There are countless websites and guides telling you how to save the pennies or ‘splurge on a budget’, but none telling you how to splash the cash. So we’ve decided to redress the balance by putting together this guide to spending like there’s no tomorrow. You never know when that lottery ticket might be yours, and you best be prepared for when it happens.
Exclusive dinners
Fine dining is always a good way to splurge, and you’re spoilt for choice in a city with over 60 Michelin-starred restaurants. Michel Roux Jr’s Le Gavroche is in the Guinness Book of Records for having served the most expensive meal ever. The bill came to around £12,500, and considering it was 1997 it’s an even bigger spend. Admittedly, most of it was spent on wine, so even here you’d need the constitution of an ox to eat your way through enough boudin noir and scallops at such cost.
To make a dinner especially memorable, book the chef’s table. This allows you to watch the chef work and have an exclusive room for you and your friends, away from the other diners (quelle horreuer!) There’s usually a set menu and a minimum number of people are required to book. Check out our favourites here.
VIP treatment
Hire a private box next time you go to the opera or the ballet. The boxes at the Royal Albert Hall are particularly lush, with your own personal champagne waiter and fine food from caterers endorsed by Valentino and Raymond Blanc. What more could you want?
Reserve a table at swanky nightclubs Boujis, DSTRKT and Amika to mingle with celebrities like Rihanna, Cara Delevingne, Will.i.am and Rita Ora.
Get VIP tickets for festivals like Lovebox and Field Day to fast-track the queue and gain entry to the VIP area. Here you won’t need to queue for ages to buy a drink and there’ll be nicer toilets.
\n\nR&R
Spend a whole day at a luxury spa such as the ones at the Dorchester, the Mandarin Oriental or the Bulgari hotels. The Berkeley has a rooftop pool from which you can see over Hyde Park, and their full day spa experience includes a hot and cold stone massage, facial, manicure, pedicure and champagne. For couples there are spa rooms for two at Ushvani and the Langham.
Book a suite at a swanky hotel. For rock ‘n’ roll there’s Sanctum Soho. The Junior Deluxe Suite has a circular bed and above it hangs a huge liquid metal disc. Before you retire to your haven of rest (or debauchery) there’s a hot tub and a 24 hour bar on the roof to be experienced. One of the most romantic hotels is the Portobello in Notting Hill, with its beautifully furnished rooms boasting Victorian bathtubs and four poster beds. For the ultimate in refined, good old fashioned, splurging there’s the Lanesborough by Hyde Park, which provides 24 hour butler service.
Style
Gents - get a suit made at one of the tailors on Savile Row. Gieves & Hawkes dress Prince William, while Richard Anderson has outfitted the very dapper Bryan Ferry. Additionally check out the tailors on Jermyn Street, as well as shirt and shoe makers New & Lingwood.
Ladies – buy expensive underwear from Agent Provocateur, Rigby & Peller or Myla. Because they say it’s best to feel beautiful from the inside out.
Create your own scent at Jo Malone. Are you spicy with a touch of fruitiness? Fresh with a hint of woodiness? Mix and match notes and rest assured no one else will smell like you.
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Invest in art. You may end up making a killing if your artist of choice becomes famous, otherwise you’ve got something beautiful to be admired in your home.
Join a luxury gym and try out all the facilities. Third Space has an ozone-treated swimming pool and a retro gym with ladders and ropes alongside a very comprehensive timetable of classes. Home House offers fencing and the uber-popular High-intensity Interval Training, plus membership gives you access to the other benefits of the club, such as the restaurant and bar. For the ultimate in deluxe workouts there’s the Corinthia Hotel, which surely has the most glamorous gym in London. There are different fitness packages to choose from depending on your needs and four membership levels. Sign up to their black membership and they’ll throw in valet and concierge services.
Book a private capsule at the London Eye and have a party in the sky. You can invite up to 24 guests and customise the experience by choosing food and drinks.
Join a private members’ club. Shoreditch House is the most fashionable of the crop, Blacks is sophisticated and grown up, while Annabel’s is the most exclusive, having hosted many royals and celebrities since opening in the 60s. To join any members’ club you’ll need to be recommended by an existing member, after that it’s just a case of paying the fee and obeying the club rules, which in the case of Annabel’s include not wearing leggings and not taking your ex-wife (allegedly).
