When I first saw this story in a newspaper about the renovation of an old London pub, part of me thought, here we go again. Developers swooping in to convert another historical building into a multi million residence to be snapped up more foreign millionaires. The kind who seem to be buying most of central London nowadays. However, when I saw what they had done with the Old Red Lion London pub in Mayfair, I could be nothing but in awe. The building has been given a complete facelift. The old dingy façade has been replaced by a shiny white exterior (I’m glad they gave a nod to the building’s history and it’s still called Red Lion) complete with a gleaming black front door. As the super rich do in London when they renovate their residences, they build down, not up, and the new basement does not only feature a home cinema but a sparkling spa area with a sauna and a pool. Where there were once drunken ad execs propping up the bar downing pints, there are now 5 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms, a sleek dining room and a real luxury in London, a spacious rooftop terrace! The color scheme is very boutique hotel in grays, creams and dusty pinks, but it’s also very zen. A calm oasis in the middle of usual London chaos. It’s also a bit a Tardis isn’t it (the famous Dr Who phone box) does not look that big on the outside, but when you walk in… it just seems vast. And glamorous. And something I can only dream of.
The Red Lion Pub as it used to be.
And look at it now!!
MORE ON THE WEB:
London’s Oldest Pubs
You can only dream
All images: The Daily Mail
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