Hotel Runner: The Rosewood London

I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels over the past couple months - some offering great experiences, some not so great - so I thought I’d capture the different hotels, what they offered from the perspective of a training athlete and runner on the go. I wondered whether to kick off the series with the worst or the best, but because I was so inspired by the best, first up is a recent London hotel that blew my mind. Read on to find out why

THE ROSEWOOD, LONDON

By far one of the best hotels I’ve stayed in, ever. Also the most runner-friendly and accommodating. First, it’s beautiful. Like stunningly, architecturally beautiful. They have freakin caged birds for pete’s sake! I spent any free time with these little dudes and I may have almost convinced my fiancé that we, too, must have some birds to complete our #cohabitaetion decorating (update: for anyone tuning in, my fiancé’s name is Tae hence all the name puns - #shesTAEken for our wedding, #cohabiTAEting for our life change etc).

Back to the hotel - It was a very short trip, two nights. But i had to fit in a 9 mile run for my United Airlines NYC Half Marathon which was ~4 weeks out.

LOCATION

The location was perfect - close enough to the Thames so that I could bridge run. I mapped a route that would take me west toward Vauxhall Bridge, cross over, and then ran back east toward Tower Bridge, and home. This was a full 9 Miles. I have to say it was beautiful on the west bound, but as expected there was a TON of pedestrian traffic on the east bound side headed toward the Eye/Tower Bridge. It was a beautiful day (tank top weather). Route below for reference! Also, Starbucks in London offers Oat Milk (I stopped for one post-run on the cool down walk back to the hotel - delish!)

SLEEP

I slept impeccably. Comfortable beds, very quiet rooms despite the construction and noisy London streets. Their windows are definitely sound proofed; there are 100% black out curtains and they WORK. You will not have any issue sleeping here.

FOOD

Avocado toast. If there’s one thing the Brits do well, it’s toast. I look forward to toast and jam every time I’m in London. But the sweet surprise of seeing Avo Toast ? This American was pleased! I ordered this on day 1 with a refreshing juice (a ginger/green juice).

I ate dinner in their hotel restaurant, which was nothing to write home about. it was fine. I do recommend Scarfes Bar though, for their inventive cocktail list, live music and French Fries (or “chips” as they say).

On the morning of my run, I looked for a room service item that would most closely resemble my normal pre-run breakfast. Simple oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, peanut butter. I found the first two. The third would not be so easy, or so I thought, since Europeans and the Brits for some reason refuse to acknowledge the 7th wonder of the world, peanut butter. I called guest services to see if they might have some PB that they could send on the side, mentioned I was going for a run and it’s what I usually eat, and they had it!!

(Sidenote: this is how i will eat eggs from now on)

Knowing i’d be running for more than an hour, I wanted to ensure I had fuel in case I burned out (though I didn’t think I would). In close proximity to the hotel (on the way to the water), there was a runners shop (Runners Need) where I grabbed a Science In Sport energy gel. Has anyone tried these? You don’t need to consumer with water, which is a game changing concept for cold winter runs where water fountains are non-existent. I didn’t take it, and I still have yet to try it. My go-to is Huma (you can find all my go-tos here!)

After my run (which was so warm i had to remove my top layer!!) I walked into this thing of beauty:

Dear Ms Giordano

I trust you enjoyed your run. I hope protein balls and an apple-ginger juice boosts your energy.

I MEAN... they didn’t have to do that right? They were already so accommodating and lovely (that’s what you get from a 5 star hotel, I know). But what you don’t always get is that extra step. I would have been happy and satisfied without it, but it was SO thoughtful. And it 100% boosted my energy before I had to head out to start my work day.