I've heard various things: Mary lives there, Mary moved out and lives nearby. Does anyone know what the truth is?
Is it just empty, collecting dust until the maid comes round like Serge Gainsbourg's apartment in Paris? The thought of that beautiful home sitting empty in the dark every night is sad to me, for some reason.
I do know she sold the Mews a few years ago.
I was there in October. The walls have anti grafitty (which is good), there was a plastic wall for letters etc which has been removed sadly. The formeer entrance has been closed too. There
is lots of cameras. And the "mews" house has become an expensive hotel/appartment rental. I think Mary still lives in the main house.
I thought that the Mews was still owned by Mary, or at least one of them was, and she lived in it but I'm obviously wrong about that because I just did a little google search and sure enough, Logan Mews Luxe is a holiday let which people can stay in for £200 per night. It looks from the bookings website that it's the whole row of Mews and Mary has nothing to do with it.
I walked past Garden Lodge in December as a curiosity. It looks very close to how it was when Freddie lived there with the exception of the wall height, the addition of security fencing, and the cameras on the outside. I didn't feel any connection with the place as a fan, I didn't feel that Freddie was in any way present, or that it held any special significance for me. From that respect it was a little disappointing but to me the place is just a house that I've never lived in, albeit a very beautiful one that housed a famous singer whose music I love 30 years ago.
I was in Vienna last year and I visited houses that were occupied by Haydn, Schubert and Beethoven, and I felt no connection to them either. The difference is though that these houses were run as museums, but the walls were all painted white inside and there was no attempt to recreate any period features.
What connects us to famous musicians we love, alive or dead, is really the music, it's that simple.
Honestly I'd stay in the Mews. Maybe next time I'm in London I will.
It's funny, because when Phoebe visited Garden Lodge years after Freddie passed and Mary invited him in, he said he really didn't feel Freddie in the house at all, even though she still had most of his furniture and the same drapes in the dining room. I wonder if his bedroom is untouched and his clothes are in the closet. Serge's daughter has kept his Paris apartment exactly has he left it with the exception of food items that went bad or exploded. A maid visits every day to keep it clean, and she's trying to have it made into a museum but the city keeps pushing back at the lack of wheelchair accessibility.
haha, I looked up the Mews out of curiosity. There's a minimum 7 night stay and the price is £3,728.90 for 7 nights if you want to pay immediately or £5,120.70 if you want the possibility to cancel! hahaha!!!!
Still gonna book it?
That said, six people can stay in it and if SIX of you were going to stay in London for a full week and could all definitely make it, I guess that's not SO bad. Works out around £90 per person per night. Shall we arrange a Queen week-long holiday?! haha.
As for Garden Lodge, since she did live there, I don't see why Mary would move out. Freddie seemed to want it to be lived in, but obviously I have no idea and unless Mary herself says otherwise I don't imagine anyone can give a definitive answer.