To mark World Book Day on Thursday 5^th March,  The Academy, is delighted to introduce a tasty new selection of Literary Cocktails for book lovers and locals alike to enjoy at the hotel’s Alchemy Bar. Inspired by the hotel’s Bloomsbury location, in London’s cultural and intellectual heart, the new tipples pay homage to famous authors, artists, and creative visionaries from the past and present. Created especially using the finest ingredients and hand-selected garnish by the hotel’s talented Alchemist, the new Literary Cocktail Collection at The Academy will cater to all palettes.

OLD FASHIONED LEONARD
The Bloomsbury intellectual Leonard Woolf started The Hogarth Press in 1917 as a hobby for his wife Virginia. He felt the distraction would help her mental health but Hogarth went on to become a great success especially during the 1930s. During the same period the Old Fashioned Cocktail made a comeback at the end of Prohibition to become the tipple of choice in America again. The Old Fashioned Leonard is dedicated to Virginia’s husband for standing by his wife so tenderly. (£15.95)

THE LIGHTHOUSE
Tanqueray gin was first distilled in 1830 by Charles Tanqueray in Bloomsbury and this cocktail is named after Virginia Woolf’s novel. To the Lighthouse is itself a literary distillation of Virginia’s childhood memories of happy summers spent in St Ives in Cornwall. (£18.95)

BELLONI
Vanessa Bell’s sister Virginia Woolf once described Vanessa’s paintings as ravishing as a rainbow, like sunlight crystallised. Vanessa whose love life was as colourful and cosmopolitan as the negroni which was invented in 1919 in Caffe Cassoni in Florence. The Belloni Cocktail is Vanessa Bell’s version of the classic negroni. (£9.95)

FRYDAY SUNRISE
As an artist and critic Roger Fry was a leading figure in early 20th century British art, experimenting with colour and abstraction. As a man he was feisty, passionate and colourful. This version of a Tequila Sunrise with fresh lime, orange passionfruit garnished with chilli is dedicated to possibly the most multi-talented Bloomsbury personality. (£10.95)

From the moment they arrive at The Academy, guests can immerse themselves in the fascinating world of fiction. At check-in, why not pick up a copy of the hotel’s Book of The Month or borrow a Kindle e-reader, fully stocked with bestsellers ready to read. Guests staying in a suite will find a novel on their bedside along with personalised Academy book sleeve to ensure they don’t lose the plot!

Guests can retreat to The Academy’s charming Library, a peaceful sanctuary a world away from London’s busy West End, for intimate book club gatherings over coffee or tea. Alternatively, they can sink back into a plush velvet sofa in the Lounge or Alchemy Bar and indulge in a Bell Sour or Dancing Mule, two tipples from The Academy’s Literary Collection Cocktail Menu.

If guests time their visit right, they might also be able to take part in star-studded book launches and writing workshops in the hotel’s Genius Lab, which is also the headquarters for the London Chapter of The Girly Book Club. Guests will also soon be able to enjoy the hotel’s new Writer’s Suite, created especially for inspired writers, novelists and poets.

Rooms at The Academy start from £300. www.theacademyhotel.co.uk

About The Academy Hotel

The Academy is part of YTL Hotels’ growing UK portfolio, a collection of hotels that specialise in beautiful design and understated luxury that includes The Gainsborough Bath Spa, The Glasshouse, Edinburgh, and Monkey Island Estate, Bray-on-Thames. The interiors of The Academy take on the same design cues as The Gainsborough Bath Spa, with elegant and traditional features and soft furnishings blending with contemporary touches. www.theacademyhotel.co.uk

About YTL Hotels
YTL Hotels owns and manages a prestigious collection of award-winning resorts, hotels, boutique experiences and Spa Villages with a hospitality footprint across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Japan, Australia, France and the United Kingdom, including Pangkor Island Resort, voted the world’s best resort in 2003 by Condé Traveller UK. The group also co-owns the Eastern & Oriental Express luxury train. The Gainsborough Bath Spa, the only hotel in Bath to be part of the Leading Hotels of the World’s collection of legendary hotels, was named the 2017 Condé Nast Traveller Awards World’s Top 100. The portfolio also encompasses the ownership management of a number of Marriott properties in Australia and Kuala Lumpur as well as properties under the brand’s prestigious Autograph Collection banner. The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui is the latest addition to this partnership. Future plans include the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Japan which is set to complement YTL Hotels’ master plan for Niseko Village.

For more information on our favourite places to stay, see our Sussex feature here.