The welcome
I arrive at the 21-room Georgian town house – a self-styled high-end B&B in a Grade II-listed building – a little early for normal check-in hours. Gladly, the smiling receptionist isn’t perturbed and I’m checked in with minimum fuss. A porter directs me to my room with a Fawlty Towers-level touch – he ushers me into the tiny lift, which is large enough for about one-and-a-half normal-sized people, pushes the button, then zips up the stairs to meet me at the room with my luggage.
The neighbourhood
The hotel is five minutes’ walk through a suburban street from South Kensington Underground station (on the Circle Line, making all of Central London accessible without changing trains). It’s a few doors from Fulham Road, which means easy access to high-end boutique shops. The upmarket nearby high street, boasting the likes of Lamborghini London’s showroom, is visible when you emerge from the station. It’s a similar distance in the opposite direction to reach Chelsea’s iconic posh shopping street King’s Road. For art lovers, the world-famous Saatchi Gallery is only a little further, too. Football fans take note: English Premier League giants Chelsea’s ground is 25 minutes’ walk away.
The room
My first-floor premier deluxe double room has a small balcony that overlooks the street and the similarly Georgian terrace opposite. The room is decked out with a king-size bed, a small desk, a cream two-seater couch, a veritable newsagent’s shelf of magazines and a bathroom with arguably a little too much turquoise in its decor. Finding the DVD player involves a spell of hide-and-seek – it’s squirrelled away in the wardrobe. North American and European visitors can temporarily ditch their travel adaptors, because direct power outlets are provided.
The scene
As a B&B, there isn’t much beyond Sydney House’s rooms, breakfast area and a bar. The “bar”, however, is more a shelf of bottles in the reception area – it doesn’t appear to be continuously manned. During my stay, I don’t see anybody relaxing or serving there.
The service
All perfectly friendly and helpful, although aside from breakfast, I barely see a soul – staff or customers – between check-in and checkout.
The food
Served in a basement room adorned with modern art on the walls, breakfast is hearty and on the whole cooked well, although the poached egg in my English breakfast (£13 [Dh62]) could have benefited from a minute more in the pan. The range of fresh smoothies (£6.50 [Dh31] each) is a standout: I opt for kiwi fruit; passion fruit and coconut are among the other options. The room-service menu has some of the most reasonable prices you will find in a quality London accommodation, too.
Loved
The location and the balcony.
Hated
My bathroom suffered from a few imperfections in its finish and the tap seemed to leak. And being on the first floor meant that double-decker-bus passengers might catch a glimpse of things they shouldn’t through open curtains.
The verdict
With very reasonable prices for this swish area of London, the Sydney House Chelsea is great boutique value for money.
The bottom line
Double rooms at Sydney House Chelsea (www.sydneyhousechelsea.co.uk) cost from £125 (Dh604), including taxes and Wi-Fi.
aworkman@thenational.ae
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE rugby in numbers
5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams
Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams
Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
England v South Africa schedule
- First Test: Starts Thursday, Lord's, 2pm (UAE)
- Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
- Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
- Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.
FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.
FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds. Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.
FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)
FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 445bhp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh474,600
On Sale: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
RESULTS
Welterweight
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) beat Mostafa Radi (PAL)
(Unanimous points decision)
Catchweight 75kg
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) beat Leandro Martins (BRA)
(Second round knockout)
Flyweight (female)
Manon Fiorot (FRA) beat Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
(RSC in third round)
Featherweight
Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB) beat Ahmed Al Darmaki
(Disqualification)
Lightweight
Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) beat Rey Nacionales (PHI)
(Unanimous points)
Featherweight
Yousef Al Housani (UAE) beat Mohamed Fargan (IND)
(TKO first round)
Catchweight 69kg
Jung Han-gook (KOR) beat Max Lima (BRA)
(First round submission by foot-lock)
Catchweight 71kg
Usman Nurmogamedov (RUS) beat Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
(TKO round 1).
Featherweight title (5 rounds)
Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
(TKO round 1).
Lightweight title (5 rounds)
Bruno Machado (BRA) beat Mike Santiago (USA)
(RSC round 2).
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets