5 Best Luxury Hotels in Rome With Kids: Where to Stay & What to Do

All Photos Courtesy of NHYM 2024

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Recommended age: 8 years and upwards

When the kids were younger, I dreaded taking them on city trips for 3 reasons: 1) Tantrums and museums do not mix 2) Their attention spans and boredom just didn’t make it worth it 3) They were going to forget it all anyway and leave me traumatised. So, now that they are older and can actually appreciate the joys of city trips, I have been taking them (dragging them) to all the major cities I once avoided. Last year, my kids were learning about the Roman empire in school, so this was an opportune time for them to visit Rome in the fall, when the crowds weren’t as dense and the summer heat had gone.

I had last been in Rome when I was 20 backpacking across Europe with my uni friends. I know, you’ll say, ‘You? Backpacking? I can’t imagine that!’ Well, it was even mentioned in my bridesmaids wedding speech, so yes you should believe it. In any case, all I remember from Rome was a blur of stracciatella gelato, being turned away from the Vatican for our skirts being too short, and getting pink-eye from a cockroach falling onto my pillow from our not-so-luxury hotel. This may be why I am now obsessed with luxury hotels!

So my memories of Rome were – literally – blinded and blurry so, this time around, I asked a friend from Rome for tips for a perfect Roman Holiday.

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Where to Stay:

1. Splurge: Hotel de Russie

If you have endless zeros in your bank account and want this to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Hotel de Russie really would be my number one choice: right in the middle of all the attractions, shopping nearby, and that gorgeous courtyard and terrace, there’s no other hotel in Rome quite like it.

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2. Family Friendly near the Vatican: Villa Aggripina, The Leading Hotels of the World

We chose to stay at the Villa Aggripina, which combined historical elements of a former palazzo, as well as a swimming pool when the kids were bored of sight-seeing. It is an oasis just a 15 minute walk across the river to all the sights, but offers a swimming pool, and tons of outdoor gardens and space for the kids, this one is perfect during the sweltering summer.

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Villa Aggripina Swimming Pool NHYM 2024

My friend also recommended these hotels:

3. Boutique hotel:Hotel Locarno for its location and rooftop terrace.

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4. Hip: Soho House Rome. Other friends who were in Rome at the same time as us stayed at the Soho House, for a stylish yet reasonably priced hotel stay.

5. Palazzo Luxury: Anantara Palazzo Naiadi made it in the Conde Nast Reader’s Choice Awards 2025 Rome list, so you can be sure it’s going to be good. It’s big, bold, beautiful and has all the five star trappings you could ask for without spending a whole month’s salary on it. BOOK HERE FOR ANANTARA PALAZZO NAIADI, A LEADING HOTEL OF THE WORLD

The Trevi Fountain NHYM 2024

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What to Do:

Explore Top Attractions with an exclusive Golf Cart Tour: Our friend’s suggestion and our favourite activity of our Roman adventure had to be the Golf Cart Tour. The golf cart agilely weaved its way around the city and monuments where cars couldn’t pass and gave us a whirlwind tour of all of the most important sights in Rome. It’s perfect when you don’t have a lot of time in Rome and can be adjusted to fit your itinerary, spending time at sights you want to see, and whizzing by those with too many tourists. We hit all the major sights: the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Colloseum, Spanish Steps etc…

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Sunset at the Colosseum: During the day, the crowds abound at the Colosseum, so my recommendation is to do this sunset tour, when the crowds have gone back to their hotels and you can see it in its sunset splendour.

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The Pantheon NHYM 2024

Gladiator school: This one is unbeatable for the boys, 2 hours of gladiator schools to get rid of all their energy and frustrations. BOOK GLADIATOR SCHOOL HERE

Percy Jackson Tour for Kids at the Capitoline Museum: Of course, for the Percy Jackson fans, this tour has been made specifically for them in mind. Friends did it and loved it, my Roman friend told me.

Colosseum Walking Tour: Skip the lines with this guided tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. BOOK YOUR COLOSSEUM WALKING TOUR HERE

BOOK GLADIATOR SCHOOL HERE↗

Breakfast tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel: Go to the Vatican early in the morning to avoid the crowds and make sure to book their breakfast there. It can book up months in advance so make sure to book ahead of time. BOOK YOUR BREAKFAST, TOUR THE VATICAN AND SISTINE CHAPEL HERE

The Spanish Steps NHYM 2024

Shopping: Our golf cart tour ended at the Spanish steps, which was a perfect place to go shopping at all my kids’ favourite Italian stores: Subdued, Brandy Melville etc… This was the perfect end to a morning of sight-seeing.

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Where to Eat:

Truffle Pasta at Hotel de Russie Terrace NHYM 2024

Of course a trip to Rome wouldn’t be a trip to Rome without eating out. Here’s a few recommendations:

Il Marchese Restaurant: I loved Il Marchese, which serves typical Roman cuisine, it is cozy and local for a true Roman experience.

Pier Luigi Restaurant: More gastronomic, this one serves delicious seafood to everyone from Bezos to Leonardo di Caprio. The tables outside are prime spots for watching life go by in Rome.

Roscioli: Amazing bakery, where you can get delicious pizza on the go, or book a table for lunch.

Hotel de Russie Terrace & Courtyard for Aperitivo: Even if you aren’t staying at Hotel de Russie, you can always enjoy its terrace for Aperitivo or its gardens for lunch. One of my favourite meals in Rome.

Pier Luigi Rome. NHYM 2024

This trip to Rome completely exceeded my expectations and I loved everything about it: the hotel, the food, the shopping and the sightseeing. Everywhere you turn, there are ruins and remnants of Roman history which continues to fascinate us today. I can’t wait to go back!

NHYM

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food, Food & Dining, Food & Dining, Reviews

Top 10 New Notting Hill Restaurants

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I was thrilled to see that not one, but four Notting Hill restaurants made the Top 50 Restaurants in the UK at the National Restaurants Awards 2025:

Number 3: The Ledbury

Number 10: Dorian

Number 27: Canteen

Number 38: Core by Clare Smyth

Since Covid, the Notting Hill restaurant scene has been booming. So many great restaurants have opened in the neighborhood, that there is really no reason to leave anymore.

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In no particular order, Top 10 new Notting Hill Restaurants:

Dorian: Excellent, except if you’re vegetarian, it won its first Michelin star after one year.
Gold: Not so new anymore, but really a Notting Hill institution, with plenty for the vegetarians.
Zephyr: Dressed up Greek restaurant, it is as elegant as any Mayfair restaurant with Greek salad, raw fish and meat offerings.
Straker’s: Opened by an internet chef sensation, it is actually very good.
SUMI: Simple, yet, good quality sushi. It’s a favourite of Julianne Moore when she’s staying in London.
The Barbary: The second Barbary, after the one in Neal’s Yard, it is a sleek and cool North African restaurant serving sharing plates. Sadly one of their best dishes, the artichokes, has come off their menu. But rest assured, the food is still good.
Los Mochis: Mexican food? Japanese food? Both? What’s not to love? The salmon crispy rice and cauliflower tacos are worth going to on their own (or on Deliveroo).
Chez Lui: New concept from the Bagatelle group, the food is actually good: the cauliflower and the veal escalopes are both great.
Nela: Coming straight from Amsterdam, the open fire concept is a roaring hit in the new Whiteley building.
Canteen: Opened by the guys behind the Pelican, it surprised all of us by its arrival on the National Restaurants Awards. Just shame there is a no-reservations policy.

There are plenty more, like Julie’s, which has had a great revamp, Fan for sushi, ACRE across Straker’s, and all the new pizza places (Alley Cats and Slayer’s). Notting Hill is really becoming a foodie destination.

Enjoy!

NHYM

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Health & Wellness, Reviews

Cloud 12 Spa Review

I don’t know about you, but the last two weeks have felt like an explosion of back-to-school, Queen’s-funeral, and post-pandemic chaos and stress: everyone seems on edge and overwhelmed, including myself. So, when Cloud 12 offered me one of their signature Deep Relief Kloris CBD Oil massages, it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Is it in the neighbourhood so I can fit it in between the school runs? Check. Destressing and relaxing? Check? CBD Oil? Check again!

For those of you who don’t know about Cloud 12, it is a wellness and spa retreat in the middle of Notting Hill with the added bonus of a Kid’s Club (My children are sadly too old for it, but I would have happily left them playing in the ground floor indoor playground while getting my massage). In addition to my massage, I was offered thirty minutes in the thermal suite, so this is more than just a few therapy rooms; it’s a place you can easily spend a few hours in.

The changing room was exquisitely decorated with a large nature chandelier and there is Asian-inspired decor throughout which reminds me of spas in Bali, Thailand and Japan.

The thermal suite includes an eucalyptus-infused steam room, a wooden electric sauna and a Himalayan salt room. I particularly enjoyed the steam room which opened up my sinuses and bronchioles and all that sweating felt detoxifying. I also enjoyed the Himalayan salt room which exhaled cool salt air at the press of a button.

After thirty minutes of thermal treatments and some time in the relaxation room listening to meditations on the provided earphones, Dorota, my therapist came for my Deep Relief Kloris CBD oil massage. CBD oil is touted for its health benefits including pain relief, speeding up healing and aiding stress and anxiety (and it is organic). This massage is described as ‘the perfect choice for anyone with aches and pains, as well as to help balance body and mind,’ which suited me perfectly!

My 60 minute massage was bliss and I even had moments of peace, forgetting about clogged roundabouts and how to magically turn a 45 minute journey into 30 minutes later that day. The massage did exactly what it was supposed to do: it released tension and induced relaxation and I could have easily used another 30 minutes or 60 minutes more of massage time.

Afterwards, I was shown the second floor therapy rooms, which are an Aladdin’s cave of wellness treatments: hynotherapy, herbal medicine, acupuncture, colonics (apparently very popular these days!), psychotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, (which I heard is great for long covid and rapid healing) and more, so there is everything you need under one roof.

Cloud 12 a beautiful spa with great facilities and if you live in Notting Hill or West London (or anywhere in London really), it’s not to be missed. We’re all feeling the pressure of the world these days between unexpected pandemics, wars, Brexits and a royal death so if you need a break from it all, this is the perfect place to do it. For a few hours, I lived in a world between Bali, Japan and Thailand, where my only worry was contemplating which treatment I would go for next time.

What’s not to love?

https://www.cloudtwelve.co.uk/

2-5 Colville Mews

London W11 2DA

020 3301 1012

Reviews

Review: Cloud Twelve Family Member’s Club

Cloud12

Photos courtesy of the internet. NHYM

When I gave birth to my first child, I remember thinking that it would be great to have a nice space where I could have a coffee with my friends while my child could play in a clean, nice, play area. I even went as far as thinking that Notting Hill needed a space like that and started a business model. Unfortunately, the idea died when I realised that rent in Notting Hill is so bloody expensive and that mums could easily stay hours sipping just one coffee and that wouldn’t pay the rent.

Fast forward eight years later, and Cloud 12 has opened with a different business model: the family & lifestyle member’s club. Here, there’s an annual membership and there are classes on tap and a very fancy spa upstairs. A friend of mine who is a member invited me to visit last week. As you walk in, the ground floor has a very cool and fun play area which I would say is best suited for 0-6 year olds: it is like a very cool, clean, fun and creative kids club. There are classes and a creche where you can leave your child for two hours. If you were looking to have it all under one roof for a young child, this is a great option. There are all kinds of classes like singing, ballet, science and art classes.

cloud12

There is a small cafe in the kids area and a larger cafe upstairs, which is for adults. The food is all organic and vegan – which is fine for the adults – but I have heard that the kids have a harder time with it. Their ethos is sustainability, wellness and eco – friendly which is all the rage at the moment, so it def ticks those boxes.

Upstairs is the salon and the spa, which has treatments from cryotherapy to colonic therapy to quartz beds. Its decoration is Japanese inspired, from the time the founder lived in Japan, so very zen and full of tree and nature themes. I didn’t have a treatment so couldn’t tell you my thoughts, but it looks very high end and wouldn’t mind coming back to try one.

The club is lovely, but as it is Notting Hill, can be quite costly if you don’t use it but if you use it regularly, my friend tells me it is worth it. My children, who are both in school, I would say are too old for this as they have so many after school activities, but if I had young children and babies, I would definitely look into it.

The day I went, it was very quiet, but I heard that the last Bank Holiday weekend, it was packed and I heard that James Blunt was there and another celebrity mum is also spotted there regularly. So, if you want a bit of privacy, a nice kids area and a place to do your hair all in one place, this place is great and shame it wasn’t around when I first had a baby.

Cloud 12

2-5 Colville Mews

London W11 2DA

http://www.cloudtwelve.co.uk

0203 301 1012

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Reviews

Meditation @ Redemption

Redemption Restaurant. Photos courtesy of NHYM 2016.

This week I was invited to a new event, Soul Food, by Sophie Purvis, a Yoga and Meditation instructor. The event combines a 30 minute meditation followed by a lovely and healthy lunch at Redemption, ‘the healthiest bar restaurant in London,’ at their Notting Hill location. Now you all know how stressed I’ve been and the beginning of the new school year has piled on extra stress as quickly as I piled on extra pounds during the summer holidays. Meditation + healthy eating sounded like just what I needed to settle my mind.

Redemption Restaurant. NHYM 2016.

Redemption is located on Chepstow Road and I have been meaning to try it for ages, but somehow time has flown by and it has already been open for a year. I am amazed at all the ‘healthy,’ ‘organic’ and ‘vegan’ places that are sprouting up faster than mushrooms on a wet day. First there was Planet Organic, then came Daylesford and now the restaurants have followed suit: NAMA, Redemption, Farmacy, and the latest JUSU brothers. I mean, Notting Hill is fast becoming San Francisco. Next thing we know, everyone will be swapping their cappuccinos for juice cleanses (Noooo!!!).

Sophie Purvis in the foreground, Catherine Salway in the mirror reflection. NHYM 2016.

Back to the event. I went along on Monday not knowing exactly what to expect. When I got there, Sophie Purvis introduced herself and immediately I thought I was in good hands. Sophie has the most soothing, calming voice and aura that immediately put me in the right mind set. She usually works out of a studio in Parsons Green but found this great collaboration with Redemption here in Notting Hill.

We started the guided meditation, which is a type of meditation I particularly like because all you have to do is listen: Sophie does the rest. Her calming voice told my mind where to go and soon enough, the knot in my stomach relaxed and I could feel myself become less tense. It was a lovely 30 minutes. The only thing I would say is that the meditation is done in the restaurant so you do hear the buses go by and you do feel slightly exposed. (I mentioned this to the founders and they are looking into putting up curtains to create a warm cocoon – much better I told them.)

Redemption food and detox tea. NHYM 2016.

After the meditation, we were treated to a lovely lunch and detox tea. Everything I would expect from a vegan restaurant: sweet potato, quinoa and pomegranate salad, raw chickpeas, carrot salad and a few enoki. The food was very good, tasty and filling. Catherine sells her place as a place away from ‘temptation’, wheat-free, sugar-free and alcohol-free. Stella McCartney is apparently her biggest customer and orders staff lunches from here. The restaurant itself is sparsely decorated and has lovely touches like the pineapple lamps, the antique French farmhouse furniture and plush velvet banquettes, but I feel that the decor could use some cohesiveness.

I had a really lovely time at Redemption – thank you Sophie and Catherine! The meditation was lovely and the food equally so. I felt lighter and healthier coming out of it, as if I had gone on a mini-holiday. For anyone looking for a little peace and soul-feeding in the city, this is one to try out.

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Reviews

Review: Nailed! A new nail salon in Notting Hill…

All photos courtesy of NHYM 2015.

Nailed

70 Chepstow Road

London W2 5BE

Tel 0207 221 6685

A few girlfriends of mine mentioned a new nail bar in Notting Hill over the last few months, so when I received an invitation to try out the new Nailed on Chepstow Road, it wasn’t hard to convince me to go. Nailed opened in April by Richard Naylor, ex-management consultant, who has a background in business with an MBA and having worked in the city.

Indoor Nailed Salon Bar. NHYM 2015.

When I came in on a rainy Tuesday afternoon for a mani-pedi, I was warmly welcomed by Richard who set the girls on me right away. There are two pedicure reclining chairs at the back and four manicure tables in the front. He is also planning on starting waxing and eyebrow treatments downstairs in a few months. There are all the ESSIE and Shellac Colours you can ask for, and he mentions specialised, bespoke nail extensions that sound rather impressive.

Adrienne my manicurist. NHYM 2015.

Adrienne (or was it Arianne?) my manicurist was lovely, as was my pedicurist. The salon is bright, clean and warm. The herringbone wood flooring is great, and there are flowers adding some life to the place. There are a lot of nail salons that can end up looking a bit sad or grubby, but this isn’t one of them. It is clean and modern. Richard explains that he wants to provide a clean, professional approach with loads of great customer service. That day, I must admit that the customer service was 5/5. I had three people fawning over me, which is always a nice feeling.

He tells me that the salon is doing very well, he even had Kate Hudson come in over the summer with a friend. His hopes are that he can open a second salon next year in St. John’s Wood. He has a whole business plan worked out in his head, and it seems to be working so far.

Nailed Manicure. NHYM 2015.

Time flies as Richard gives me the history of his lifelong dream to open a nail salon, which all started during a year abroad at McGill University. My mani – pedi is done and I didn’t even get a chance to see what the girls were doing. But the results are good. I really like my manicure, which is subtle. My toes are not in the best of shape after the summer, so they are not photo-worthy at the moment.

Richard is a lovely, friendly guy who could talk to you for days about his adventures, girlfriends, and godchildren. He makes the place what it is. The salon is open until 9pm on some nights to cater to the professionals, and he is there each and every night. But he loves it he says. It doesn’t even feel like work, it’s a party every day.

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Press

NHYM in Harper’s Bazaar July 2015

I was interviewed by Rachel Johnson for an article she wrote about the Highs and Lows of Notting Hill for Harper’s Bazaar, to promote her new book, ‘Fresh Hell.’

Ok, so my interview ended up being more just a one-liner quote in the article, but hey, I am still pleased to have made it in Harper’s Bazaar!

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Social Commentary

‘What Postcode are You?’ London’s Poshest Postcodes…

I used to be what you could call a ‘Chelsea Girl’ about 10 years ago, with my SW3 postcode, Saturday lunches at the Chelsea Farmer’s Market and drinks at Eclipse on Walton Street. Then, I moved up ‘North of the Park’ where I swapped King’s Road for Westbourne Grove, Eclipse for the Westbourne Pub, and Saturday lunches at CFM for Daylesford lunches and went from ‘Chelsea Girl’ to ‘NHYM’. As a Chelsea girl I remember thinking that Notting Hill was a) not as pretty b) a bit grungy/scary c) a little ‘too cool for school,’ but I followed my other half and 10 years later, all the remnants of ‘Chelsea Girl’ are well behind me and with two kids in tow, I have fully embraced the Notting Hill ‘cool.’

I recently wrote a short piece about London’s most expensive postcodes and the bankers who want to live there. http://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/205575/6-london-postcodes-that-show-youve-made-it-in-banking-and-the-bankers-who-live-there/. It got me thinking about London postcodes and how we identify with them. So what does your postcode say about you?

Zoopla’s Rich List of the most expensive postcodes: http://www.zoopla.co.uk/property/richlist/uk/england/

Highest value areas
Area Zed-Index
1 W8 (Kensington) £2,707,386
2 SW7 (Knightsbridge) £2,493,204
3 SW3 (Chelsea) £2,324,889
4 SW10 (West Brompton) £1,857,677
5 W11 (Notting Hill)

Here is my guide to London’s Most Expensive & Poshest Postcodes:

1. SW1X: Knightsbridge

Your neighbours: Sheiks & Oligarchs

Your Style Icon: Queen Rania of Jordan

Knightsbridge is Blingland. It is home to One Knightsbridge, one of the world’s priciest residences where Sultans, Sheiks and Oligarchs love to mingle with their own kind. For them, the postcode and address are clearly more important than cost per sqm. Their motto is ‘the more expensive, the better.’ Of course with Harvey Nics and Harrods at their doorstep, shopping is a vital past time for the SW1X residents. They love labels, flashy cars, yachts and PJs. Competition is rife amongst the SuperRich, and Knightsbridge is the perfect place for them to show off their latest bling.

2. W8: Kensington

Your neighbours: Kate Middleton & Tamara Ecclestone

Your Style Icon: Kate Middleton

With Kensington Palace and Kensington Palace Gardens, W8 has won the trophy for the most expensive postcode in the UK. It is easy to see why the SuperRich drop £75 Million for a house on Billionaires Row, aka Kensington Palace Gardens, with Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens as their backyard. Then just a few streets away, Phillimore Gardens houses will keep you drooling, which is the best place for Halloween Trick or Treating, with a competition for the best, excessively decorated house on the street. Kensington divides the Chelsea set and the Notting Hill set who are constantly competing for ‘best postcode.’ Ideally located with Holland Park to the West, Hyde Park to the East, South Kensington to the South and Notting Hill to the North, no wonder it is considered the Billionaires Postcode.

3. SW3: Chelsea

Your neighbours: Charles Saatchi, Roman Abramovic, and Hugh Grant

Your Style Icon: Amal Alamuddin (Amal Alamuddin may appear straight out of Chelsea, but she is in fact a Notting Hill Girl).

Chelsea used to be for Sloaney Poneys and the Posh British set, but times have changed. Even the ‘Made in Chelsea’ cast can’t afford to live in Chelsea anymore. Hugh Grant remains one of the last Chelsea Toffs that can be seen toffing around in Chelsea at Brinkley’s on Hollywood Road, right around the corner from his house (unless he moved since my last sighting). Nowadays, it is rich American Private Equity and Hedge Fund kings who sweep up many of the Chelsea Square mansions. The Chelsea set tend to be immaculately dressed and coiffed with head to toe Chanel or Ralph Lauren, thanks to the Chanel store on Brompton Cross or Ralph Lauren on Fulham Road. They do tend to think that ‘it’s Chelsea or nothing’. Chelsea is beautiful, immaculate and manicured, home to the Boltons, some of the most expensive London real estate. But let’s be real, Chelsea is like that really, really good looking guy, who knows it.

4. SW7: South Kensington

Your Neighbours: Italian and French Aristocrats

Your Style Icon: Marion Cotillard, Clemence Poesy

South Kensington used to be ‘the’ place for all the Italian and French to decamp to from Paris, Rome or Milan, helping to make London France’s 6th biggest city with 400,000 French inhabitants. The French of course love it so much that it has the French consulate and the Lycée Francais within 2 blocks of each other. There is even a French street, Bute Street, with a French bookshop and delis filled with Lycée boys and girls. For the French who want a piece of France in London, South Kensington is the ideal place. Their Mediterranean neighbours, the Italians, equally love South Kensington, paying homage to it with the 2001 film with the same name, South Kensington. The Italian aristocrats can’t get enough of South Kensington, and you may just find yourself on one of their 42 m sailing yachts off the coast of Capri if you’re lucky enough.

5. W11: Notting Hill

Your Neighbours: Stella McCartney, Richard Curtis, Writers, Musicians and Fashionistas

Your Style Icon: Stella McCartney and Kate Moss

It used to be that Notting Hill was the edgy, cool, hip Postcode, but with the 1999 Notting Hill movie and the Bankers and Funders entering the neighbourhood, Notting Hill has gentrified and become the home of the NHYMs and those artists that have ‘made it’. Some of the Modelistas, such as Elle McPherson and Claudia Schiffer have left, but the newer and younger ones like Arizona Muse have moved in, and Stella still remains. It is also popular with many musicians like Blur and Coldplay musicians and Adele reportedly bought her first house here in NH. Notting Hillers like to think themselves as cooler and hipper than their Chelsea counterparts, but the reality is that they both drive their Black Range Rovers, carry a Bottega Veneta handbag and shop at Net-a-Porter but with a rock chick look like Kate Moss. W11 though still prides itself of its multi-coloured homes and magnificent Private Gardens like Ladbroke Square that most can only dream of.

So what your thoughts on your Postcode?!

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Spotlight On...

Spotlight On: Leslie Saglio, Yoga guru, Reiki practitioner & Wellness coach

All photos in this post courtesy of Leslie Saglio. NHYM 2015.

Lately, I have been hearing all about the stress and anxiety of parents getting their kids into the ‘right school,’ passing the 7+ or the 11+. Normally calm and relaxed parents have become screaming messes and super-powered CEO mums and Magazine Editor mums have been put on anti-depressants, diazepam and other anxiolytics due to the stress of their children’s exams.

Isn’t it time for us to realise that this is really not the way to go? Shouldn’t we be kinder to ourselves? Here, I have interviewed Leslie Saglio, a local Yoga teacher who has started teaching at the brand new, beautiful West London Buddhist Centre on how to become more zen. She is also a Wellness Coach, a Reiki practitioner and a mother of 2 living in Notting Hill. She helped launch Serene Social in the UK last year, is a contributor to the US site MindBodyGreen and is a Brand Ambassador for the eco-friendly lifestyle apparel company Wellicious, based in Notting Hill.

1. What’s your story?

I am originally from Calabasas, just next to Malibu beach, in LA. I grew up a child of the sun and sea, enjoyingthe outdoor lifestyle.I have always been fascinated by other cultures and spent a lot of my youth travelling throughout the U.S. and Asia. I graduated from Business School at the University of Southern California and worked in the Entertainment industry, and then took a leap of faith and co-founded a real estate mortgage company. I moved to London with my French fiancé in 2006, we got married in 2007 and have two beautiful kids. I have lived in the Notting Hill area since then. So London is well and truly my home!

2. What made you decide to get involved in Wellness/yoga/serene?

While living In LA, I was feeling the strains of city life and this showed in my unhealthy lifestyle. I managed to break from this cycle when I moved to Europe, but my life changed more dramatically in 2010 when my loved ones became seriously ill. I regrouped to become stronger and it was then that I began my holistic and spiritual journey towards a healthier lifestyle.

I became a yoga teacher in 2013 and while students were coming to me for advice on the healing effects of yoga, it felt like a calling as I knew I wanted to help others. While exploring other disciplines such as Reiki and Feng Shui, I decided to become a certified Wellness Coach. During this time in 2013 while on a trip in New York City, I met Millana Snow, co-founder of SERENE Social, a women’s wellness and conscious networking community, originally based in New York. As I loved everything SERENE stood for, I helped them by becoming their London Lead and launched them last year. I feel blessed to be able to light the path for others to start their own journey towards a more purpose filled life.

3. What is a Wellness Coach? And what exactly is Serene Social?

A wellness coach is someone who empowers others to lead a lifestyle beyond enhanced health. I’m a certified and dedicated Energy 4 Life© Wellness Coach, which means I take a progressive holistic approach founded by my teacher Caroline Shola Arewa. By taking a three-dimensional approach (body, mind and spirit) and focusing on disciplines such as yoga, complementary medicine and spirituality, I help clients reclaim wholeness and personal energy. It requires tremendous strength. But with time, it can repair the damage caused by poor diet, lack of exercise, negative thoughts and overall stress.

SERENE Social is a community that was set up to inspire a life of passion, power and purpose for women around the globe. SERENE provides a source of conscious content, connections and empowerment via yoga, networking sessions, meditation, online courses and more. For more info on how I helped launch SERENE London read here

4. You are now running Yoga lessons at the West London Buddhist Centre. Can you tell us a bit more about the centre and what you do there?

The West London Buddhist Centre is a charity linked to a wider movement called Triratna Buddhist Community. It’s just one of the many businesses, retreat centres and other initiatives you’ll find worldwide. WLBC is based in a beautiful new Notting Hill building on Porchester Road and hosts a programme of classes and courses in mindfulness disciplines such as meditation, yoga and other bodywork.

I teach weekly Yin and Vinyasa classes, monthly yoga and coaching workshops as well as private coaching sessions. My ethos is to empower my students and clients to have their own unique experience. I do this by providing them with a space to begin healing themselves and find their full potential.

Although I’m not Buddhist, I fully embrace its philosophy to transform our responses to life experiences and it’s an ethos that crosses over many different cultures and religious beliefs. Mindfulness practices such as meditation and yoga not only help train the body to a more healthy physical state, but also enable students to shift their emotional and mental states towards a more conscious and balanced life.

5. How do you stay positive when you are faced with difficulties and obstacles?

To stay positive as an expat mum in the city, I do daily mindful practices such as yoga, meditation and gratitude and try following a healthy diet. I definitely feel the difference if I’m not keeping up and doing the work. I’ve learned that if you consistently do the work, it does get easier. As with my clients, I also practice techniques such as repeating daily positive affirmations to manifest my dreams, and have regular Reiki sessions to replenish my energy. But most of all, I remember to breathe!

6. What advice would you give to all the stressed out mums (and dads) out there?

As parents, to really fully support the ones we love, we must remember to first take care of ourselves. We need to learn how to set boundaries with our own time and our energy. Sometimes it’s ok to say ‘no’ to going out and just be comfortable staying quiet at home. Equally, it helps to remember to take some time for yourself – whether that be a girls’/guys’ night out, a mani/pedi, going to the gym, or getting a babysitter so you can enjoy a date night.

7. Many mums I know would love to find something they can do that helps others while staying flexible around their family time. What advice would you give to anyone who wants to become a yoga instructor or wellness coach like you?

Do your research – There are so many part-time and online training/teaching options available out there that will compliment a parent’s lifestyle. Just make sure you choose a teacher/coach whose personality and style resonates with you.
Seek support – Make sure you have a reliable and flexible nanny and friends. Schedule play dates and activities so your kids stay busy and connected while you’re out/away
Get organised – Make regular lists and acknowledge what you have accomplished. It’s all about baby steps.
Stay committed – Anything worthwhile will not come easy. Remember, a profession in wellness has the power to make you a better mum and better wife so don’t ever feel guilty for putting in the hours.

8. You are a Yoga teacher, a Wellness Coach, a Reiki Healer and you led the London launch of Serene Social. How do you manage it all with being a mother (and a wife!)?

It’s all about how you manage your personal energy and everything I do with my students and clients is simply that – shifting energy so they can become healthier in their entire wellbeing. The mind and body are truly inter-connected and when we start to live with that consciousness, we live from a more authentic and harmonious state. We begin to experience life more beautifully.

9. What are your favourite places in Notting Hill?

The Life Centre for their inspirational yoga teachers, Planet Organic for wholesome goods, Neal’s Yard Remedies for a relaxing massage, Granger & Co. for brunch with my girlfriends, and Taqueria for some yummy Mexican food and a taste of my hometown L.A.

10. What advice would you give to your younger self, now that you’ve had all these life experiences?

Enjoy every moment, count your blessings, know that every experience you have is meant to make you a better person on the other side and lastly, just be yourself.

http://www.lesliesaglio.com

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

Reviews

Review: West 36 Restaurant, Golborne Road

West 36 Restaurant

36 Golborne Road, London W10 5NR

Tel 02037520530

http://www.w36.co.uk

** All Photos in this Post Courtesy of the Internet. NHYM 2015.**

Food: 4 stars

Service: 3 stars

Atmosphere: 4.0 stars

Design: 4.5 stars

Price/value: 4 stars

Overall: 4.15 stars

West Thirty Six, the latest venture by Robert Newmark, the man behind the Beach Blanket Babylon franchise, is West London’s newest hipster hangout, with bearded staff dressed up in overalls, suspenders and bowties. The Telegraph Newspaper has called it ‘West London’s answer to Central London’s Chiltern Firehouse and East London’s Shoreditch House.’ When I went last Saturday, Ellie Goulding was there on a ‘date night.’ You want to know where the hipsters go for date night? Here’s your answer.

Third floor bottle service. 2015.

The Service

Although it has only been open for a month, I have already been there twice and I already have a reservation booked in the next few weeks, even though when I was there opening week, the service was laughably atrocious. Despite waiting for our food for 40minutes, the staff not speaking English and our food being sent to the neighbouring table, I still really wanted to go again. So, how could a restaurant still convince me to return when the waiter, as cute as he was, looked completely overwhelmed and admitted to being completely stressed out and unable to manage his tables? This review will mostly be of my second time there, since the first time would have been dragged down by the confused, disorientated, and clearly first-day-on-the-job staff (It was like being served by a better looking Charlie Chaplin waiter with a bow tie and suspenders and a One Direction haircut, but he had enough Latin charm to pull it off and be forgiven by the end of the night.)

First floor dining area. 2015.

The Design

So, why, you ask me, would I ever return to a place where the staff is picked based on attractive looks but not their knowledge of English, the food arrives 40 minutes late and ends up on someone else’s table, I was charged for my dessert twice on the bill, and the waiters look at you cluelessly when you order a Pisco Sour is? Turns out, the design at West Thirty Six, made to look like a ‘member’s club’ without actually being one, is just very cool, the atmosphere is fun, and the food is surprisingly good relative to the service you receive.

Ground floor, open plan kitchen and bar. 2015.

The ground floor is a brasserie-style restaurant where a lot of the action is, with cramped, small, metal tables are scattered around the main shiny bar and crowds of people trying to a) enter the restaurant b) have a drink at the bar being squeezed by people trying to get through c) squish past the waiters to get to the stairs to go to the first floor. The tables are so close together on this floor that you are practically sitting on your neighbour’s lap. There is door by the stairs where the staff keep appearing from, but always when you are trying to get up the stairs and therefore causing constant human traffic jams. Whoever designed this place had the aesthetics right, but was not a spatial engineer; the space was not designed for this many people.

First floor dining room. 2015.

The first floor has a bar and small lounge area with leather chairs and low, wooden coffee tables on the left, and on the right is another dining area, Soho House style, cozy, lounge-y, and full of candles, which I have wanted to try to but am still not hipster enough to get a reservation there (there are mostly tables for large groups in this dining room). The top floor is reserved for ‘bottle service’ that you can book through the Manager, and where I believe Ellie Goulding was partying until 1am (way past my bedtime, ladies and gents). This floor is meant to be seen as a ‘member’s area,’ where you can keep your bottle until the next you come, or as a place to work during the day.

The chunky chips, ribeye steak and mac ‘n’ cheese. 2015.

The Food

The menu here is a ‘man’s man’ menu; lots of meats, chips, and more meats. Vegetarians need not apply. Steaks, chicken wings, ribs, lobster were all on the menu to get the men salivating, following the Steak & Lobster trend. For the sides, there were skinny chips, big chunky chips, mac ‘n’ cheese, and bone marrow mash. Everything looked delicious when we looked at our neighbour’s table. For starters, we ordered the beetroot salad and the blue cheese salad, both which were tasty and of hearty proportions, and the maple syrup chipotle chicken wings, which Mr.T said were the best wings he had ever had.

Half a rack of ribs. 2015.

For the mains, Mr. X and I had juicy, tender ribeyes, which were nicely done medium rare. Mr. T had an entire rack of ribs, which was enormous and fed all four of us, while Ms. D had the lobster which was delicious but the dressing was perhaps a bit too flavourful, which she said took away from the lobster taste. All the portions are huge, so no one was about to leave with an empty stomach. This is hearty ‘brasserie’ food with hearty portions, whose portions will probably start to decrease as time goes by (which restaurants always do after the first few opening weeks), but for now, keep on bringing those ribs.

Lobster. 2015.

As a dessert, we had the famous Apple Pie which is brought in its baking tray to your table and dolloped on your plate, as well as a ‘Make Your Own Sundae,’ of vanilla and chocolate ice cream sprinkled with salted caramel popcorn and bitter caramel sauce (Note: half the toppings were unavailable).

The Verdict

The service was much better the second time around, and even though you feel cramped and squished from the moment you enter the restaurant, I still plan on coming back. The building is a huge space of multiple nooks and crannies, rooms and drinking dens that charm you, reminiscent of Paradise by Kensal Rise. The outdoor areas, from the first floor outdoor terrace to the Toolshed smoking area, look all like they will be a great alternative to the Westbourne in the summer.

It is already packed full, which shows its popularity. And I am fuelling this, since despite the dazed and confused service at times, I still really like it. It’s buzzy and busy, maybe even a bit too much, which creates a good atmosphere. Both times I was there, I befriended our table-neighbours, mostly because of the size of the our rack of ribs, but also because we were playing footsie with them due to our close proximity. But rubbing shoulders with your neighbours in this restaurant is a rather pleasant experience, which makes it OK. This is exactly what this place is about: meeting friends, making new friends and leaving feeling very full.

An after-dinner drink was impossible, the place was so packed, and we were not quite feeling young and trendy enough for the bottle service upstairs, so opt for a pre-dinner drink when it is less busy, or head back towards Portobello and have a drink at Santo for a night-cap.

See you there next week.

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

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Review: West 36 Restaurant, Golborne Road