Who says that expensive shoes aren’t a good investment?

Mews of Mayfair is teaming up with Piper Heidsieck Champagne and Christian Louboutin during London Fashion Week (17th-22nd September). Anyone dining at the restaurant who also happens to be wearing a pair of Louboutins, will receive a free glass of Piper Heidsieck fizz.

Now, while you don’t have to be female to take advantage of this fashionable offer (those studded slip ons for guys really rock – albeit in a euro trash kind of a way), said shoe candy DOES have to be real.

We’re sure that Mews’ stylish staff can tell a high street rip-off at 100 paces – there’s a whole lot more to a pair of Louboutins than just a couple of red soles!

You have been warned…

Mews is situated at 10-11 Lancashire Court (just behind Bond Street). The restaurant, bar and gallery also has al fresco seating for 50 in Lancashire Court.

www.mewsofmayfair.com

With The Savoy Grill due to reopen in October, even Ramsay’s rivals are getting uber excited about the goings on at the all new Hotel.

Tom Aikens has been tweeting repeatedly during an insider tour of the venue. Apparently there’s to be a special chocolate room off the grand lobby both making and selling divine cocoa morsels.

So enamoured is Aikens that he’s also uploading twit pix like it’s going out of fashion.

But while some of us might salivate over the restored marble atrium replete with colonnades, it’s the kitchens that have really got him going.

“More pics of inside savoy and kitchens !!! Totally jealous outrage” he says of Stuart Gillies new domain.

Expectant diners will have to wait a few weeks yet to see if all that brushed steel lives up to expectation but news of traditional classics of foie gras with spiced quince, lobster thermidor, beef wellington and peach melba (famously invented here by Escoffier) has certainly whetted our appetites.

Good news for those shoe lovers, from September Berties will be opening on South Molton Street and in Covent Garden.  A dedicated team of designers have revitalised & refreshed the brand. The new collection features an edgy urban look with distressed leathers, stacked heels and cleated soles. The celebrated wedged brogue and creped sole hiking boot are contemporised through the strong universal trend of androgyny.

The new concept store is an eclectic mix of metropolitan style within the framework of an East End loft apartment. Features include a denim wall, show lace chandelier and wrapped leather cash desk .

It’s exciting news in the hotel industry, Corinthia Hotels has just  released details about its £270m five-star luxury hotel in central London, which is expected to open early next year.

The Corinthia Hotel London, currently under construction in what was the original Metropole Hotel from the 1880s and subsequently part of the Ministry of Defence, will be the group’s ninth hotel.

In addition to two restaurants, a concept cocktail bar, boardroom meeting facilities and a refurbished grand ballroom, the hotel will have 294 bedrooms, including 45 suites. The average room-size will be 45sq m and the two-bedroom Royal Suite will be more than 470sq m.

The adjoining 10 Whitehall Place property will be redeveloped to include a luxury spa operated by ESPA. Chef Massimo Riccioli, owner of La Rosetta in Rome, Italy, will be responsible for the fish and seafood restaurant at the Corinthia and the hotel will also provide for all-day dining with a new-wave British restaurant.

Alfred Pisani, chairman and founder of the Corinthia Hotel Group said: “Once again, the eyes of worldwide travellers are turning towards the business and cultural attractions of London.

“I am dedicating myself, personally and with great passion, to delivering to London a five-star, luxury hotel, which will be amongst the best-of-the-best in the world. Corinthia Hotel London will be a true grand hotel for the 21st century.”

A consortium made up of International Hotel Investments (IHI) of Malta, and two of its principal shareholders, Libyan Foreign Investment Company and Nakheel Hotels of Dubai, purchased the Metropole building and the adjoining 10 Whitehall Place from the Crown Estate in 2008.

Last year the investors secured a £135m bank loan raised from a syndication of banks led and arranged by Barclays. The other members of the syndicate include the Libyan Foreign Bank, the Arab Banking Corporation and the Bank of Valletta of Malta. The bank loan matched the £135m invested as equity by the developers, setting a 50:50 loan-to-equity gearing on the project.

British design talent Paul Smith will be opening his latest womenswear store somewhere a little unexpected but most certainly a little luxurious this September.

The store will be located next to Claridge’s Ballroom in Mayfair, with access from both Brook Street and from within the hotel lobby itself. The décor will be, as expected, beautiful – with the initial sketch showing pink striped walls and a couple of Thirties Italian Murano glass chandeliers to add sparkle.

Founder and creative master himself, Paul Smith, said: “We are really excited to be opening a beautiful shop in Claridge’s selling clothes and accessories for women and a small selection of gifts for men. I have been a big fan of the hotel for many years and have held several women’s shows there in the ballroom. It’s original Art Deco style really appeals to me so having this shop is very special to me.”

And special for shoppers too! The store is scheduled to open in mid-September.

www.paulsmith.co.uk