Thirties and beyond: four companions who prefer the full evening

Early and exact: Sonya

Sonya, 162 cm with hazel eyes, keeps a tidy window of roughly 5pm to 10pm. Meditation, a lifelong love of ballet and a collection of rare fragrances shape her evenings, which often begin at Floris on Jermyn Street and end with an early dinner or a performance at the Coliseum. Three hours suits her, or the £900 dinner date, which runs to four.

The Barbican and the long night: Margo

Margo, 166 cm, turns questions about herself into better questions about you. She plays Satie late at night and looks at contemporary art one room at a time. In the City of London she steers towards a concert at the Barbican, then supper near Moorgate. Overnights with her are arranged ahead and held with 50 percent upfront, the travel share non-refundable. Her profile shows her next open date.

Late, with a dry line: Violetta

Violetta, 178 cm, lets a silence sit and then breaks it with a very dry remark. She swims every morning, hunts through bookshops and has a firm ranking of this year's comedians. Her West End evenings start at Foyles and end at a late table; the four hour dinner date suits her.

South by train: Nancy

Nancy, 170 cm and golden blonde, is the easygoing one: a morning swimmer, a road tripper, loyal to sushi. She takes Gatwick bookings with her travel inside the three hour minimum, and weekend dates are best requested by Wednesday.

Booking at this pace

Give the desk a little more than a time: the evening you have in mind, the length and whether it might run on. Margo and Violetta are usually booked a few days ahead. Sonya's early window and Nancy's weekend Gatwick dates are the ones to request first. Three hours is £700, the dinner date £900, a night £1,800.

At the door, expect a calm hello, a question about your day and no hurry to fill the silence. They read a room quickly and adjust to it: a guest off a long flight gets quiet and room service, a guest with energy to spare gets a walk and a late table.

What this stage brings

Knowledge of the city, mostly. Each of the four has sat in enough hotel bars to pick the right corner and been to enough dinners to know when to call for the bill. Conversation goes deeper because nobody is hurrying towards the next thing. For guests who want an evening to feel settled from the first minute, that is the point of this list, and a full overnight at £1,800 shows it best.

Other lists

Violetta is also statuesque and slim, Margo is slim and slender, Sonya is toned and athletic and petite, and Nancy is curvaceous and one of the four blondes. For comparison, the late twenties band holds fourteen names. Pick a date, then message the desk.