Great Britain past and present, but while local royalty -- or what passes for it -- have the Exchequer to help sustain them, treasured icons such as the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace depend upon a public body that receives no government funding to raise income for their conservation, operation and public access.

Whatever the intrinsic value of the Crown Jewels displayed in the Tower of London, or of Henry VIIIs Tudor bling tapestries of hand-woven silver and gold threads at Hampton Court, raising money to maintain the U.K.s myriad palaces is a concern.

According to figures from preservation society Historic Royal Palaces, nearly two-thirds of the charitys revenues are derived from ticket sales and another 20% from retail transactions and concessions, leaving a funding gap of about 15% to be met by a combination of donations, grants and income from events and functions.

In 1998, there was a movement away from government support for the palaces, those that hadnt fallen into private hands, which meant that while the government no longer controlled things, public funding ended, also, said Michael Day, CEO of Historic Royal Palaces. With that change came the mandate to be more charitable in our management of the palaces, that is to do good. The question was: How do we accomplish that?

The answers included, according to Day, stepping up preservation and conservation efforts -- such as the restoration of Kew Palace and the opening of Princess Margarets former apartment at Kensington Palace -- as well as better communicating to the U.K. public and foreign visitors the history these royal structures embody.

We look after not only the buildings but also the stories they hold, said Day.

They form the identity of this country, the interaction between its monarchs and their subjects. It is here where history was made.-- J.R.