The Halkin

Activities

• The Halkin is well-placed for exploring London’s most famous attractions - the London Eye, the bustling commercial streets (Oxford Street and Savile Row), Covent Garden's opera and street theatre, the world-class art galleries and museums (The National Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern and the British Museum) and the dynamic music and theatre scene (from Ronnie Scotts to Royal Ballet)
  
  
• Head to Knightsbridge (5-10 minutes' walk) for the iconic superstores of Harrods and Harvey Nichols, and Sloane Street, whose shop fronts read like a roll call of fashion's greatest names
  
  
• Hyde Park is only 5 minutes away. It's one of London's most beautiful parks, boasting avenues of plane trees, an art gallery housed in a 1934 tea pavilion, and the (in)famous Diana Memorial water feature. The Serpentine Lake has rowing boats for hire and a Lido where the brave can swim
  
  
• Buckingham Palace is 10 minutes away. The 775-room residence and state offices of Queen Elizabeth II hosts Britain's most lavish receptions, as well as the famous Queen's Guard with their red tunics and bearskin hats (come at 11.30am, daily in summer and alternate days in winter, to see the ceremonial changing of the guard)
  
  
• Also easily accessible are the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Tours are available during the 2-month summer recess, and some debates can be observed from the public gallery (queue early for admission). Next door is Westminster Abbey, where many of England's greatest monarchs were crowned and buried; several famous poets and musicians (Purcell, Chaucer) rest in not much peace at Poets' Corner
  
  
• If you feel like eating out there are plenty of restaurants nearby: award-winning Amaya(Indian grill), the Fifth Floor (in Harvey Nichols), the 2-Michelin-starred Capital(French gastronomic), and of course the trend-setting Nobu at sister hotel The Metropolitan
  
  
• Back at The Halkin, you can order a massage in your room, or walk 10 minutes down the road to sister hotel The Met, where you have access to the well-known Shambhala Spa (book ahead)
  
  
• The hotel offers a range of Unique Experiences from private perfume consultations and chocolate workshops, to private tours of the local area and floristry classes. (Guests should book at least 72 hours in advance through the concierge)