Mr & Mrs Smith get into bed with Boris and his bendy buses
Posted by Juliet on March 31st, 2009
Have we got news for you: Boris Johnson is often accused of being a bit of a twit, but Londoners will be laughing on the other side of their faces when they hear he’s poised to turn a pretty profit out of the costly London bendy-bus 
decommissioning debacle.
Boris had the brilliant idea of inviting a number of top entrepreneurs to pitch on what to do with the notorious articulated buses that will no longer stay in London.
Gordon Ramsay wanted to transform them into a chain of gastrobuses; Xfm wanted to create intimate moveable music venues along the lines of Australia’s party buses; but we’re proud to announce that it was boutique-travel specialists Mr & Mrs Smith’s winning idea of turning them into boutique bendy-bus boltholes that won the day.
The ‘pitch clincher’ for Mr Johnson was that the business wizards here at Smith HQ – partly inspired by the Cool Britannia double-decker performance at the Beijing Olympics – have already sold them to Emirates hotel operator the Royal Star Investment Group as a concept mobile luxury village to tie in with one of the 
biggest new tourist developments in Dubai – to include the world’s biggest hotel – Bawadi; until phase one of the project is complete, they could also be used to host VIPs during one of Dubai’s annual events, such as the Dubai Gold Cup and the Dubai Desert Classic.
The genius of this five-star hotel accommodation on wheels is that guests can choose where in the world they want to wake up: the new Vegas-style tourist complex will be comprised of global landmarks, so holidaymakers simply pick 
their bus stop and rest their heads in Europa, next to a remodelled London Bridge, Acropolis and Colosseum, or park up alongside the Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Rushmore in the Americas. As for on-bus services, ring the bell and a 24-hour private butler dressed as a conductor is at your call. All aboard!
To find out more about this exciting project, visit our bendy-bus boutique hotel home page…
Your e-mail arrived at 11.15 on the 31st March - 45 minutes early !!
By Ben Jones
On March 31st, 2009
Well done, you got me fair and square.
In my defence I didn’t realise it was April 1st, but that’s no excuse. Not a bad idea tho’, a) for those who like gimmicks, and b) to get rid of those totally inappropriate for London streets, buses
By Terry Burke
On March 31st, 2009
It’s a splendid idea.. how much is it though?
By Obaa
On April 1st, 2009
It’s just a shame that Bawadi has been cancelled - oops, indefinitely postponed - then
By Peter Higgins
On April 1st, 2009
very funny april fool- you got me!
By claire coulthard
On April 1st, 2009
This must be an April Fool!!
By Julia
On April 1st, 2009
April Fools?
By Geraint Richards
On April 1st, 2009
happy April fool’s day to you too.
By sandie
On April 1st, 2009
Happy April 1st Mr & Mrs Smith!
By Ben Aspinall
On April 1st, 2009
April fool anyone?!
By Rich
On April 1st, 2009
A very good Aprils fool
By andrew low
On April 1st, 2009
This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that today is April 1st would it???….
By Mike Beaumont
On April 1st, 2009
Ha ha haaa….April Fool’s Day…this put a smile on my face this morning! Keep up with the good work!
Best regards
Jo
By Jo
On April 1st, 2009
Well, I’m so glad I remembered that it’s April Fool’s Day before falling off my chair in disbelief…
By Wolf Luecker
On April 1st, 2009
Love the April fools - very convincing!! I think this is a good business proposition….it could work you know!!
By Sharon Dray
On April 1st, 2009
You guys always pull a great April fools out of the bag! Can’t wait until next year’s!!!
By Ian
On April 1st, 2009
You brightened my morning. Great ‘April Fool’. Well done!
By Trudi-Joy Levy
On April 1st, 2009
Are people REALLY going to fall for this?
By Gordon
On April 1st, 2009
You got me! I am indeed an fool
By Damn!
On April 1st, 2009
Not as revolutionary as it sounds. The idea has been around for years: http://www.rotel.de/rotel-tours/de/index.php
By Margaret Leach
On April 1st, 2009
Good one.. lucky you got this one in just in time before the internet got taken down for its annual clean.
By Simon
On April 1st, 2009
Congratulations Smiths! Get into bed with Boris and you end up with buses and a mock Vegas. In one fell swoop you have repositioned your name from ubercool chic to ridiculous tat. A butler dressed as a conductor, haha. Will all the chambermaids look like Olive from on the buses as well?
By Harry
On April 1st, 2009
Doh! Just seen the date. I’ve been had ain’t I?
By Harry
On April 1st, 2009
Please tell me this is an April Fool’s joke!!??
By Sasha
On April 1st, 2009
april fools, eh? x
By banksy
On April 1st, 2009
Clearly 01 April!
By Ione
On April 1st, 2009
Will travel agents be able to sell it?
By Martin Ferguson
On April 1st, 2009
It’s a great idea but who drives the bus? It’s a little intimate for a private driver as one of the maximum of 4. Surely you need a special drivers licemce as well?
By Belinda Coleman
On April 1st, 2009
Wake up , smell the coffee , its April the 1st !
By Richard Skaife
On April 1st, 2009
Yes but will you book one, wait for ages and then have three come along at once?
By helen
On April 1st, 2009
Hi there, happy Wednesday - thanks for all your comments! I trust you’re going to our dedicated website on this project too? http://www.mrandmrssmith.com/bendybus
By Juliet
On April 1st, 2009
Great idea!!!!
Will my Oyster card still work?
By Ged Malone
On April 1st, 2009
April Fool
By Paxton Dewar
On April 1st, 2009
Can you only book it on the 1st of April?
By Sara Hall
On April 1st, 2009
Oh dear, I’ve been conned! Nice one! I think it would’ve been a brilliant idea though, most likely it would cost a bomb.
By Roo
On April 1st, 2009
Am I the only person who has noticed the date of this “news story”?
By Simon Witter
On April 1st, 2009
April Fool to you too - !!!
By Liz Mitchell
On April 1st, 2009
Does it take Oyster cards?
By Charlotte
On April 1st, 2009
Excellent ! brilliant april fool!
By Emma
On April 1st, 2009
Oh dear… I had forgotten the date & you almost had did me up like a kipper with this story! Not a bad idea though!
Did you know that they’ve taken the word ‘gullible’ out of the dictionary!? ; )
By Ellie
On April 1st, 2009
Brilliant, great to have something to smile about!
By Angela
On April 1st, 2009
Great April fool, though as I read it after midday does it count?
By Andy Castledine
On April 1st, 2009
Doh! There go my plans for a ‘bendy’ romantic getaway..
By Rory Joseph
On April 1st, 2009
This was my first introduction to Mr & Mrs Smith April Fool jokes and you got me!!
By Jax
On April 1st, 2009
This is the first April fool I receive this year :)great one
By Younes
On April 1st, 2009
you had me last year with buckingham palace!! some good ideas though for boris! look forward to next years
By Sarah S
On April 1st, 2009
great april fool!
By Christoph
On April 2nd, 2009
Of all the April Fool’s blog posts I read yesterday, this was by far the best!
By Erica
On April 2nd, 2009
[...] Get the low-down from the original style-seekers’ latest good-time hunting expeditions, find destination inspiration and insider tips from around the world. Welcome to the official Smith blog: we hope you enjoy your stay Home Previous post: Mr & Mrs Smith get into bed with Boris and his bendy buses [...]
By Bendy-bus hotel
On April 2nd, 2009
You didn’t catch me out this year, I did fall for last year’s ’stay the night at Buck’s palace’ so that’s 1-1 so far! I look forward to next year’s April fool!
By Vikki
On April 2nd, 2009
Fab april fool…however din’t actually read till the 3rd april!! To be perfectly honest anything is possible these days and I would not be surprised!
By Mrs E
On April 3rd, 2009
I only got it when I read the comments. Oh dear.
By Shani
On April 3rd, 2009
[...] an exciting month indeed. Not only did we manage to amuse/confuse/annoy hundreds of people with our boutique bendy bus April Fool ruse, but we’ve also just introduced some of the most exciting hotels and [...]
By Luxury hotels
On April 6th, 2009
[...] so not all of you were taken in by our April Fools joke (Mr & Mrs Smith’s bendy-bus boutique hotels in Dubai), but if it piqued your interest in [...]
By Dubai hotel review: Desert Palm
On April 14th, 2009
I have recently used the Mr and Mrs Smith service and found it to be excellent and well worth recommending even if there was no bendy bus
By thevanboy
On May 28th, 2009