Recently, Fred and I were lucky enough to head East for yet another adventure at one of our hotel partners. We visited the distinguished Montcalm at The Brewery hotel in the City of London. The afternoon began with a tour of the hotel by the attentive Steven, the general manager of the property who then led us to the Chiswell Street Dining restaurant for an unforgettable afternoon tea experience.
I mean, look at this:
Afternoon Tea Selection at the Montcalm at the Brewery
We could not resist and dug in straight away, everything was delicious- from the delicate sandwiches to the floral chocolate cupcake.
Fred is in love with that Cupcake.
Delicious Pastries (Did I mention I am a sweet tooth?)
Not only was food mouth-watering, the hotel has so much more to offer! The two buildings were built over 300 years ago, in 1750 and were used as the headquarters of the Whitbread & Co Company. At that time, the brewery was the largest one in the world. The two buildings were very dynamic with one being used as the home of the Whitbread family, the brewery including the offices, three public pubs and the other one being the home of the four brewers and.. more!
The original Brewery
Steven explained that he now has his office in one part of the building that was used by the four brewers and that one day, he found a little old lady trying to open one of the doors. She was upset because she was not able to get in and told him that she wanted to see what lay behind the door. When he asked why she told him that this was the place she used to get bread from when she was a child. When looking up the history of the building, Steven found out that there used to be a bakery behind that door! Isn’t it amazing?
This hotel is filled with little unusual discoveries. For example, there are underground tunnels and passageways connecting the historic buildings and they kept many treasures from the original building from the time it was constructed. It is really fascinating to learn that the beer was transported from the brewery to London in a horse drawn carriage until the brewery closed!
We had an amazing time discovering how The Montcalm turned this amazing property into a five star hotel while keeping all the charm and character that makes this place unique. They were given the “City Heritage Award” for their friendly renovation of the buildings.
Cheers
Cheers!
The Montcalm London City at the Brewery
Hotel Information, London, Luxury, Luxury Hotels Group, United Kingdom
