London, United Kingdom—Reported by Coleman Bentley for Elite Traveler, the private jet lifestyle magazine
Long a token of a luxe-living and the sophisticate adult, the smoking lounge has become an endangered species of high-society, threatened by an indoor-smoking ban that has driven tobacco connoisseurs and casual smokers alike out of everywhere but their own humidor-lined living rooms. Thankfully London’s May Fair hotel, with their brand-new Cigar Room, has crafted a unique solution sure to make non-smokers just as happy as their Cuban-loving counterparts.
Riding the wave of COSAs (cosy, outdoor smoking areas) in and around the London area, the Cigar Room arrives with an enveloping atmosphere created by Graham Cox—one of London’s leading cigar designers—and the hotel’s very own design team. Swinging chairs and daybeds dot the first floor areas, scattered amongst the live fireplaces and mesh chainmail walls that lie just beyond Silvena Rowe’s esteemed Quince Restaurant.
Atmosphere aside, a cigar lounge is only as great as the cigars it houses, and unsurprisingly the Cigar Room boasts a diverse, super-premium collection. With over forty different stogies to enjoy, the Cigar Room is sure to offer a smoke for every bloke and, shucking tired smoking lounge traditions, lady. Muscular options like the Cuban Behike 52 Cohiba will appeal to the travel-weary adventurer, while lighter selections, such as the Hoyo de Monterrey, are sure to provide the perfect accent to a warm summer evening.
The stacked humidors are accompanied by a full top-shelf liquor selection, offering the perfect apres-dinner tipple to complement your carefully-curled smoke-rings. A selection of signature martinis is led by the Rococo Chocolate Martini, blended with decadent single-estate chocolate, but it is the Springbank 1968 sherry cask whiskey that is the true golden (or more accurately, amber) child of the Cigar Room’s fine-liquor collection. One of only three bottles on the planet, the Spinrgbank ’68 is rivaled only by the Voyage de Delamain Grande Champagne Cognac, which eloquently encourages one to spoil themselves with a price-tag of $26,340.
At your disposal is a Hunters & Frankau trained staff of Cigar Sommeliers who help to make the luxury lifestyle as stress-free as possible, offering cigar advice, cocktail pairing, and a welcoming attitude to those new to the smoking-lounge experience. “We have hunted far and wide to indulge our patrons with superior and exciting products,” explains lead Somellier Sophia Christoforidou. “We have created a well-rounded experience with complementary tastes and flavors that will appeal to the aficionado as well as those seeking a new experience in a comfortable yet luxurious and stylish area.”
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All things considered, when the Cigar Room officially opens this month it is sure, as Anthony Lee May Fair Hotel’s General Manger Anthony Lee puts it, to provide “those more interested in modern style, service and comfort than a restrictive set of rules from an imaginary bye-gone age,” with the perfect combination of tobacco, liquor, and personal liberty.
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