Mini breaks: InterContinental Park Lane Hotel, London

The pretty, porcelain teacup starts to fizz ferociously; white smoke pours over the rim. “It’s safe to drink, but I wouldn’t swallow,” the bespectacled German barman, Volker Burth, advises.

I ask what he means; his face breaks into a grin. He says he’s referring to the dry ice, in this, his (alcoholic) version of tea served at London’s InterContinental Park Lane hotel.

My ‘tea’ (or gin-based cocktail) was poured from a slender matching teapot that didn’t have a lid, although I guess there was no need. The drink’s served ice-cold, it just looks as if it’s steaming. It’s deep red in colour and smells of redcurrants.

I take a sip, studiously avoiding a lump of dry ice effervescing on the surface. The cocktail’s very sweet but surprisingly refreshing: a combination of cherries and cassis. 

“It’s called Poor Man’s Punch,” Volker says, explaining that the idea for the name came from Londoners’ obsession with gin in the 1820s. The spirit was so popular that 80% of people in the capital were distilling it in their own homes, producing it so cheaply that even the poor could afford it.

Volker’s version costs £16 a cup, but I’m sure it tastes a whole lot better than its namesake. It’s made from Hendrick’s gin, fresh lemonade, cucumber, orange, mint and strawberries.

Poor Man’s Punch is just one of a variety of gin-based cocktails offered at the InterContinental’s new Arch Bar which also serves 25 different types of gin, many sourced locally. My husband, a gin fanatic, would love it. 

I’m a wine person myself and mentioned this to Volker when I drew up a barstool. But I could tell he wanted to share his enthusiasm for gin regardless, and before I knew it, we’d embarked on a tasting session.

We began with a three year old gin wine from France which Volker promised would “take me to the beach” when I drank it. I didn’t exactly feel as if I were on the sand, and probably wouldn’t order it again, but it was a fresh, clean taste with hints of lemon, juniper, coriander and nutmeg.

Next, a drop of Prudence, a gin-based cocktail named after the first active pot (distillation vat) in London, which (200 years later) is still in use to today. It was a cloudy, olive-green colour, a blend of basil and lemon. It became my favourite.

Prudence was followed by something my tutor described as “wonderfully funky”. It was the cocktail the InterContinental plans to serve at Christmas: a throat-warming blend of gin, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla. Its name is still under wraps.

I left Volker still busying himself with his botanicals and went to dine in the hotel’s restaurant, named after its chef, Theo Randall, an Englishman with a passion for pasta. Randall won best Italian restaurant of the year in the 2010 London Restaurant Awards and was credited last year for the InterContinental Park Lane being named Best Hotel in the UK for Food, by Conde Nast Traveller. He’s also written a cookbook, ‘Pasta’.

His restaurant, adorned with coloured glass vases and white gladioli, offers seasonal produce with an emphasis on fresh, Italian cooking. As the wine waiter offered me a glass of prosecco he revealed how Randall drives the restaurant manager crazy by refusing to open on Bank Holidays if he can’t get fresh deliveries.

I chose crab and samphire to start, followed by Randall’s signature dish, Capelleti, which he adapted from a traditional Italian tortellini recipe that’s usually served as a starter on Christmas day. 

My dish contained no more than ten parcels of ravioli but they were so plump, buttery and rich that I struggled to finish. For pudding I tried a flour-free chocolate cake, with a texture that was more like a melt-in-your-mouth mousse than a sponge. 

Back in my suite, I skimmed the bookshelf for a little bedtime reading. But “The Three Musketeers”, “Vanity Fair” and “Our Mutual Friend” seemed a little heavy going for last thing at night. I was surprised Randall’s cookbook wasn’t on the shelves, but maybe management was worried it wouldn’t stay there for long?

Very early the next morning, when there was still mist over the trees, I stepped onto my small balcony and spotted Big Ben over an expanse of chimney pots and green of Green Park. The hotel’s ideally placed for London’s open spaces (Hyde Park and St James Park are also nearby) while neighbouring Mayfair and Knightsbridge are just a short taxi ride away, should you fancy getting down to that shopping.

I enjoyed breakfast at the hotel’s Cookbook Café, which specialises in weekend brunches. It has the feel of a country kitchen with a central wooden table laden with fruit, cold meats and pastries. Tea and coffee are served in large, white mugs.

Breakfast was a relaxed and pleasurable experience. But equally enjoyable, or to be honest, a little more so, was the hotel’s spa, where after a day of Christmas shopping you can indulge in four festive treatments as part of a special package (the Exotic Lime and Ginger Salt Glow).

Although I haven’t bought a single present yet and dread having to deal with long queues and crowds, the fear of what’s to come was enough to make me feel justisfied in trying the treatment too.

The session began with a full body exfoliation, followed by a hot stone massage, an Elemis anti-ageing mini facial, a 30 minute manicure and a lime and ginger mocktail. For nearly two hours my therapist, Amaroa, worked her magic. I left, feeling perfectly pampered and ready to embrace the run-up to Christmas with a serene, ‘bring it on’ smile.

Intercontinental London Park Lane: www.intercontinental.com

A gin tasting session at The Arch Bar featuring four botanicals costs £18 per person.

Gin cocktail master classes involve the creation of two classic gin cocktails: £25 per person.

Festive spa package: available until 31st January 2012. 1 hr 45 minutes £120 

Theo Randall restaurant, The Arch Bar, Wellington Lounge, Cookbook café, InterContinental Spa and hairdressing salon. Internet access provided (wifi has initial fee of £15)

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