When I arrived back to the hotel, my bags had already been taken to my room so I climbed the stairs to Room 16 – the infamous round room – at the Portobello Hotel and turned the key. It was plush – opulent to the extreme. I put down my shopping, explored the room and then laid down on the soft doona stretched across the perfectly round bed, popped the champagne cork and ordered some room service (mixed olives and tapenades to accompany my champagne and fish pie with salmon, smoked haddock and prawns for dinner). After weeks of budget hotels and hostels, it felt decadent, just the way I had intended.
The room was beautiful, just the way it was pictured on the website, with a beautiful canopy hanging over the bed, a couch, the antique shower and also a regular shower and a small mini bar and sink hidden away in a cabinet. There were robes and slippers (I have stayed places with robes before but never slippers) and lots of luxurious big towels. [‘Sweet Dreams’ – The Eurythmics – it sounds very 80s now but I remember thinking of this as very different at the time it was released – probably because it wasn’t sung by a boy with a mullet.]
I lay on the bed sipping my champagne, utilising the free internet and watching some telly on the Bang and Olufsen screen, waiting for my food to arrive. Sure, the Portobello is a luxe hotel designed to be perfect for a love in with that special someone or in the case of many guests, that group of special someones you brought home from your show – there are mirrors everywhere but not in a tacky on the ceiling way. Subtle smoky mirrors surround the bath while there is a gilt edges oval mirror at each end of the room. However, its decadence is also matched with a sense of homeliness from the private gardens at the back of the hotel and the suburban obscurity of its entrance to the friendly welcoming staff. It’s easy to see why so many rock stars choose the hotel. Tina Turner is rumoured to have loved it so much that she bought the house next door. My reason for choosing it (apart from the opulence) was that The Sex Pistols stayed here (in 1976 and 1996).
After dinner (and some champagne and those Harrods chocolates) I tested out the antique shower. First using the spray, then the shower and finally enjoying a bath. After that it was more champagne and chocolates (and wondering whether at 40 I was too old to become a rockstar’s girlfriend. Probably but it was certainly a great way to spend my birthday. [‘Today’ – The Smashing Pumpkins – the perfect pop song, this reminds me of Canberra winters playing stereo round robin with friends]
In the morning I awoke late, taking full advantage of the 12pm checkout. I decided on the full English breakfast and had it delivered to my room, enjoying the bird song from the garden as I ate. I then bade farewell to the luxury, leaving my bags at the hotel for collection later in the day.
