Connaught Village situated very close to Hyde Park in St. George’s Fields W2 and is the Hyde Park Estate’s luxury retail quarter that has that village feel that you usually only get in the suburbs.

The area is just a few roads but features a really fabulous collection of fashion boutiques for both men and women, beauty and hair salons, aesthetic clinics, bars, restaurants, florists, vets, real estate agents and so much more.

Our first stop for our afternoon in Connaught Village was lunch at Stuzzico a lovely family-run Italian restaurant, busy and buzzing with locals who know a ‘good thing’. The food was exceptionally delicious, offering pasta with wonderful sauces and so much more, a great selection of wine and most importantly a warm Italian welcome. The chef and owner have a true passion for beautifully presented and flavoursome food and their aim is to create a memorable experience ensuring your return, over and over again. The big bonus is Stuzzico is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

We enjoyed a starter of pumpkin soup with fresh bread and parmesan, followed by a spicy arrabbiata pasta for my husband and a superb prawn and tomato sauce on spaghetti for me. Both were absolutely amazing, the prawns were huge and succulent and we paired it with a refreshing chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio blush. The food was scrumptious and the service at Stuzzico was just as special, we highly recommend you try it.

Following lunch, I was lucky enough to indulge in a back massage in the very popular Fé Hair and Beauty Salon, next-door-but-one to Stuzzico. This salon is a cruelty-free and sustainable salon and believes that living a balance of beauty and sustainability can improve lives, an ethos held dear by owner Samira. All products are ethically sourced and in this way are not only looking after the clientele, but also the planet.

My lovely therapist took me into a cosy beauty room, warm and comfortable with gentle therapeutic music playing. My 30-minute back massage was absolutely superb, deep and relaxing, my body felt completely stressfree. The salon offers a wide variety of treatments including hair, nails, semi-permanent makeup, massage and makeup, all carried out by experts in their field with kindness and precision.

Our afternoon continued with a visit to Lucy Choi London, creator of the sexiest and most incredible designer shoes. Lucy Choi has a defining ethos she lives by, the three ‘C’s’ – Comfort, craftsmanship, and character. Lucy niece to legendary Jimmy Choo was brought up knowing that fashion and footwear would be an inevitable part of her life, and thank goodness, she has created a range of fabulous shoes, boots and sandals to suit all ages, from flats and kitten heels to mid-heels and of course the stunning sky-high stilettos. The styles and fabrics are sumptuous and exotic including luxurious leathers, soft suede, satins, hand-dyed silks, embellishments, and vintage lace. With different toe shapes, fabrics and heel heights there is a shoe for everyone and at affordable prices. I bought a wonderful pair of summer silver loafers which I look forward to wearing this season and beyond.

We really enjoyed Connaught Village, there are some truly individual boutiques, businesses, bars, and restaurants. Saint Aymes is a pretty tea room with Instagram spots and pretty cakes, there’s a coffee supplier Markus Coffee with 34 varieties of coffee beans from 13 different countries, dozens of fabulous restaurants offering a wide variety of exotic cuisines, Persian, Argentine and Japanese. There’s a lovely pet shop where you can indulge in the love of your special four-legged friend. The artworld is also catered to here The Park Gallery that specializes in modern and contemporary Middle Eastern Art. Connaught Village also has a fabulous array of fashion boutiques for men, women, and children, there are homeware boutiques, antique shops and all of the village essentials such as estate agents, banks, solicitors, dentists, dry cleaners and schools, there’s a lot to explore and enjoy.

We spent quite a while with the lovely manager of The Place, this is two fashion boutiques one for women and one for men, next-door-but-one to each other. This rather unusual boutique was set up by Simon Burstein, former chief executive of London designer boutique Browns to showcase rising British star Alice Archer who creates her embroidered and printed designs in exquisite fabrics. The Place showcases an eclectic mix of up-and-coming new designers such as Sofie D’Hoore, Ioanna Solea handbags, Diana Broussard accessories, Ana Heart luxury activewear, Leathersmith diaries, and small leather goods, Brady bags, Laurence Dacade shoes, Saloni, Mes Demoiselles, Ulla Johnson, Connock London fragrance and beauty range and The Perfumer’s story by award-winning fragrance designer Azzi Glasser. The fashion here is not anything you would find in your regular high street shop and this ensures a regular and faithful client base looking for those special and timeless pieces to add to their wardrobes.

To finish our village tour we popped into the most aromatic and pretty shop in Connaught Village, PM Flowers. As we walked into the florist we were greeted by a huge number of stunning bouquets in readiness for the romantics for Valentine’s Day eager to please their other halves with a stunning arrangement of sweet-smelling roses in all shades of pink and red. This florist ensures excellence by sourcing the best in quality to ensure the longevity of the flowers. It is most obvious that the florists enjoy their work and create hand-tied bunches or water-filled arrangements with love.

All-in-all Connaught Village is a great escape away from the hustle and bustle of the regular London with all of the well known high street brands, you can shop and dine to your heart’s content in comfort and unhurried. Saunter along the quiet roads, pop in and out of the boutiques picking up unusual pieces for yourself or your home, occasionally stopping for a tea or coffee or a bite to eat.

Take some time to visit Connaught Village, we highly recommend it!

Written for Luxuria Lifestyle International by Global Editor in Chief Debbie Stone