The Big Smoke

Claridges
This Mayfair institution, itself a byword for old-school glamour and well-bred good taste, doesn’t disappoint. For maximum luxury choose the Ladies to the right of the front entrance, which has pretty floral art deco tiling, carpets and trompe l’oeil murals depicting garden scenes and rose garlands. Cubicles are on the small side but there’s a shelf for bags, and the floral scent and unusual lavatory flush (you pull a lever on the wall) more than make up for their compactness. A polite grandmotherly attendant in a smart navy suit fills an antique-style ceramic basin for you to wash and moisturise your hands with Floris toiletries. In an adjoining room are dark wood dressing tables with large mirrors at which to sit and refresh make-up, brush hair or whatever. The lighting’s just right, too – none of that ghastly strip stuff. Overall, the facilities don’t quite match the breathtakingly grand and spacious turquoise-wallpapered Ladies at the Savoy, and on our visit we couldn’t see the sorts of useful bits and bobs offered at the Ritz, which has a table of perfumes, sewing kit, combs and such. However, as with all communal areas of Claridges, the attention to detail ensures a visit to the facilities is a very agreeable experience indeed.
Claridges, 55 Brook St, W1K 4HA (020 7409 6307) Bond St tube.

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Saki
This Japanese bar and restaurant, which opened in May opposite Smithfield Market, boasts London’s only working paperless toilet (aside from those installed in private homes, of course) although obviously this doesn’t apply to urinals. We had imagined futuristic-looking apparatus, but were relieved that the loo looked reassuringly Western. Users control proceedings from a panel of buttons: sit and do the business, then push buttons to commence the cleansing jet of water and drying blast of air. On our visit we were relieved to discover instructions in English (inside each cubicle). The seat was cosily warm and we successfully adjusted both water and air temperature to the required warmth. Cubicles and sinks were spotless, and our hands dried in seconds thanks to the super-powered blow dryer. The Japanese have been using paperless toilets for some 40 years – approximately 90 per cent of Tokyo homes employ them. This may be high-tech relief yet it’s effective, hygienic and fun. It’s also eco-friendly and leaves you feeling refreshingly cleansed.
Saki, 4 West Smithfield, EC1A 9JX (020 7489 7033) Farringdon tube.