RECEPTION
Check-In
Where are we? I am in West African mode at the moment, having travelled there for work recently. It is one of the richest places in culture and resources, and the landscape is stunning. I have a view of the beach, the Atlantic, and the sunset, with mountains behind.
How did you get here? Well, if you miss the car ferry from the airport to Freetown, then that means the ‘Pelican’ speedboat transfer. Most certainly this feels safer at night, ideally when pitch black.
Who are you sharing your room with? Suree and Coco, my wife and daughter. (Last week I was sharing with Oliver Reed and Keith Moon, so this is very relaxing).
Is there anything you would like waiting for you in your room on arrival? A note from Oliver and Keith apologising for checking out early, but they just could not keep up the pace.
Who’s at the concierge desk? Vanessa Bugi, concierge at Hotel George V Paris. We have been friends since my first hotel project, One Aldwych. Concierge is the job swap I would most like to do, which is not the same as saying I would be good at it.
And the owner / manager? Peter Cook. He is shouting instructions to Dudley Moore who is on the Joanna in the lobby lounge.
Describe the hotel building, your room and the view... I travel a lot for work, so somewhere
Having recently travelled to Africa
on business, James Dilley of Jestico + Whiles dreams of returning to the country’s West coast for a relaxing stay in his fantasy hotel.
otherworldly and calming. I felt spirited away at Bennesse House in Japan, partly due to the context of Naoshima as an art island, and I most aspire to staying at the Amankora hotels in Bhutan. I have pressed my face up against the windows on a trip there while staying in ‘normal’ hotels. But here on the West African coast, it’s all about the views: the dusk aspect is to the sun setting over the Atlantic, next landfall Brazil; while tomorrow morning’s sunrise view is to the verdent slopes of the mountains. My room is a sun bleached driftwood box with open ends, a bed like a cloud and a shower like a rainstorm.
Who designed it? Carlo Scarpa – all his buildings are so great and hotel-like that they would knock most real hotels into a cocked hat, I would be delighted if I had to spend a long weekend sleeping in one... and that includes his tombs at Brion.
What’s the restaurant / bar like? The Rough and Smooth Beach Grill on an Atlantic beach, with one end of the grill doing South African cuisine, the other Japanese. Hence the name.
Who are you dining with this evening? It’s explorers, hunters and collectors evening so... 1. Alexandra David-Néel 2. Sir Richard Francis Burton 3. John Hanning Speke 4. Ernest H. Shackleton 5. Francis Younghusband
Who’s manning the stoves? James Wilkins of Wilks Restaurant in Redland, Bristol.
And what’s on the menu? Starter: Grilled foie gras with grapes Main: Chateaubriand with aligot Dessert: Roquefort and pears
Would you like something to drink with that? Probably Chateau Pepto-Bismol.
What CDs would like in your room? No CDs, I’d prefer a radio playing Dylan Thomas’ ‘Under Milk Wood’ read by Richard Burton (gets you to sleep fast), Radio 4 or The World Service.
What’s on the movie channel? 1. Hitchcock’s ‘North by Northwest’ 2. Beat Takeshi’s ‘Sonatine’ 3. ‘Akira’ 4. ‘To Have and Have Not’ 5. The Coen Brothers’ ‘Blood Simple’
And a book at bedtime? The Devil Drives: A Life of Sir Richard Burton.
What’s in the mini-bar for a night cap? Thompson’s Fine Bordeaux Single Distillery Grape Brandy.
Would you like a newspaper or magazine in the morning? No, just iPad news on the run.
What toiletries would you like to freshen up with? Anything that smells like a barber’s shop, such as Taylor of Old Bond Street in Sandalwood. Otherwise, just a bar of Wright’s Coal Tar soap.
WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2012 009
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