The screening room at One Aldwych, London
We gave up on the multiplex experience some years ago (we don’t count the Hackney Picturehouse – which is our go-to cinema for anything in 3D with plenty of supervillains). We prefer the smaller, luxurious screening rooms at Soho House, the Dunhill club and in the Everyman chain (we remember when the Screen on the Green was the most uncomfortable cinema in London, now it’s a gem). We love the Rio in Dalston, of course; a cinema so gloriously retro that you expect the original Pearl & Dean trailer to start playing, followed by static images advertising local kebab houses. But when it comes to catching a classic in the stalls equivalent of a sumptuous armchair, it doesn’t get much better than an evening in the screening room at One Aldwych – a modern landmark on the Strand that really brought contemporary design to London’s five star hotels for the first time, waaaay back, at the end of the 20th century.
The “Film & Fizz” evening is a great concept and weekend treat: for an all-in price (£49.50) you get champagne, popcorn, a recent or classic movie (Alice, Birdman, The Theory of Everything…), and then a three course dinner in the hotel’s dining room, Axis.
We suggest making a night of it, and booking one of the circular Studio Suites, which give you great wrap-around views of Waterloo Bridge. The décor at One Aldwych still looks fresh and modern; it’s more of a Mercer than a Standard. The beds and linens are as luxe as you can get, and we love that swimming pool, lit like a nightclub, with music piped through the water. C
One Aldwych Hotel, London WC2B 4BZ, UK
020-7300 1000; onealdwych.com