The discreet sister hotel to the global group’s long-standing property in the British capital is a haven for design buffs and culinary connoisseurs.
Their Singapore outlet, for a few days each year, overlooks the F1 street circuit, and has eye-popping views over Marina Bay. In Istanbul, the group’s three storey property nestles on the European-side side of the Bosphorus (the continental boundary between Europe and Asia), in the prestigious district of Kuruceşme.
This is a hotel group that takes location very seriously indeed: and they’ve done it again with their choice of locale for a sibling property to the Mandarin Oriental that has existed as a hotel since 1902 in a Franco-Flemish style building overlooking Hyde Park.
That hotel’s “Cool little sister”, as staff and other insiders refer to it, is tucked away in the Mayfair district’s oldest plaza of its kind, Hanover Square: a relatively tranquil spot, but a centre of gravity for showbiz and actual nobility over the years, and a place whose history makes one want to beg that pavements could talk. It’s a short walk not just from the Mayfair shopping district but also Soho and Marylebone, and within fairly easy reach of pretty much everything the occasional visitor to London needs access to.
On top of the postcode, the design credentials – externally and within – along with the culinary kudos offered at restaurant Akira Back make this one of the most enticing new hospitality offerings in the British capital – up there with eagerly awaited recent openings such as Peninsula London and Raffles at The OWO.
Attributable to the creative yen of RSHP, the late architect Richard Rogers’ brainchild, the hotel has a striking standing-to-attention appearance thanks to a method (the Vierendeel truss structure), more commonly used in bridges, which here vertically juxtaposes red brick stripes and glass.
Step inside Mayfair’s first new-build hotel in 10 years, and the first-time visitor is instantly wowed by an aesthetic, based on elemental themes of water, wind, earth, and fire, conceived by Tokyo designer Curiosity. A first-time guest’s interest, during check-in, will be piqued by the reception area’s mint-green and grey marbles (the jade-like colour being a nod to the Mandarin group’s Asian heritage). Look upwards and they’ll note an imperious white satin ribbon installation, entwined around a bridge connecting the 50 guest rooms to the 77 residences. Should they look over their shoulder – and by now they’ll be surveying the whole scene for the next visual assault – and they’ll see a billowing installation, crafted from English ash wood by Charlie Whinney, overlooking Akira Back. It’s hard to think of a hotel whose public spaces are more replete with design flourishes doing battle for your attention.
Rooms, suites and residences, meanwhile, achieve the cool-but-cosy dichotomy we expect from Mandarin Oriental with deft employment of marble, brass, stone, wood, leather and artworks, selected by London based Studio Indigo: a company whose previous work with superyachts has empowered them with a midas touch when it comes to ergonomics. Every room has hand-painted de Gournay wallpaper (the one in the Mayfair suite took around 15,000 hours to paint and stitch), while additions such as Art Deco-style vanity tables and rectangular brushed-brass hanging lights help make the whole vastly greater than the sum of its parts.
Returning, having settled in, to the lower ground floor (via an exceptional floating spiral staircase in green onyx) for the evening, our hypothetical guest may head to ABar Lounge for pre-prandial cocktails under a shimmering bronze metallic ceiling which represents the fire element of Curiosity’s aesthetic vision. Next, they’ll likely head over to Akira Back, an 148-cover establishment, named after the eponymous Korean-American chef whose culinary artistry graces it, whose vaulted metal ceiling is so high above the dining level that it calls to mind al fresco dining.
It’s a gourmand’s dream as much as it is a claustrophobe’s. On the evening of our visit, a special chef’s menu was prepared, bookended by a sublime tuna and eringi mushroom pizza and a delectable “Chocolate In A Cup” dessert (manjari cake, vanilla gelato, banana foam). Special mention, when it comes to what came in between, should be made to the textural majesty of “Hot Mess” – uramaki-style rolls filled with crisp crab tempura and avocado, topped with slices of sashimi poke – and the piquantly moreish tacos filled with Wagyu bulgogo and roasted tomato ponzu. Dosa – a 14-seat Korean-inspired tasting menu with an intimate chef’s table – is another dining option.
If there is one other major tractor beam drawing demanding and discerning travellers to this remarkable new addition to London’s hospitality landscape, it’s the spa offerings. Partnerships here are key: scientifically plausible skincare treatments come with the aid of Swiss Perfection; CBD-infused pampering takes place in partnership with OTO Wellbeing; completely bespoke treatments (either 90 or 120 minutes) utilise plant-based batch-blended products from Tuscany’s Seed to Skin.
Add to that an earthy aesthetic (including more of that green Ming marble), pulse-slowing treatment methods (such as binaural vibroacoustic therapy and NormaTec massage technology) and perhaps London’s most inviting pool – a 25-metre affair, with a moody twinkling light effect that calls to mind a sci-fi-ish aquatic tunnel – and it’s almost impossible to believe that you’re literally metres from Oxford Street.
And here’s the paradox: no luxury London hotel ticks more boxes in terms of locale – and yet highly-informed design geeks, dedicated epicureans and those who take spas very serious indeed will all find it very tricky to venture out. If coming for an overnight business trip, make sure you build a lengthy London city-break around it.
