How to Travel Like a Local in London

In London and have a few hours to spare? Conrad Hotels has a new app that’s a great way to get a self-guided tour of local spots you won’t find in a guidebook. (Photo: Mauro Grigollo/Stocksy)

London’s posh Mayfair District — home to iconic fashion streets like Savile Row and Bond Street — should be a shopper’s paradise. But on the ground, it’s a sloping warren of side streets, tucked-away addresses, and Dickensian building façades that say “go away” rather than “come in.” I recently went dashing around town to find a gift for a friend, and it was like trying to run an errand in that confusing wizards’ village in Harry Potter.

Luckily, I had some help in the form of a new series of short, self-guided tours that have just been created by Hilton’s swank Conrad Hotels brand, which has locations in two dozen cities around the world.

The Conrad London St. James hotel branded some of London’s traditional black cabs to promote its new “Stay Inspired” program. (Photo: Conrad Hotels)

Called 1/3/5, these itineraries are designed for time-strapped travelers who have only one, three, or five hours available to explore.

And an added bonus: For those who can’t afford to stay in Conrad’s five-star rooms, they’re available free on both the Conrad Concierge app and StayInspired.com.

Created by veteran food and travel editor Nilou Motamed — who was formerly editor in chief of Epicurious.com and features director of Travel + Leisure magazine — the itineraries are intended as recommendations for experiences that are off the beaten path.

Conrad’s director of inspiration, Nilou Motamed, at Daylesford Organic. (Photo: Conrad Hotels)

Trying out 1/3/5 on a trip to the Conrad London St. James, I was surprised that there was no mention of Buckingham Palace (which is a very short walk from the hotel) or any of the other nearby institutions associated with centuries of British government and monarchy.

“Because all those things would be in a guidebook,” Motamed explained. “These itineraries are designed to bring you local insider knowledge.”

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The great thing about following a self-guided tour, of course, is that you can break from the program whenever something else catches your eye. So I set out on foot on the one-hour “Meet the Makers of Mayfair” tour — only to be immediately distracted by the music of a regimental band, signifying the changing of the guard at the palace.

A fireplace in a suite at the Conrad London St. James. (Photo: Conrad London St. James)

Of course I went to watch, and that added 30 minutes. (For some reason, cheating on your tour itinerary brings as much guilt and satisfaction as cheating on a diet — it feels like a sneaky victory.)

When I made it up to Mayfair after a pleasant walk through both St. James and Green Parks, I grabbed lunch at the Benugo café, a spot that Motamed recommended. This wonderful find is located in Brown Hart Gardens, a gem of an elevated park that was laid out on top of a 1906 electrical substation and is not visible from the street. Until 2013, it had been closed for most of the previous 25 years — so I’d never heard of it, despite having previously lived in London. The Benugo has perfectly good coffee and quiches, and its location in this hidden oasis makes it a valuable local tip.

The Benugo café is a bit of a hidden gem and a great spot for lunch. (Photo: Benugo)

Then it was off to the New Craftsmen, an artisanal homeware store on North Row. The shop offers “luxury crafts from the British Isles,” including handmade ceramics and textiles, as well as more unusual objects, like a captivating child’s push-along hedgehog toy by artist William Waterhouse, made from odds and ends including a brush, a wire spring, and a broom handle. It was here that I found that birthday present: a beautiful pair of sterling-silver earrings that the Scottish designer Ebba Goring cast from cloth squares that she crocheted herself.

Related: How to Travel Like a Royal in London

Another spot on the tour was hat maker Laura Aspit Livens, who has set up her atelier in a Victorian staircase. This millinery stocks everything from elaborate fascinators perfect for Royal Ascot to Ecuadorian woven Panamas. It is the kind of nook you’d find in a C.S. Lewis novel and something you’d never discover on your own.

Candles at candle maker Rachel Vosper. (Photo: Julia Lundin)

The following day, it was off to a candle-making workshop at the Rachel Vosper boutique in posh Belgravia. That was on the itinerary, but I also discovered the delightful Judith Blacklock Flower School — which wasn’t — a few doors down. Both are great places to book a class and spend an afternoon.

Likewise, a visit to Mast Brothers (the London outpost of the Brooklyn chocolate-makers) landed me in Shoreditch, a hipster enclave where you almost feel naked without a beard and a hoverboard. There, the fun surprise was Boxpark, a row of pop-up stores housed in repurposed shipping containers, offering a selection of chic lifestyle brands like Diptyque candles from Paris and the New York cosmetics label Kiehl’s.

The Conrad London St. James hotel, although patronized mainly by business travelers, is well-located to take advantage of the sights. It has all the benefits and drawbacks of a spanking-new hotel in the middle of an old city: fabulous bathrooms and impeccable service.

Coinciding with my visit was a meeting of the chain’s far-flung general managers, which gave me a chance to find out about the experiences that the 1/3/5 program suggests in other cities. Near the Conrad Algarve, in Portugal, for example, you can go swimming with Portuguese water dogs for half a day.

Animal lovers visiting Algarve can hit the beach with some of the region’s famous Portuguese water dogs. (Photo: Terry Allen/Alamy Stock Photo)

“Ever since President Obama’s family got two Portuguese water dogs, everyone who comes here asks, ‘Where are the dogs?’” the hotel’s general manager, Joachim Hartl, told me. So Motamed found a local breeder, Carla Peralta, to give educational talks and host interactions with the pets.

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Although the Conrad Concierge app is free, it’s not entirely intuitive to use. To find the Portuguese water dog experience, for example, you’d first select “Conrad Algarve” from the destinations tab. But then you’d have to know to click on “Services” (not obvious) and then “Discover Algarve” to find the 1/3/5 list.

Black Seed Bagels is one of the Conrad Concierge’s recommendations for travelers in NYC — and with good reason. (Photo: Black Seed Bagels/Facebook)

I also sampled the 1/3/5 offerings in New York and found that the recommendations there are less about culture than shopping — and often at a budget tailored more to a five-star hotel guest than the general traveler. But there are always some things, like the perfect New York bagel at Black Seed Bagels, that anyone can afford.

The service is currently live for Dubai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Miami, the Maldives, Beijing, Seoul, Istanbul, London, and New York, with the Conrad’s remaining 13 properties to follow.

The verdict: better suited to shoppers with means than budget travelers or cultural tourists, the 1/3/5 recommendations are a great way to get insider tips for high-end boutiques and experiences conveniently on your phone.

Think of it as free advice from a very plugged-in friend.

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