Vanessa, no hurry at all

Vanessa has the sort of relaxed elegance that looks effortless and takes real taste. At 173 cm and slim, she wears her long sandy brown hair in a sunlit balayage, and her hazel eyes shift with the light. She dresses with an easy seaside restraint: a navy cable knit, soft linen trousers, a black dress with clean lines, silver hoops, flat shoes swapped for heels at the hotel door. There is always a faint, lovely scent around her that you will want to ask about.

Sweet, curious and completely unhurried, Vanessa asks more questions than almost anyone, and every single one is sincere. Her English is fluent and gentle. She is teaching herself new languages slowly, filling notebooks with verbs and favourite expressions, cycles along the canal at weekends with a basket of market shopping, and keeps a growing collection of perfume samples, labelled in tiny handwriting with where and when she found them. Conversation with her feels like a walk with no particular destination, which is exactly the point.

Paddington is her home, and she likes its quiet residential side as much as the station bustle. A favourite evening begins with a drink at The Victoria on Strathearn Place, a beautifully preserved old pub full of mirrors and brass, then a slow walk down to Hyde Park to watch the last light on the Serpentine. Dinner follows somewhere relaxed near Sussex Gardens, before she walks you back to the Royal Lancaster or the Hilton London Paddington, the evening still unhurried.

Vanessa lives in Paddington, close to Marylebone and an easy ride from Kensington. Midweek suits her best, so read through the rates page and contact booking a day or two ahead.