If warmth had a hairstyle, it would be Rosa's chestnut curls, long and springy. She is 160 cm and curvy with friendly brown eyes, and her style is relaxed boho elegance: a rust coloured midi skirt, a soft cream blouse, layered gold necklaces and a woven bag big enough for a paperback and a record. In her mid twenties, earthy and unpretentious, she is the companion who slips her shoes off under the table if the restaurant feels relaxed enough and makes everyone else wish they had done the same.
Easygoing is how she handles everything, from a late train to a wine list she cannot pronounce. Baking is her love language, and she will describe her cardamom buns until you are hungry. Record collecting fills her weekends and gives her an ear for whatever is playing in any bar, while galleries are where she goes to be quiet for an hour. She speaks English with a warm, down to earth tone and asks direct, kind questions that make guests talk more than they expected.
Her ideal evening in this corner of London includes an early visit to Rough Trade West on Talbot Road, the record shop tucked just off Portobello Road, where she will pull one album from the racks and tell you why it changed her year. From Paddington it is about ten minutes by cab. Then comes dinner on nearby Westbourne Grove, somewhere with bread worth mentioning, and a slow walk east through Bayswater to your hotel while she hums the record you now plan to buy.
Rosa is available Sunday to Thursday, from dinner onwards, in Bayswater and all of W2. Tell the desk the evening and your hotel, and she will turn up hungry and on time.