Where do the children of the 1% stay in London? The Hari, a family-friendly luxury hotel in Belgravia

Just round the corner from the German embassy, the Hari Belgravia wouldn’t automatically make you think ‘child-friendly’. It’s calm, quiet, with tan leather furniture, plush cushions and polished hardwood floor in the lobby. There are sleek and efficient staff at every turn, and the hush of an upmarket area. I began to feel a little concerned that my five and two year old may create a bit of a scene and upset the well-heeled Belgravia locals – of course the second we arrived my daughter had what could be described as a noisy protest, and for a brief minute I really wished I was in a Travelodge. But full respect to the staff, who charmingly brushed aside my concerns, took our luggage and escorted us upstairs.

When we got to the suite, the ‘family-friendly’ aspect I had heard about, came into view. The squeals of the children as they entered and saw that there was a play-tent draped with fairy lights, and filled with plump cushions and beautiful books, resounded down the corridors. That was before they saw the personalised Biscuiteers bakes (a London Eye, a Double Decker bus, beautifully glittering and devoured almost instantly). Champagne for the adults too, a very welcome treat. And it was also before they dived into their rooms and spotted that there was a pillowcase for each of them, personalised with their name in bright graphic font, and a sweet teddy for each leaning up against their pillows. Beside the bed were two little pairs of child-sized white towelling slippers. The decadence of a tiny slipper!

With the restaurant not serving food until 6pm (which was the only slight hiccup… trying to make two small children wait until 6pm for supper really does end up in tears), we relaxed in the room. We were in the Library family suite, which was two fully adjoined rooms, with a bathroom in each, and a sitting room in the ‘parents’ room. This sitting room opened out onto the balcony which is arguably the real pièce de résistance. From our vantage point, we could see not just the majestic Belgravia terraces but St Paul’s Cathedral, The London Eye……..It was a genuinely mind-blowing view. The whole of the city, it felt, looking west as the sun set over the city.

After a bath (the Jo Loves toiletries were heaven for the adults but some child-friendly bath products would have been very useful), the children put on their tiny slippers and kicked back in the tent.

Once the restaurant had opened, we headed downstairs; to be greeted by some very carefully thought out Hari activity packs. Supper was saved! Colouring crayons, word searches, little fold-out binoculars, and more. The kids menu had starters of ‘crostone mozzarella with basil’, crudites and calamari (I successfully marketed these as ‘round fish fingers), followed by Penne in tomato and basil sauce, spaghetti with bolognese, pizza margherita and crispy chicken breast with fries. All fairly straightforward kids scran. They didn’t have to wait long until the heaps of spaghetti bolognese arrived, and it was a huge success. The adults menu had a touch of the Belgravia women-who-lunch about it, but I enjoyed the starter of Pepper-seared beef carpaccio with raw artichoke salad and 24-month aged parmesan, followed by seabass with chickpea and clam stew. The tiramisu was something else... an enormous heap of boozy cream, with my choice of Italian liqueur, made beside the table from the ‘tiramisu trolley’. All was delicious, even though I’m not sure the other guests had got the family-friendly brief, as there was a possible discord between a glamorous evening meal and two young children eating at European time. But the staff whisked around us and never made us feel anything other than extremely welcome.

A lovely treat for the children (and the adults, as it made them desperate to go to bed), was the Tonie box. For the uninitiated, a Toniebox is an audio player for children, with characters that they put on the top of the box to activate different stories. It lulled them off to sleep, so that the parents could set up a baby monitor and pop downstairs to the Library bar, for a very welcome (and very good) cocktail.

The breakfast was a la carte with a continental-style buffet, too. After we had all had our fill, we trotted up the road to Hyde Park, for its vast expense is but minutes away. Part of the joy of being in that part of the capital is the people watching – and the expensive blow-dries, fabulous threads and sashays did not disappoint.

We returned to the Il Pampero restaurant for the Afternoon Tea, with its little sandwiches in the shape of bears for the kids, and an Italian theme for the adults. The Hari’s Dolci Momenti Afternoon Tea starts from £35pp for Classic Afternoon Tea & £50pp for Champagne Afternoon Tea.

The Hari’s Family First Package includes an overnight stay in a two-bedroom suite with breakfast in il Pampero for two adults and two children. Baby essentials and an in-room Toniebox are provided, and children receive a special welcome gift on arrival.

Rates from: £442 BB King Deluxe including taxes and fees. 20 Chesham Pl, London SW1X 8HQ, thehari.com