You can still visit the Titanic today, even though it sank. And I don’t mean diving down in a carbon-fiber capsule steered with a Logitech gamepad. There’s a simpler way. In Bloomsbury, London, stands the Kimpton Fitzroy hotel – formerly the Hotel Russell. Built in 1898, and still operating. A little worn, sure. But who likes double-glazed windows anyway? This place never had them, and likely never will. What it does have are crooked old English latches and carpeting that remembers the Edwardians.
I went there for a conference. And while the conference was good, surprisingly, the hotel was more interesting than the event. A real piece of history.
Architect Charles Fitzroy Doll designed this hotel. He also designed the Titanic’s dining room – modeled directly after the restaurant here. So yes, the ship may be gone, but you can still dine in its restaurant for first-class passengers – provided you are in the WC1 postcode area.
What you can do is sit down with a bowl of porridge, raisins optional, and imagine it’s the morning of April 14, 1912. I did exactly that.
The rest of the hotel fits the part – marble staircases, chandeliers, a ballroom that probably hosted more than one imperial moustache. The whole place leans Victorian.
And then there was the checkout. I asked the doorman to call a taxi. Instead of picking up the phone, he took my suitcase and walked straight out. Not knowing what else to do, I followed. We stood quietly in the rain for a few minutes, shoulder to shoulder, until he flagged down a motor. I tipped for the ceremony, thanked him, and left.