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Posh's hotel gets Cristal clear list of demands
By Chris Millar, Evening Standard Last updated at 13:26pm on 01.11.06
Demanding: Victoria Beckham
Ultra-chic: the Hempel Hotel, where staff pulled out the stops to please the Beckhams
She has been pictured shopping at Oxfam - but it seems Victoria Beckham still has a taste for the grander things in life.
When the former Spice Girl announced she and her husband were checking into the ultra-chic Hempel Hotel in Bayswater, staff were handed a formidable list of requirements. They spent about £20,000 in an effort to make Victoria happy.
Her exacting demands included £350 of cakes from a local patisserie, ultrathick towels and extra dressing gowns and £1,000 of smart Jo Malone bath scents, plus a full set of Spanish newspapers so her husband could read reports from football matches in his home league.
Anxious staff decorated the hotel's £1,500-a-night Beluga suite with £5,000 of orchids, six silver platters of fresh tropical fruit, and lit it with 60 candles.
Another £5,000 was spent f lying in Italian linen sheets by designer Francesco Calvidini.
A butler was put on standby to look after the couple during their twoday-stay at the west London-hotel. They were also offered a chauffeur-driven Porsche Cayenne should they need to venture out.
At one point, five porters were dispatched to a patisserie, where they emptied its shelves.
But still there was one thing missing from the Beckham's suite: Cristal champagne.
A source at the Hempel said: "Victoria arrived here with David on Sunday afternoon. We made a massive effort to get ready for them - in total we must have spent around £20,000 preparing for their arrival.
"Victoria came here to promote her book - she did a series of interviews in her suite. We did everything we could to get it ready. But she was not happy with champagne on ice in her suite - we had stocked it with Ruinart champagne a nd she insisted on Cristal.
"She was quite clear that she and David were not happy with anything but Cristal."
Reader views (14)
Will you people believe any story? I doubt she is like that.
- Carl, Usa
Does anyone know if Victoria is still in London? I missed out on the book signing day and my fiancee really wants it.
- Nas, England
People with true class don't have lists of expensive goodies as long as your arm. What they do have is good manners and an ability to behave gracefully in what is ultimately a public place.Whether the Beckhams can afford it or not or whether they have a brain or not, what they definitely don't have is any form of class. Money doesn't buy that, standards are passed down from parent to child. Granted if they have the money then why not spend it, but nobody else really needs to know about it. I was however, interested in the £350 of cakes from a patisserie. I am assuming that these must have been for David. The sight of Victoria tucking into a cream, calorie-laden fancy would definitely be newsworthy. I don't have anything against the Beckhams, they simply aren't worth many deep thoughts in the grand scheme of things. Have we really become so desperate for zeleb news that we're listing pathetic lists of their demands?
- Anni, Fleet, Hampshire
Victoria can buy lots with her money but she cannot buy a new brain. She is pathetic and looks it.
- Moonem, Abu Dhabi, UAE
I am a keen fan of the Beckham family and I am intrigued though not surprised at their choice of hotel. I have myself stayed at the Hempel and think it's fit for a King & Queen. Having read some of the comments, all I can hear is "sour grapes".
- Robin Van Moseme, Lusaka, Zambia
I sense, that with David's star on the wane, their need to keep the Becks "brand" alive is reaching desperation levels!
- Steve R, London, UK
Anyone feel like the hotel is milking the Beckham's stay for its worth?
I bet they return to Claridges next time.
- Dan, Notting Hill
That's it! I'm never coming to Baywater!
- Rhonda C., Usopian
I agree. This hotel has been mentioned several times in connection with Victoria's stay, so the amount of free publicity they have had must surely go some way towards providing half decent bath towels. They like what they like, and if they are paying for it, why shouldn't they get what they want?
- Gee, London
How sad!
- Fly, london
Nice to see the Becks fully encompassing the green message.
- Naomi Sajeri, Manchester
If I had their money and was paying the price that this hotel probably charges - I too would have a list as long as my arm and would complain if something wasn't right. Just as I would in my financial situation and wasn't getting something I was paying for. The article makes it sound as if they were getting these things for nothing but I suspect that if it wasn't on their bill then they would be paying for it in another way.
- Jan, London
If you can afford it why not? God Save the Queen Victoria!
- Chrys Loizou, UK
For these two 'Class' is something they were both bottom of in school.
- Squiz, Islington
