Month: April 2023

When you stay at one of our London properties, you’re always in close proximity to a safe, scenic jogging track. Whether you’re working up a sweat on a four-mile run, or taking in the city sights on a light, local trot, you’re bound to find something to fit your fitness levels.

Curzon Street properties:

As one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods in London, Mayfair is always worth the run-by. Take in the elegant architecture, high-end shops and luxurious restaurants, then break out from the concrete into Green Park, less than 2-minutes from our Curzon Street properties.

Green Park Loop (2.5 miles):

It’s hard to beat the convenience and scenery of Green Park with over 40 acres of pristine garden territory maintained year-round. A jog around this route also provides a glance at a couple of famous landmarks, such as Buckingham Palace and the Canada Gate.

Four Royal Parks Circuit (6.57 miles):

If you’re looking for a wholesome way to explore the city centre, you could do a lot worse than the Four Royal Parks Circuit, which will steer you through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens pathways bringing into view a number of noteworthy landmarks, such as the Serpentine Lake, Speakers’ Corner, and the Diana Memorial Fountain. The route is flat and nearly traffic free, just be certain to visit before dusk, when Kensington Gardens closes.

No1 The Mansions, Kensington:

Amongst London’s most famous and charming boroughs, Kensington and Chelsea is unsurprisingly a delightful destination for a jog. In just an hour’s circuit, you’re liable to spot celebrities, sight 19th century architecture and even catch a glimpse of the Thames at sunset (if you know where to run).

Holland Park Loop (2.5 miles):

Located just a short jog from our Mansions property, the Holland Park route rambles north through luxury shops, upscale restaurants and historical buildings, all the way to the famous Kyoto Garden, a gift to the city of London from the city of Kyoto, in Japan.

Regent’s Canal Towpath (7.5 miles):

If you’re feeling a little more motivated, you might instead head south towards the river. By following the canal towpath, you can drink in (not literally) the waterside atmosphere and then head along towards London Zoo and past Regent’s Park.

Is it possible to practise sustainability in a city of over 9 million? According to the mayor’s ‘1.5-degree compatible plan’, the answer is ‘yes’ – with a heavy focus on eco building, public parks and zero-emissions mass public transportation. 

London is going green, and guests of ByMansley, in both the Mayfair or Kensington properties, will find no shortage of natural spaces, sustainable travel options or eco-minded restaurants to help them reduce carbon footprint and stay healthy in the process.

Learn more

We are delighted to announce that we have been nominated for two awards at the 2023 Serviced Apartment Awards. The Serviced Apartment Awards are regarded as ‘The Oscars’ of the Serviced Apartment industry, so to have been shortlisted for Best Operator 51-200 units and Best Architecture/Exterior External Design is very exciting. Being recognised as one of the best in our industry is a gratifying testament to all of the hardworking people that help create the Mansley difference.

The Best Operator Award takes into consideration the guest experience that each property provides, how innovative our products are and how we communicate with our guests before, during and after their stay. We are judged on our engagement with both guests and the hospitality community, the safety features that we have in place to ensure that our apartments are a safe space for our guests, as well as how we distribute to the marketplace and how we face up to our sustainability responsibilities. To have our efforts recognised as being amongst the best in the industry is a great honour.

The nomination also brings back great memories from our triumph in the Best Operator category at the 2022 awards. We are looking forward to finding out who emerges victorious in 2023.

The Best Architecture/External Design award is for our Strozzi Palace property in Cheltenham. Strozzi Palace is a unique and still much-loved landmark in Cheltenham the life of which began in the mid-1890s when a town planner had a grand vision for housing a new urban utility power station. The exterior was based on Palazzo Strozzi – one of the most important examples of Renaissance architecture in Florence, Italy and is a Grade II listed building. These days the building is home to the six luxury suites that make up Strozzi Palace by Mansley.

Mansley Serviced Apartments are a collection of chic and stylish serviced luxury apartments available to rent in the UK’s most prestigious locations, including Mayfair, Kensington, Edinburgh, Cheltenham and the Scottish Highlands. Escape with us, at: www.bymansley.com

We spoke with our head of housekeeping to get the craftiest, most effective tips for keeping your home (or serviced apartment) as clean as a whistle.

Unless you belong to a very specific personality type, cleaning the home is not considered to be a ‘fun’ activity. This poses a problem when cleaning season coincides with a particularly engrossing series of Married At First Sight Australia (we trusted you, Dan). If you want to minimise time spent scrubbing and maximise time spent luxuriating, you’ll need a few expert tips – hold onto your feather dusters, here’s our brief guide to spring cleaning the ByMansley way.

Divide & Conquer

A job shared is a job halved, as they say. That’s why we’ve built a network of professional housekeeping staff to ensure that every nook, cranny and brass-tinted doorknob is kept to an impeccable standard. You may not have your own team, but enlisting the help of even one other person can make a huge difference to the workload. If they need convincing, just offer a small incentive, preferably something sugar-coated and edible.

Simplify Your Cleaning Products

There are literally millions of cleaning products all vying for your hygienic attention. It’s important, then, to pinpoint the key players – this will prevent storage cupboard cramming, save you money and may even help protect the environment.

Tools:

• A magic sponge. When you have impossible stains, it helps to have a touch of magic – these sponges work by reacting with water, forming a microstructure as hard as glass and acting like (very fine) sandpaper on surfaces. Perfect for dirt and grime.
• A toothbrush. For miniature details, it’s tough to beat the bristles of a toothbrush. We know, there’s something deeply unsettling about using the same utensil to scrub sink grime as you would your molars, but it works! All we recommend is that you keep your dental and home cleaning brushes separate… very separate.
• A cotton cloth. Microfiber is all the rage right now and for good reason – it’s great for dust and is even believed to protect against viruses. That said, it’s also derived from petroleum, so, if you want to stay eco-healthy, you’re better off with recycled cotton. See: old t-shirts, pillow cases or ugly curtains.
• A spray bottle. As you most likely already know, the modern cleaning zeitgeist is all about spraying stuff. What stuff you’ll be spraying, however, is a point of conversation. That’s why we recommend purchasing a handful of empty bottles, so you can later decide which concoctions are best suited for your potentially non-refundable furniture.

Solutions:

• Water. No splitting the atom with this one, but it’s amazing how many of us overlook H2O in our quest to render a room spotless. When it comes to floors, aim for a hot (not boiling) temperature, then switch to cold for when you need to dilute other cleaning products.
• White vinegar. Vinegar is the ultimate all-purpose, all-natural cleaning substance, specifically the colourless, white variety. It works just as well on windows, microwaves, tiles, stoves and dishwashers as it does on your caesar salad. For the right composition, balance one cup of vinegar with one cup of distilled water.
• Lemons. With 5% acid, lemon juice is nature’s citric solution for mould and odours. Squeeze one into your spray bottle and scrub black mould immediately after application for quick results. Alternatively, you could cut and soak a few in a bowl of water to deodorise a room, dustbin or fridge, then use what’s left for your celebratory margaritas.
• Baking soda. Do you smell that? It’s not the whiff of a fresh bloomer, nor the aroma of blueberry muffins… no, it’s the smell of opportunity. The opportunity to effectively scrub surfaces of grease, water stains, smells and more using the semi-mystical power of baking soda. The white stuff works great on sinks, drains and ovens mixed in with hydrogen peroxide or you can mix it with vinegar to clear out drains.

Decluttering

Post-Christmas, the house is often brimming with things we don’t need or that have outworn their use – insurance coupons, holey socks, last night’s takeaway (actually, that might still be good) – you get the picture. Decluttering, then, often requires a herculean effort, complete with scheduling, allocated boxes and spreadsheets. Yes, spreadsheets, we’re serious.

• • Scheduling. The decluttering process takes time, and that means you need to find the time to get things done. Scheduling a time and date in your calendar is a surefire way to ensure you don’t procrastinate and actually get cracking.
  • Delegation. Delegating rooms to days and people to rooms will help compartmentalise the decluttering process and make everything a bit less daunting. It may be that one room takes one day and so forth – by breaking things up, you’ll get more done and feel more rewarded in the process!
  • Organisation. Knowing who’s doing what and which items are due to go where ahead of time can save you countless hours of confusion and stress in the future. Okay, it might sound like overkill, but an excel doc can really help when it comes to keeping track of things and getting your team singing from the same (spread)sheet.
  • Boxes. Your best friends, your worst enemies – boxes are the literal building blocks that make up a clean home empire. Establish a labelling system ahead of time and be sure to keep one spare for any ‘maybe’ items that you’re unsure about throwing out.

Upkeep

Ah, home clean home. Behold your new domain of sparkling faucets, pristine tiling, spotless fabrics and appreciative/beleaguered subjects. Glorious, isn’t it? Just remember one thing – it’s easier to keep clean than to reclean. With a regular, weekly approach to upkeep, you can better avoid future dirt build-ups, mould damage and immovable stains. Keeping a rota will help ensure everyone is doing their bit and no room goes neglected. Who knows, with a good attitude, there might not be a need for a spring clean next year!

For more impeccable taste, terrible humour and truly exclusive exposés, subscribe to our newsletter or check back next Monday for the next weekly blog post.

Mansley Serviced Apartments are a collection of chic and stylish serviced luxury apartments available to rent in the UK’s most prestigious locations, including Mayfair, Kensington, Edinburgh, Cheltenham and the Scottish Highlands. Escape with us, at: www.bymansley.com

Image by Pexels

Last week, the Met Office confirmed what every parent secretly fears in the build-up to Easter. Dust off the Scrabble, dig up the umbrellas and stock up on Nurofen – it’s rain. Pouring down unfailingly on every picnic, park walk and egg-shaped dream. Thankfully, with a little creativity and a high tolerance for carpet stains, you can make the best of the bad weather – here are a few ideas to dip your wellies in.

1) Baking

When you’re stuck indoors, there are few activities that tick the hunger, stimulation and productivity boxes quite like a good few hours of baking. Think mini aprons, healthy recipes, and blunt knives. Expect broken eggs, premature eating of chocolate chips, and plenty of sugar highs. Healthy(ish) suggestions include:

• Garden carrot cake
• Blueberry muffins
• Cornflake tart

2) Science Experiments

Whether your kids are budding ecologists, palaeontologists or something more akin to Dr Frankenstein, you’ll find no shortage of homemade experiment ideas that are sure to provide both entertainment and education (and that do not involve the reconstruction of your family gerbil). Start off with some easy concoctions, such as: 

• Slime making
• Volcano building
• Avocado trees

3) Arts & Crafts

There’s nothing better on a rainy day than a good couple of hours spent making stuff. Arts & crafts can take the form of origami, poster painting or even papier-mâché. Start by designating a messy space (preferably on a cleanable surface, away from the expensive rug) and set a nice, general objective, like:

• Build an alien planet
• Craft a character costume
• Make puppets for a show

4) Museums

Contrary to popular belief, rainy days can also involve the use of feet. You can, for example, use feet to walk into museums, where you’ll find objects of fascination, such as dinosaur bones, rocket ship replicas and other exhausted parents. Here are a few of our top recommendations, based on ByMansley locations:

London

• Natural History Museum
• Horniman Museum
• Museums

Edinburgh

• Our Dynamic Earth
• National Museum of Scotland
• Scottish Storytelling Centre

Highlands

• Highland Folk Museum
• Inverness Museum & Art Gallery
• Treasures of the Earth

Cheltenham

• Jet Age Museum
• The Wilson Art Gallery & Museum

5) Home Karaoke

With home karaoke, everyone wins. Your kids get to blast ‘Let It Go’ with the ferocity of a thousand suns. You get to sing ‘Do You Believe in Life After Love’ without anyone on the tube complaining. All you need is a plug-in microphone and an internet connection for Youtube.

6) Roll With It

The fifth and final stage of rainy holiday grief is ‘acceptance’. Coming to terms with your aquatic fate can quickly turn the April showers into, dare I say it, an opportunity for adventure. Why not throw on your raincoats, slip on the wellies and find some puddles to jump in? Or you could embark on a wildlife safari – frogs, lizards, worms, snails and even leeches are all barmy for wet weather.

For more impeccable taste, terrible humour and truly exclusive exposés, subscribe to our newsletter or check back next Monday for the weekly blog post.

Mansley Serviced Apartments are a collection of chic and stylish serviced luxury apartments available to rent in the UK’s most prestigious locations, including Mayfair, Kensington, Edinburgh, Cheltenham and the Scottish Highlands. Escape with us, at: www.bymansley.com

Image by Pixabay