Whilst not every cloud has a silver lining, we had one that really did. To get some context check out last week’s blog post – ‘I was assaulted’.
The hotel bar that I spoke about in my last post, turns out to be that of the Great Northern Hotel. A stunning building that I must have walked past a hundred times, glanced at but never really noticed. But, it seems that in running away from Mr C, I ran into some of the most lovely people, the staff at the GNH.
They were all fantastic and couldn’t do enough for us. We were there with the police for a couple of hours and they kept bring over food and drinks and checking that everything was ok. Towards to end, this lovely guy called Julian (from the hotel) came and introduced himself to J and I. He checked that we were ok and left us with his business card saying that he would be happy to help if there was anything else that he could do.
We were totally overwhelmed at how wonderful the hotel had been and so J send Julian a text the next day simply to thank him and his staff for being so fantastically helpful and lovely to us. Julian sent a lovely reply and invited us to stay at the Great Northern Hotel, with dinner and breakfast included, as his guests. What!? I know. He was really shocked by what had happened to Belle and I and wanted to do something nice for us. Isn’t it wonderful when total strangers are outrageously generous?
So we went, and here it is…
We have never ever stayed anywhere this fancy and it was such a treat (even if we did have little Belle with us). A few friends asked whether we would be taking her with us. Whilst there are many things that I love about the bedsharing, breastsleeping (yes that is a thing), breastfeeding, baby wearing journey the flip side is that leaving her for the night is just not an option. So our romantic getaway for two became three!
Hey, a sleepless night is a sleepless night, so we may as well be in an ‘exquisitely designed luxury boutique hotel’, right?!
I did get a little break. J took Belle out for a walk whilst I showered (alone!) and got ready for dinner. Those of you without kids are probably wondering why that is such a big deal. But, when you are a Mummy, showering without singing Elmo’s song and playing peekaboo through the shower curtain is such a treat. I even got to shave BOTH legs and use conditioner. Win. Plus, J returned with a sleeping baby and beautiful bunch of flowers.
The bedroom and bathroom were beautiful. Mind you, that is a given in such a fancy hotel, but there were so many lovely additional touches that just really made it that little bit extra special.
For example, at the ends of each corridor on each floor is a cute pantry with tea, coffee, a freshly baked cakes and jars full of sweets and treats for you to help yourself whenever you fancy. Hello midnight breastfeeding treats!
I especially love that the mason jars were full of Tunnock’s snacks. So perfectly British of them. I was with an American Mummy friend the other day and she had never had a Teacake before. What a crime. It helps me sleep at night knowing that tourists are being exposed to teacakes as standard at this hotel. Phew.
As if that wasn’t enough. King’s Cross has a special place in my heart. It is where we found home and community when moving to London and so this view was the perfect finishing touch to our stay.
Thank you to the Great Northern Hotel for our stay. We are forever grateful for your generosity, compassion and teacakes.
