A London Family Break: Duck Style
by Take the Family
7 October 2008
We set off from our local train station on an unusually sunny Friday afternoon, our destination – London. To be more precise, the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel a five star hotel only a stone’s throw from Holborn tube station and a short walk from Covent Garden. We were invited to take part in their family duck weekend, a weekend we hoped to be packed with fun and of course ducks!
After a short taxi ride through bustling traffic, we drove through the spectacular arch and into the inner courtyard of this magnificent building. There was a slight intrepidation in our step as we were greeted by the doorman, were we really going to survive this grand 5 star hotel with 2 young children or more to the point was the hotel going to survive us? We soon found that there was something rather refreshing about walking into a posh hotel with youngsters, lots of lovely warm smiles which delighted the children who proceeded to do olympic laps of the lobby on their trunkis waving at all. The children were given their special duck passports and activity folders – both of which went down extremely well. The passports gave them their own mission, they had to go around the hotel and follow the instructions – telling jokes to the concierge to make them laugh, singing songs in guest relations and shaking hands with the lounge hostess, to name a few. A duck stamp was received at the end of each task and when completed a gift (the duck variety of course).
Our room (an executive club) was huge (something which is usually very uncharacteristic of London hotel rooms) with two double beds and a sofa, plus loads of room for the children to run around. Much to the delight of the kids they had their own robes and they spent ages discovering all the extras from shower caps to shoe shine cloths. The pierce de resistance however were the amazing cup cakes (true American style) each with white chocolate ducks in the top and hand made duck sugar lollies. (the same chef has produced amazing sugar sculptures on show in the lounge)
A short walk from the hotel was Covent Garden and we wandered off for something to eat. We settled on Belgo’s, the Belgium themed restaurant famous for mussels, and where the kids eat free. Our waiter was fantastic, the food arrived quickly and he then proceeded to keep the children entertained with paper aeroplanes and paper hats despite being rushed off his feet. Back to the hotel with two exhausted children and two rather tired parents. The room was big enough that we didn’t need to fall straight into bed with the children and were able to have our own ‘quiet time’.
After a surprisingly good nights sleep due partly to the journey but also the quietness of our room and the crisp cotton sheets, we woke to blue skies and sunshine. The buffet breakfast was one of the best I have seen, a great choice from traditional English, Continental cheese and meat to American pancakes and waffles. The children were in their element helping themselves from the buffet accepting everything that was offered and relishing their hot chocolate.
Following our rather lavish breakfast it was off to find the start of the Duck Tour, part of the fabulous Chancery Cout's Duck Weekend package, as we procrastinated on whether to walk or catch a cab a helpful concierge suggested we walk as far as we can then catch a cab if we get tired. The perfect solution and the great thing about London black cabs is that you can just wheel your pushchair in. We actually in the end walked all the way and picked up Duck from near the London Eye. The Duck or DUKWs is an amphibious vehicle originally used to take troops ashore in the D-day landings and now transformed for tourists. The tour around the streets was very imformative and the guide kept it interesting and fun for both adults and children. The best bit was just past the MI6 building where we swapped driver for pilot and drove, at what seemed to be full speed, straight into the water. Cruising up the river Thames to the houses of parliament was a surreal experience, bearing in mind we were still in our ‘bus’ but also highly enjoyable.
Equipped with our 'bible' Rhonda Carrier's London with Kids, the rest of the weekend was spent visiting parks, eating ice-creams and showing the children our old haunts. We all thoroughly enjoyed our London family break, everybody we met was family friendly and helpful from the taxi driver to the hotel staff. The Renaissance Chancery Court is such a find and highly recommended, I really feel that we will be returning and next time I’ll ensure I leave time to enjoy the spa too! Not only did we survive our five star experience with children but we truly had a fantastic time.
A duck weekend at the Renaissance Chancery Court costs £395 for a family of four and includes Deluxe accommodation for two nights, Full English breakfast, 70-minute Duck Tour around London on both land and water, Duck treats in the room on arrival and on turndown, Duck kids' pack and kids' passport for around the hotel.
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