Pink beaches
Raffles London at the OWO, Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, best caviar delivery, Bermuda real estate, Hôtel 48 Nord, Dorshi, MORE
HOTELS • London
London two-step
When I arrive from Heathrow to Raffles London at the OWO at 7a, I’m immensely grateful when I’m ushered straight to my room for an early check-in. My corner suite in the historic building has a sprawling circular living room with deep red upholstery and textured dark wood walls. Named after Odette Sansom, a courageous World War II spy who survived Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, the suite’s located under one of the Old War Office’s famous turrets, overlooking the entrance to Buckingham Palace at Horse Guards. (For more on the Old War Office’s dramatic history, including a peek into one of the five heritage suites meticulously preserved during the lengthy restoration leading up to the hotel’s opening in 2023, guests can take a complimentary guided tour, offered daily at 1030a.)
Although tensions ran high in the time when Churchill made speeches from the marble balcony as MI5 and MI6 spies strategized in their subterranean headquarters, today the hotel has a decidedly more relaxed ambiance. Within my suite, comfort and convenience rule the day. Everything I might need — adapter, Dyson hair dryer, handheld steamer, yoga mat — is readily available and easy to locate.
I’m a firm believer that the best cure for jet lag is spa time, so after an excellent egg white omelette at Pillars Kitchen, I visit the hotel’s Guerlain Spa for a nap and flower-powered facial with serums and creams made from Gold Nobile orchid extract and flecks of gold. I awaken with a freshly sparkling and lifted complexion and a new definition of “beauty sleep.”
I didn’t have time to visit all 12 restaurants and bars, but I recommend a nightcap at basement speakeasy Spy Bar, originally an MI5 storage vault. Now an Aston Martin DB5 is mounted behind the bar, photography is verboten, drinks are strong, and the low-lit red velvet banquettes are the perfect place for a clandestine rendezvous.
Just over a mile away, the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is another of London’s new luxury hotels, with just 22 rooms, 28 suites, and 77 residences on Hanover Square. The glass- and steel-framed tower is the first new-build luxury hotel in Mayfair in over a decade, a modern contrast to the neighborhood’s old-school grand dame hotels.
The sculptural lobby and sweeping staircase to the atrium restaurant below are made of green Ming marble, one of several subtle design details evoking the hotel group’s Asian heritage. The vibe here is younger and more fashionable than what’s typically associated with Mandarin Oriental. The late Vivienne Westwood designed the hotel’s signature fan and there are often artists in residence, like Jemma Powell, who I encounter painting the skyline from the rooftop bar terrace. Plus, this is the place to stay during Frieze London.
My studio suite feels more like an apartment than a hotel room, with a burl wood desk, guest powder room, and beautiful living room for entertaining, with hand-painted de Gournay silk wallpaper featuring delicate blue magnolia flowers. I meet a friend after dinner on my final evening in London, and rather than head to the 10th-floor rooftop Hanover Bar, we kick off our shoes and gossip with a bottle of Champagne and chocolate in my suite until far too late in the London night. –Amber Gibson
→ Raffles London at the OWO • 57 Whitehall • Rooms from £765/night ($1000/night).
→ Mandarin Oriental Mayfair • 22 Hanover Square • Rooms from £1200/night ($1575/night).
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Three for-sale properties on the island of Bermuda.
→ Duamber (Southampton Parish) • 4BR/4.2BA, 5500 SF house • Ask: $4.475M • south-facing ocean vistas salvage the fact that house’s name is anagram of ‘Bermuda’ • Agent: John Sinclair, Christie’s.
→ Elephant Walk (Hamilton Parish, above) • 7BR/7BA, 8013 SF house • Ask: $8.75M • 2-acre property set above Mid Ocean Golf Club • Agent: Brian Madeiros, Coldwell Banker.
→ The Glebe House (Tucker’s Town) • 7BR/7.1BA, 8200 SF house • Ask: $7.5M • 1960 construction, previously owned by former Bermuda governor • Agent: Valerie Nearon, Sotheby’s.
HOTELS • Alsace, France
Living frame
Hôtel 48 Nord calls itself a “landscape hotel,” and the name isn’t a metaphor. Wooden hyttes — minimalist Scandinavian cabins — dot the Alsatian hillside, discreetly blending into a Natura 2000 reserve. Each one is angled toward the horizon, their giant bay windows becoming a living frame of mountain and meadow.
Even the restaurant’s tables lean toward the giant windows in a quiet choreography of sightlines. The producer’s list mirrors this proximity. Here, local isn’t a marketing flourish: the nearest producer is 100 meters away, the farthest, 90 kilometers. The same treatment applies to the cellar, wines are sourced within 48 kilometers, reaching as far as the Kaiserstuhl German mountains, across the Rhine.
The menu is compact: five steps, each designed to be shared, the kind of generosity I crave. A pâté en croûte arrives like a personal indulgence; delicate beef effiloché floats in an herby broth with a minty lift; silure, an ill-loved freshwater fish of the Rhine, comes in beurre blanc so creamy and bright it feels like butter baptized by the river. –Candice Chemel
RESTAURANTS • Bridport, England
Jurassic treasure
The Jurassic Coast is easily my favourite place in the UK. It’s got it all: fossils, beautiful walks, some of the best vintage and antique dealers in the country… and now, my favourite restaurant. Tucked down a quiet Bridport street (the address is literally “the alley behind The Bull Hotel”), Dorshi is a small-town destination with a cosmopolitan heart. The space is intimate, with an open kitchen and a few tables downstairs, and a relaxed living-room feel upstairs.
Small plates like charred organic pork belly with pickled mustard seeds or roasted aubergine with preserved lemon are just as rewarding, layered with flavour, texture and a man-of-the-match-level spice kick. Hakata noodles in a house broth are a comforting, wonderfully simple staple, and a side of plain bao buns allows you to get inventive, mixing multiple dishes into your own unique delicacies.
You could drop in for a midweek snack and be satisfied or, like us, linger over a full feast that moves seamlessly from start to finish, leaving you so satisfyingly full that you’re caught between never wanting to eat again, and desperate to book your next visit. –Amy Rose-Holland
AROUND FOUND • Other Notable Intel & Recs
→ LONDON: Poon’s at Somerset House is an evolution of the famed Chinese restaurant Poon’s, which opened its first location in 1973. Bill Poon’s restaurants are now shuttered, but his daughter Amy has taken on the legacy. After bringing it back as a pop-up in 2018, she debuted the restaurant in its new permanent home early last month, immediately re-establishing Poon’s as an important part of London’s dining scene.
→ SAN FRANCISCO: Pac Heights mainstay Palmer’s Tavern reopened this fall after a two-year hiatus for extensive repairs following a damaging water line break. The old-fashioned aesthetic remains, and for its big redux, the bar and gastropub brought in chef Matt Woods (previously of Gather and Scopo Divino) to freshen up the classic menu.
→ LOS ANGELES: Cypress Park’s truly authentic Tijuanense taco standout, Taqueria Frontera, opened an already-popular second location in Silver Lake last month.
→ MIAMI: The pithivier at Ariete is new to the menu and a wholly original, unapologetically decadent, delightful and delicious take. It exemplifies why Ariete is the kind of homegrown Miami restaurant that continues to define the city’s contribution to the global culinary world.
ROUTINES • Restaurants
Select answers to the FOUND ROUTINE query, Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
→ ALDO SOHM, wine director & author (NY): I have so many go-tos. Red Hook Tavern is such a homey place. I love the PEI mussels with spicy tomato broth and the dry-aged burger. For pizza: Lucali. I have the artichoke pizza and/or the calzone, then I’m in pizza heaven. Or I might head over to Nubeluz for a glass of Cava with some jamon Iberico before settling in for a Manhattan cocktail while taking in the beautiful views.
→ DAVID KRAMER, Compass director of global luxury (LA): I live in the Valley and hit BLVD in Sherman Oaks a few times a month. I love sitting at the bar there and ordering a martini and their crab cocktail. My go-to lunch spot during the week is Porta Via and lately I’ve been loving Dante on the Maybourne rooftop for post-work drinks or dinner. I’ve also been to RVR in Venice a few times recently, which has so many standout veggie dishes.
→ CAROLINE PEPPER, architect (LDN): A good weeknight spot is Ganapati, just by our doorstep. It’s probably my favourite Indian in London – casual, comforting and full of depth. Our all-time favourite remains St. John in Smithfield. When we lived in Golden Lane Estate, it was our regular. My favourite way to do it is to grab a table at the bar and order some bits whilst having a drink – their Negroni is delicious.
→ MAX ANIORT, Le Collectionist (Paris): Tonight, heading to Shinjuku with the crew — my go-to Japanese spot, where the neon-drenched décor is wild, but the food is strictly traditional. Tomorrow night, it’s Mexican with friends at Tarantula. A few other favorites on my radar: Ardent, Cornichon, Localino.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Ski luxe: checking in at new One&Only Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, MT… A reimagined Banff, from spas to new ski terrain… Can $3B upgrade make Killington ‘the Aspen of the East’? • What’s on offer at new Waldorf Astoria Shanghai Qiantan • The problems at Budapest’s baths.
FOUND GIFT GUIDE • The Nines
Caviar, delivered
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
The Caviar Co (above), Bay Area brand making caviar feel hip and accessible, $$$
Imperia, Los Angeles-based purveyor delivering smooth, rich Siberian and ossetra caviar, $$$
Regiis Ovis, founded by Thomas Keller, $$$
Marky’s, NYC-based, America’s only seller of ultra-premium banned Beluga, $$$
Tsar Nicoulai, incredible farmed American caviar served by three-Michelin-starred chefs, $$$
Bester, slightly more affordable option, $$
Petrossian, legacy Parisian caviar house famous for its high quality, wide selection, $$$
Kaviari, boutique Parisian producer celebrated for ultra-fresh, small-batch tins with modern, design-driven packaging, $$$
Caviar Russe, Michelin-starred NYC restaurant + caviar brand known for pristine, delicately cured eggs, $$$
ASK FOUND
First, a quick primer on how this works: You send us the pressing questions of the day (on hotels, dining, travel). We all put our heads together (us, FOUND, + you, FOUND subscribers, who are also FOUND) in search of truth and beauty.
Three PROMPTS for which we seek your intelligence:
What’s your favorite restaurant in the world?
Which hotel are you booking for the holidays ’25?
Which city should FOUND launch in next?
Hit reply or email found@itsfound.com with more answers or questions.