Green with envy

Posh Chiswick is a great base for exploring London’s greenest areas – and its best pubs.

The High Road has posh bistros, greasy spoon cafes, traditional pubs and fancy wine bars.

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And the leafy charms of Chiswick have attracted residents David Tennant, Colin Firth, and Ant and Dec.

Justin Bieber has stayed at the modern Chiswick Moran Hotel – just across the road from Gunnersbury tube station (on the District line) and perfectly placed for enjoying some of the prettiest parks in London.

Both Kew Gardens and Richmond Park (sprawling and dotted with deer) are in walking distance of the hotel.

The Chiswick Moran’s “Kew Family Package” includes entry to the gardens, which display a spectacular colour palette of red, gold and russet in the autumn. The package costs from £299 for a family of four including a two-night stay in an executive family room, bed and breakfast, a two-course dinner in the hotel’s Napa restaurant and entry to Kew Gardens.

Chiswick is dotted with independent boutiques selling hand-blown glass, artwork and quirky fashion. There is also a Cath Kidson shop for all your flowery homeware needs, and high-street brands from M&S to Oliver Bonas.

In nearby Shepherd’s Bush is Europe’s biggest shopping centre, Westfield. The Chiswick Moran has teamed up with Westfield to create a shopping package, which costs from £139 including a night at the hotel, full Irish breakfast and a VIP discount card.

Eat, drink and be merry

The hotel has its own classy and cosy lounge bar with DJs and live music. With the low-lighting and glamorous cocktails, you could be in a Humphrey Bogart movie. You could also line your stomach in its restaurant, Napa, which serves top-notch classics using fresh produce. We loved the leather banquettes too.

Out on the High Road, and the streets leading off it, you’ll find every style of bar and restaurant. Hippy hangouts with cushions instead of chairs, traditional pubs with rows of ales on tap, posh brasseries and pizzerias.

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Jockey Frankie Dettori even has a bar here – Frankie’s Italian Bar & Grill (created with Marco Pierre White).

The Tabard, with its own theatre attached, is hugely popular with lucky locals, who get to bunker down in its cosy nooks on a regular basis. This pub knows its ale and its wine, so whatever you drink, it will be top quality.

The narrow beer garden, with lots of heaters, is great too.

Balans Café (there’s also one in Soho, which is a favourite with dirty stop out celebs) on the high street is a great place for a post-pub snack, or a big hangover-busting brunch the next day. Whether you order an omelette or bacon, sausage and eggs, get the Balans potatoes with it – tiny fried cubes of gorgeousness.

Get there

Rooms at the Chiswick Moran Hotel (moranhotels.com; 020 8996 5200 chiswickres@moranhotels.com) are bright, breezy and boutique in feel. Ours combined zesty hues of lemon and peppermint with a stunning art deco lamp and flat screen telly. Rooms start at £90 per night.

Party capital

Avoid the usual tourist traps and even London’s West End can be perfect for a unique and surprisingly cheap weekend away with a group of friends. You just have to know what to seek out.

For hens and stags on a budget, Generator Hostel in Bloomsbury is perfect – and from £15 a night (or £52 for a two-night hen or stag package including booze, breakfast and “fun” accessories).

With over 870 beds, The Generator is in fact the largest hotel in London, although the building is hidden away from the main street down a quiet alleyway.

There is so much to do in London (even without drinking) if you do a bit of research.

At Urban Golf, right in the heart of Soho, we played on the state of the art simulators, enjoying a round of golf without a scrap of grass in sight.

Best of all you don’t have to be a member, and after some instruction from the friendly staff we were let loose on the course.

It takes a while to get used to swinging a golf club and hitting a real ball at the screen, but after a couple of practice swings and a cocktail from the bar we all soon relaxed into the game.

And with prices starting at £10 per hour for the simulator, it’s a bargain.

Afterwards was the highlight – an exhilarating ride on the Thames RIB boats, by far the most exciting way to see the city from the river.

With prices starting at £32 per person for an hour blast up the Thames, past Tower Bridge and up to the O2 arena, with James Bond music blaring, it’s a white-knuckle ride that will leave you shaken but not stirred.

Along the way your captain will tell you all about the famous landmarks of the city.

It really is the best way to cram in a huge amount of sights that London has to offer without having to deal with traffic and other tourists – and it’s a lot more exciting than a slow-moving bus.

Just make sure you wear something warm!

Every good hostel needs a good bar, and Generator doesn’t disappoint. Stocking a huge selection of beers from around the world and their own signature cocktails, you’ll struggle to find a cheaper place to drink in London on most nights.

Couple that with people from all over the world, and entertainment to keep you up and dancing until the wee hours, you’re sure to have a great night.

Afterwards we hit the town, starting at good old-fashioned pub The Glass House Stores on Brewer Street.

Cosy pubs in the winter add a real olde worlde charm to the city, and with each part of the city having it’s own look and feel, it really does feel like you’re abroad sometimes – especially in the summer months.

After that, it’s all a blur – although there was definitely sambuca and a can-can line involved…

We finished the night back at the Generator, waking bleary eyed for much needed bacon sarnies and coffee before checking out.

Get there

Generator Hostel (generatorhostels.com; 0207 388 7655) is walking distance from Kings Cross Station. A bed in the dorms starts at as little as £15 per person, and if your group is big enough you can have one to yourselves.

The hostel’s hen package costs £52.50 per person including two nights accommodation in a luxury female dorm, buffet breakfast, private VIP area in the Generator Bar on one evening, giant cosmopolitan cocktail to share, and a starter kit including boas and L-plates.

The stag package for the same price includes the same deal in private quad rooms and with jugs of beer instead of the cocktail.
For more information on events and activities in London, see timeout.com or visitlondon.com. See tfl.gov.uk for travel news.