The maybourne papersauTumn / winTer

2009 / 2010

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welcome To The claridge’s issue of The maybourne papers

for auTumn / winTer 2009 / 2010. a summary of news, evenTs and ideas for The season.

The Editoreditor@maybourne.com

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enJoy a Timeless & memorable chrisTmas

Christmas EveAn assortment of mince pies, stollen and mulled wine on arrival–Pre-dinner Christmas cocktails in Claridge’s Bar–5 course Christmas Eve dinner including Goose and a Bûche de Noël in the Foyer and Reading Room –Overnight Christmas stocking delivery filled with edible Christmas delights

Christmas DayEnglish Breakfast–Horse-drawn carriage ride through Mayfair with hot chocolate and marshmallows–8 course Christmas Day lunch in the French Salon and Drawing Room –Boxing DayEnglish Breakfast –Receive a Claridge’s Christmas pudding to take home

in Festive spirit

Claridge’s is helping to protect penguins, polar bears and their habitats. Our Christmas programme therefore includes your choice of a wwf “Help Save Me” polar bear or penguin pack. Included is a delightful cuddly polar bear or penguin according to your choice.

For reservations and further information about Claridge’s Christmas programmes, please call +44(0)20 7107 8842, email reservations@claridges.co.uk or visit claridges.co.uk quoting ‘Timeless Christmas’. Please state your preference for a penguin or polar bear when booking.

Timeless Christmas Programme Terms and Conditions A deposit of 25% per person will be taken at time of booking to guarantee your reservation. You may cancel your reservation up to 1st December 2009, after which the deposit becomes non-refundable. Full charge payable for cancellations on or after 11th December 2009. Offers are subject to availability. Rates include vat at 15% and exclude a 5% discretionary service charge. Offers may not be used in conjunction with any other offers or negotiated rates and apply to new bookings only. Calls may be monitored for quality control and training purposes. Lunch and dinner exclusive of beverages. One cocktail per person. Minimum two night stay.

In addition to our Christmas programme, between Friday 18th December 2009 and Sunday 10th January 2010 inclusive, Claridge’s is pleased to offer guests rooms from as little as £295 per night, room only for two people sharing a Superior King-bedded room. Minimum length of stay applies. Price excludes vat.

timeless christmas programme

Arrival December 24th & Departure December 26th. Rates from £1,145 per room per night based on two

people staying in a Superior King-bedded room. Rates exclude vat and 5% discretionary service charge.

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claridge’s and dior celebraTe The reTurn

of The glamorous dressing Table

The glamorous ‘Dior Dressing Table at Claridge’s’ offers guests a carefully curated range of timeless accessories, including an elegant cream silk Claridge’s dressing gown personalised with guests’ initials, high heeled marabou mule slippers and a rose pink cashmere eye mask. On the dressing table itself, Christian Dior has selected a range of classic Dior fragrances including Miss Dior, Diorella, Diorissimo and Dioressence – Les Classiques created by Dior from 1947 when Christian Dior himself said perfume was an outfit’s ‘finishing touch’.

Further adding to the experience, a Dressing Table Cocktail menu from Claridge’s Fumoir Bar will be available featuring cocktails from the 1930s including swizzles, daisies, sours, juleps and pick me ups all from the original recipes and served in Lalique glasses. Little touches that will enhance the ambience include a selection of classic works from Evelyn Waugh and Nancy Mitford, novelists of this magical Deco era, and a music collection with notable songs from Josephine Baker and Fred Astaire to complete the experience.

The ‘Dior Dressing Table at Claridge’s’ will be available exclusively in the Linley suites at an additional price of £300 to the quoted room rate. (The price includes all four Dior fragrances, beauty gifts – lipstick, nail varnish, powder, personalised silk dressing gown, Evelyn Waugh novel, CD and cocktails from the Fumoir)

For reservations please call +44 (0)20 7107 8842 claridges.co.uk

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Enjoy ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’ at Claridge’s, a weekend of Holly Golightly glamour. Greeted by Moon River playing in the suite, a Claridge’s hat box filled with gorgeous gifts; the movie and book, the essential black sunglasses, string of pearls and beauty treats from Givenchy. Complete the experience with Holly Golightly manicures and cocktails.

Rates from £485 based on two people sharing a Superior King bedded room. Valid weekends throughout 2010.

For more information please contact reservations on +44 (0)20 7107 8842 reservations@claridges.co.uk

Offer subject to availability. Rate excludes vat at 15% and 5% discretionary service charge. Offer may not be used in conjunction with any other offers or negotiated rates and applies to new bookings only. Calls may be monitored for quality control and training purposes.

claridge’s celebraTes The launch of breaKfasT aT Tiffany

weeKends

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Claridge’s is undoubtedly a very special place, it is absolutely beautiful and one of the world’s best hotels. The service is intuitive and excellent, facilities out of this world and the food and drink to die for, however these are things guests at Claridge’s take for granted. What seems to captivate them most is what they describe as the ‘mood’ of the place. Time and again commentators describe Claridge’s as magical and remark on how they feel on entering the hotel’s Art Deco lobby, they describe absorbing the timeless glamour of Claridge’s and experiencing an overwhelming feeling of well-being. These observations prompted me to examine my own feelings and try and pinpoint what it is that this special place does to us all, how it is possible for a place to affect one’s mood, and why Claridge’s has had such a hold over guests generation after generation?

We start with ‘mood’, mood is defined as: ‘a state or quality of feeling at a particular time, a distinctive emotional quality or character, a prevailing emotional tone or general attitude, a frame of mind disposed or receptive as to some activity or thing’.

So what is mood? It sounds simple, sounds unimportant, something we don’t think or talk about enough. But mood is powerful, mood can make a nation rebel, a crowd kill, an artist create, a couple fall in love and a lone man make a stand. In the Twenty First. Century we like to think we have control over our surroundings, are we prepared to understand how much influence our surroundings have on us?

We all know people, places and businesses that create the right mood, the hotel you never want to leave, the shop that makes you feel like

you’re a kid in a candy store, the people you’d do anything to please, the start up that can take on the establishment or the landscape that keeps pulling you back. What we don’t know is how and why these people and places make us feel this way, how the mood is made and how far we can go in manipulating mood.

To begin to understand mood you must first start with human biology and behaviour. We’re built to listen to more than words, we pay more attention to body language, physical conditions and our environment than we like to acknowledge and deep down we’re a complicated brew of chemicals constantly influenced and altered by our surroundings and experiences.

If we accept the Einsteinian model of Physics that everything is made up of vibrations (rather than the Newtonian concept of particles) and the whole universe is made up of the same substance, the differentiation between gasses, solids and liquids simply being the rate of vibration - it is impossible to ignore the relationship between ourselves and our surroundings - or ‘we are where we are’ or even who and what we’re with!

On entering Claridge’s we are therefore sub-consciously absorbing the Art Deco features, the calm authority of excellence, the generosity of space, the history, glamour and bubbling energy of the place. The point is that the body is not a finite object, it is a river of energy and information. We are constantly ‘changing’ our bodies, take breathing for example, every breath you take contains ten to the power of 22 atoms, that’s how many atoms you take in with each breath and they end up as part of you. The same thing happens in reverse as we breath out so we are constantly

So what iS mood? it SoundS

Simple, SoundS unimportant,

Something we don’t think or

talk about enough. but mood

iS powerful, mood can make

a nation rebel, a crowd kill,

an artiSt create, a couple

fall in love and a lone man

make a Stand.

why has claridge’s had such a hold over

guesTs generaTion afTer generaTion?

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exchanging atoms, in a year we replace 98% of our atoms. It really makes you think about the company you are keeping, the spaces in which you spend your time and what effect they may be having on you. Our experiences are affecting us physically, changing our mood and influencing our actions, this concept is immensely powerful and little understood or exploited. We only become aware when we recognise patterns in our feelings and behaviour and seek out people and places that make us feel fantastic.

So if we understand the physical relationship between ourselves and our surroundings what about our thoughts and our surroundings? Back to Einstein (surely he must have been a Claridge’s guest!), he said that if you squeezed all of the empty space from your body you could put all of the solid material on the head of a pin. Out of the empty space left come the vibrations we mentioned, those fluctuations of energy - on this basis we can deduce that just as a quantum unit of light is a photon and a quantum unit of electricity is an electron, a quantum unit of your body is a thought.

A notion, a feeling, a concept, idea or instinct, that faint impulse you experience all the time in your awareness, the reason you feel good, safe, frivolous or anxious. So the vibrations we exchange with our surroundings are also making our thoughts and stranger still our thoughts are made all over our bodies, not just in our brains. In other words our whole being is constantly interacting, exchanging and responding to its surroundings influencing our conscious and sub-conscious thoughts and even our physical well-being.

Essentially scientists have discovered that our cells are constantly thinking and communicating with each other, stimulating the production of good and bad chemicals, our body is in constant dialogue with its surroundings. When we describe having a ‘gut feeling’ about something we are describing a real process, in fact we should listen to our gut cells more, they are not bogged down with self-conscious analysis.

As we enter an environment we are processing the conditions in our conscious, feeling them

in our sub-conscious, absorbing them and exchanging energy with them and our cells are discussing what we’re experiencing and creating chemicals in response. Understand this and you begin to see how powerful an impact people, places and experiences have on us. Mood is short hand for a myriad of factors which may affect us and with which we react very quickly - we are most successful when we ‘feel’ a situation rather than ‘think’ it.

This brings us back to the beginning and the observation that started this train of thought. Reading Alex James’ biography his description of Claridge’s and its effect on each guest, I immediately recognised what he was describing so eloquently, a sentiment many guests have echoed and the root of the magical experience of staying at Claridge’s - it’s all about how it makes you feel!

“I moved into Claridge’s. Claridge’s is regal. When Buckingham Palace is full the Queen sends her spare guests to stay there. It’s the Brook Street annexe of the royal household and it’s quite simply the best hotel in the world. I’d been making a careful, close and continuous study of luxury. It was a kind of hobby. For Mr Claridge it was evidently more of a mission. I can’t think of anything about the whole of Claridge’s that could be any better. It takes thirty seconds to run a bath and an hour to have breakfast. Everything about the place, from its Mayfair location to its pastry chefs, is the stuff of special occasions. I’m pretty sure that if, as an experiment, somebody was made to stay there and given nothing in particular to do, pretty soon they’d have made a huge success of themselves. The whole place is brimming with infectious achievement and to wake up there is to wake up invincible.” Alex James, A bit of a Blur.

Claridge’s have long understood the power of mood and its affect on guests. In these uncertain times it’s good to know we can still rely on Claridge’s to make us invincible or at the very least lift our spirits. Now we have the science to prove it - staying at Claridge’s is good for you!

The Editor editor@maybourne.com

i’m pretty Sure that if, aS an

experiment, Somebody waS

made to Stay there and given

nothing in particular to do,

pretty Soon they’d have made

a huge SucceSS of themSelveS.

the whole place iS brimming

with infectiouS achievement

and to wake up there iS to

wake up invincible. alex JameS, a bit of a blur

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From Saturday 21st November 2009 until Sunday 3rd January 2010 Claridge’s will

serve a Festive Champagne Afternoon Tea featuring traditional Christmas fare.

–£45 per person midweek

–£50 per person on Saturdays & Sundays

including a performance of Christmas Carols by the Southend Boys Choir.

–All prices are inclusive of vat and exclusive

of 12.5% service charge.–

For reservations and further details visit claridges.co.uk or telephone

+44 (0)20 7409 6307Reservation lines open Monday to Friday

9am to 5.30pm.

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50Your front door will be the envy of your neighbourhood this Christmas and Claridge’s will show you how. Join our December Master Class on Saturday 5th December 2009 and create your own beautiful Blue Pine Christmas door wreath under the expert tuition of Claridge’s very own Flowers & Gifts experts. Following the morning session you will enjoy a well deserved lunch, including wine, in the stylish Claridge’s Bar. Our Master Classes are extremely popular so please book your place in good time.

For reservations simply call us on +44 (0)20 7409 6307 or email dining@claridges.co.uk £157.50 per person all inclusive Saturday 5th December 2009 11.30am – 4.00pm

MAKING A SCENE 2 creaTe The perfecT

chrisTmas wreaTh wiTh claridge’s december

masTerclass

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large or small, a gifT from claridge’s is The

perfecT chrisTmas TreaT

This festive season Claridge’s unveils the ultimate Christmas pudding, created from the same recipe used for over a century in the hotel’s famous kitchens. There are 100 limited edition Christmas puddings on sale over the festive season and in true Willy Wonka style, one is housed in a golden bowl offering a spectacular treat. The lucky guest will be booked into a penthouse suite, to enjoy everything from butlers to attend every whim, to chilled cocktails in Claridge’s bar and afternoon tea by the fire.

the claridge’s christmas pudding

the claridge’s rocking horse

the claridge’s Black and white collection

Stevenson Brothers have created an exquisite limited edition rocking horse for Claridge’s. The glamorous hand carved, painted and finished zebra sports a removable saddle and bridle and comes with a stable rug, rosette and nosebag all embroidered with the Claridge’s logotype, gold onto jade in blanket and suede. This limited edition heirloom piece carries a plate with the edition number and Claridge’s logotype. A very special collectors piece or dream toy for a very lucky little boy or girl this Christmas.

The Claridge’s Black and White Collection is an indulgent selection of bath and body products that you can enjoy long after you check out. Perfect for this winter is their sensuous bath oil enhanced with essential oils including sweet almond and Jojoba. Or to add an atmospheric glow choose the hand-poured candle scented with rosehip and Claridge’s exclusive ‘parfum’. Elegantly packaged they make delightful presents for your nearest and dearest, or sublime treats for yourself.

For more information please contact info@claridges.co.uk

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20Th nov – 3rd dec

The Tsarina’s Slippers, The Royal Opera House One of Tchaikovsky’s least-known yet most charming works, will be staged at the famous Covent Garden venue for six nights only. Based on a Christmas tale by the Russian writer Gogol, the opera tells the story of how a blacksmith flies on the devil’s back to the city of St Petersburg in order to ask the Tsarina for her slippers.

1sT dec

Claridge’s Christmas Lights, Claridge’sOur very special Christmas Tree will be illuminated on 1st December following decoration by a world famous fashion designer.

20Th dec – 23rd dec

Carols by Candlelight, Royal Albert Hall Enjoy Christmas with this special festive array of seasonal music and song presented in full 18th Century costume in an exquisite candle-lit setting.

24Th dec

Midnight Mass, St Paul’s Cathedral In candlelit, majestic surroundings in the middle of the city this is the perfect place to usher in Christmas Day.

31sT dec

New Years Eve Fireworks Launched from the foot of the London Eye and barges on the Thames, this spectacular display can be seen from all over London.

12Th Jan 2010 – 16Th mar 2010

Romeo & Juliet, The Royal BalletRomeo and Juliet takes pride of place among full-length 20th-Century ballets. Prokofiev’s score has inspired dozens of productions but none with more distinction than the staging which Kenneth MacMillan created for The Royal Ballet.

For further information please call the concierge on +44 (0)20 7629 8860

26Th sepT – 11Th dec

Anish Kapoor, The Royal AcademyThe exhibition surveys Kapoor’s career to date showcasing a number of new and previously unseen works, including a select group of Kapoor’s early pigment sculptures, beguiling mirror-polished stainless-steel sculptures andcement sculptures on display for the first time.

15Th ocT – 24Th Jan 2010

Beatles to Bowie, National Portrait GalleryNever-before-seen photographs of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Who will be featured in a new exhibition celebrating the swinging 60s.

17Th nov – 24Th Jan 2010

Ice Skating at Somerset House Skate beneath the stars in the heart of London this winter, as Somerset House ice rink celebrates its 10th birthday.

LoNdoN’S FEStIvE

CALENdAr

auTumn / winTer2009 / 2010

claridge’s brooK sTreeT mayfair london w1K 4hr