My children didn’t want to leave this five-star London hotel – and neither did I

As a parent, there’s nothing worse than being made to feel uncomfortable. We’ve all been there – disapproving looks at restaurants, tuts when you board a plane, even when the kids are being perfectly behaved, so I’m always a little apprehensive when visiting a luxury hotel. Thankfully, The Berkeley Hotel, a stone’s throw from London’s Hyde Park, made every member of our family feel truly welcomed. My daughters, Sophie, 8, and Amelia, 4, hadn’t stayed in the capital before, so we want an all-out luxurious experience they’ll remember forever.

Part of the prestigious Maybourne Hotel Group, which also owns institutions like nearby Claridge’s and The Connaught, The Berkeley is located in upmarket Knightsbridge and deserves every one of its five stars. From the heated rooftop pool, to the individually designed rooms and suites, and the numerous dining options, it’s almost a shame to leave and see the sights when you're staying here, as there’s so much to enjoy inside its beautifully decorated walls.

What makes The Berkeley great for families?

From the minute we arrived, staff took the time to speak and interact directly with the girls, rather than seeing them as an inconvenience, which is how we’ve felt at some luxury hotels. The doormen rushed to carry the pushchair (a must for transporting tired legs) up the stairs for us, and then led my daughters straight to the welcome lounge and offered them a bag of sweets each…they clearly know the way to children’s hearts.

The hotel offers a A Family Story package, which means you get a second room for the children for free if you’re booking a suite, or at 50% off if you’re in a room. This includes lots of gifts and surprises for all members of the family.

Our girls had board games on their beds, as well as the cutest princess and fairy bedding with crowns on their pillows and ballgowns on their duvets. There were also mini welcome muffins for the girls, and a bottle of excellent Champagne and a cake for us adults to enjoy.

If you let the hotel know 48 hours in advance, you can check in from 10am, which is an absolute game changer for families. It means you can get settled in and pop back to your room during a busy day of sightseeing. So much more convenient than the usual 3pm check in, and means you really get to maximise your stay.

Our room had the biggest smart television I’ve ever seen, which proved perfect for a movie night, and you can even order games consoles to be delivered to your room if you want to keep them quiet for a while.

The swimming pools

The absolute hero of the hotel for the girls had to be the rooftop pool, which overlooks Hyde Park and was deserted on both days we visited. There are super comfy loungers, a bar serving an impressive array of drinks, and you can also order food to enjoy.

It’s always a blessing when the pool water is a comfortable temperature, and the girls jumped straight in here and didn’t want to leave! There are complimentary pool towles for guests to use, and you’re welcome to head up wearing the bath robes in your room.

Unfortunately the health club was closed for refrubishment when we visited (a great reason to go back!), but Surrene Belgravia offers four floors of wellness, open exclusively to hotel guests and club members. As well as a 22m lap pool, there’s a state-of-the-art gym, Tracy Anderson fitness studio, saunas, steam rooms and snow showers to enjoy, plus a treatment menu designed to combat modern-day stress. Yes, please.

Children are able to use the outdoor pool at all hours it opens, and the indoor pool during set family hours in the morning and afternoon.

What are the rooms like?

There are 190 luxurious rooms and suites at The Berkeley, with many able to be linked together to create flexible accommodation for families. Honestly, when we first saw our Grand Pavilion Penthouse, I thought I might just refuse to leave – it was bigger than most homes, with a huge outdoor terrace overlooking the rooftops of London.

Each area of the suite had floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors to make the most of the incredible views, with button-operated blinds and curtains for when we wanted privacy. The wraparound terrace was a real highlight, with our own firepit and blankets making it the perfect place to curl up with a glass of champagne when the girls had fallen asleep.

As well as a dining room, living room, bar area and master suite, we had two walk-in wardrobes, a dressing room and two bathrooms, with state-of-the-art smart toilets, a luxurious slipper bath and his and hers marble sinks. The girls’ room, which was joined to it, had twin beds and its own bathroom, complete with child-sized robes, slippers and toiletries designed for delicate younger skin.

There were fully stocked bars and fridges in both rooms, with complimentary soft drinks and water, which was restocked at turndown. The girls loved being able to help themselves to a bottle of juice or milk, and there are also lots of alcoholic drinks available for adults at an extra charge.

I always judge a hotel room by the quality of the hairdryer and here I had not only a Dyson hairdryer, but also a complete Dyson Air Wrap system located within an immaculately-lit dressing room – absolute heaven for getting ready. Amenities throughout are just exquisite, from the eco-friendly shaving and tooth care kits, to the divine-smelling toiletries.

There are some serious perks to booking a suite here, too, including complimentary massage per adult, clothes pressing on arrival, a 24/7 butler at your disposal, free airport or train station transfers in the house BMW fleet, and even a one-way helicopter transfer if you truly want to arrive in style.

What food and drink is on offer?

Before checking to our room, in we headed to the Cedric Grolet Counter, the hotel’s world-renowned pâtissier-in-residence. We took a front-row seat to watch some of the incredible creations being made, from fruits and flowers that look exactly like the real thing but taste like heaven, to famed croissants.

My pesky nut allergy meant there were a few things I couldn’t have, but I was very envious of the afternoon tea selections I could see being served and thoroughly enjoyed by juicy white chocolate mango filled with creamy mousse and caramelised mango chunks. The staff were again amazing with the girls, explaining what they were doing and serving the best chocolate chip cookies with milk for them to enjoy.

For dinner, we headed down to abc kitchen, the first UK offshoot of chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s acclaimed New York eatery. It's located in the adjoining The Emory, also part of The Maybourne family. Again, there was no need to worry about having the girls with us – our waiter bought them mocktails, and directed us straight to the pizza section of the menu!

For us adults, there was a feast of Mexican and Latin American-inspired dishes to devour. Highlights included heirloom beetroot carpaccio with creamy avocado, crispy dover sole tacos with tangy apple slaw, and heavenly arroz con pollo – a risotto with crackling chicken skin, lemon zest and black pepper. Our waiter was so friendly and accommodating, and we loved being able to watch the world go by outside the restaurant windows, overlooking Hyde Park.

For special occasions, La Môme London is The Berkeley’s flagship restaurant and offers a taste of the French Riviera. The girls are quite fussy eaters, so we’ve made a resolution to dine there next time we have a child-free break.

The hotel’s A Family Story package includes breakfast for all ages, which can be taken in your room or one of the restaurants within the hotel. We decided to take advantage of the butler and full-sized dining room in our suite and order a leisurely breakfast. I absolutely loved that the ordering card wasn’t one of the tick lists you usually get in hotels, but simply said ‘What would you like for breakfast?’. It meant we could all order exactly what we wanted, and it arrived piping hot and beautifully presented.

Things to do

Central London is your playground when you’re staying here, with Hyde Park and its rose garden, memorials and Serpentine lake, literally opposite the hotel. We took a 10-minute stroll down Constitution Hill to Buckingham Palace for the obligatory tourist pictures, before heading to Selfridges for something the girls had wanted to do since it opened – visit the Jellycat Fish & Chips pop-up at Selfridges.

I have to say this is one of the most surreal, but enjoyable, things I’ve ever done! You book a slot to visit the fish and chip counter that’s located within the toy department on the fourth floor. It’s free to book but you have to purchase an item from the counter, all of which are limited edition and not available anywhere else. The girls chose a Lily Fish and Cosy Chips soft toy each, but there are also sausages, fish pie and mushy peas available.

Staff at the counter interact with you as if it were a real fish and chip counter, encouraging you to add salt and vinegar to your toys, and playing games with you as they wrap them up and pop them in a limited edition bag. You also get free stickers, pin badges and limited edition napkins to remember the day by.

How to get there

I drive to central London for work, and by the time you’ve factored in the Ultra Low Emission Zone and Congestion Charge, it’s better value, and less stress, to use public transport.

We travelled first class from Birmingham International to London Euston with Avanti West Coast, which the girls absolutely loved. You get access to the first class lounges at the stations before you travel with complimentary food, drinks and magazines to enjoy, then there is table service onboard for further drinks and snacks, all of which are included.

We’ll never be able to afford to fly first class as a family, but weekend first class train tickets with Avanti start at £63 one way, making it a more affordable slice of luxury.