Mandarin Oriental Mayfair London overview

Editor’s notice: The Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London supplied TPG with a complimentary two-night keep in order that we may get an inside have a look at the resort and its facilities. The opinions expressed beneath are totally these of the creator and weren’t topic to overview by the resort or any exterior entity.

In the event you did not know to be looking out, you may miss the doorway to the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London. However that is sort of the purpose.

Though its brick- and metal-clad exterior is kind of modern in comparison with the opposite buildings surrounding bucolic Hanover Sq. (that is Mayfair’s first new-build resort in a decade), it blends into its elegant environment like the luxurious pied-a-terre it’s meant to be.

Opened in June 2024 with simply 50 rooms and suites plus 77 adjoining residences, the property is among the many smallest within the luxurious resort group’s portfolio. It is actually extra diminutive than its beloved sister property on the intersection of Hyde Park and Knightsbridge, and far much less of an overt see-and-be-seen scene … which suggests you are truly extra more likely to spot an incognito movie star or two making an attempt to chill, maybe within the moodily lit underground spa or on the top-floor ABar Rooftop overlooking the town.

However no matter brings you right here, you’re positive to really feel at dwelling — that’s, if your private home additionally has a floating spiral staircase constituted of uncommon inexperienced Ming marble and a profusion of beautiful flower preparations — the second you cross the edge, due to workers who will know you by title upon arrival.

This is what it is like staying on the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London and all the things it’s best to see, do, eat and drink in your subsequent go to.

Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London location

If you’re staying at a Mandarin Oriental, you recognize the neighborhood shall be tony. That is why there’s one other outpost close by in Hyde Park. This new Mandarin Oriental, nonetheless, is in bustling Mayfair, nestled alongside historic Hanover Sq. so you possibly can triangulate buying sprees amongst among the metropolis’s finest excessive streets.

And whereas a lot of the clientele may take non-public vehicles to and from the airport, if the lion’s share of your funds goes towards your keep and also you hope to avoid wasting on transportation prices, you are in luck. The resort is only a block away from the Bond Road Station on the Underground’s Elizabeth Line. Which means you possibly can zip out to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) in a mere 45 minutes with out altering strains — and at a price of beneath $20.

Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London reserving particulars

When you cannot use factors from one of many main resort loyalty packages to remain on the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London, the resort is a part of Amex High quality Lodges + Resorts, so these with The Platinum Card® from American Categorical or The Enterprise Platinum Card® from American Categorical who make a reserving via AmexTravel.com can take pleasure in advantages like complimentary day by day breakfast for 2, room upgrades primarily based on availability, a $100 on-property credit score to make use of throughout their keep and assured late checkout.

Charges on the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London begin at $1,030 per night time for the standard class Deluxe Room, whereas the Deluxe Suite lodging I stayed in begins at $1,725 per night time.

Standout options of the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London

• With simply 50 rooms, the resort feels intimate and unique.
• The situation alone is a cause to e book, with a few of London’s finest buying at the doorstep.
• Celeb chef Akira Again will be sure you’re well-fed whereas staying right here.
• The spa appears like a refuge from the hectic metropolis streets and is certainly one of London’s most unusual wellness areas.

Drawbacks of the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London

• Attributable to building, put together to spend time in visitors if arriving or departing by automotive.
• You will not have skyline views from the common visitor rooms.
• There’s only one primary restaurant, although you may get bites at both of the bars, too.

The vibe on the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London

You will not discover an imposing historic edifice, tailcoated bellmen or dusty chandeliers right here. Moderately, the brand new Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London leans extra modern stylish than your run-of-the-mill London luxurious resort, from the runway-worthy uniforms of the pleasant bell workers to the light-filled central atrium and the cosy reception space.

And though its appears to be like and feels totally recent and new, the resort additionally appears destined to belong on this refined neighborhood due to little domestically impressed design touches, together with the resort’s bespoke symbolic hand fan (all Mandarins have their very own, and you’ll spy this one in its framed case in your approach in). It was designed by the late vogue doyenne Vivienne Westwood, whose flagship boutique sits simply throughout Hanover Sq..

Your fellow company are more likely to be designer-clad jet-setters in addition to members of bigger entourages on the town for weeks or months at a time, due to the sizable residential part of the mission. However you may spot a well-known face or two having drinks at ABar or dinner at Akira Again as nicely.

Rooms on the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London

Though many inns declare to have “residential-inspired” lodging, my 549-square-foot Deluxe Suite truly felt that approach due to its distinctive structure.

It had a form of railroad apartment-style configuration folded in upon itself with every room main into the following, all framed by floor-to-ceiling home windows overlooking the encircling buildings.

Stepping via the entry lobby, the primary house I got here to was the lounge, its partitions adorned in ornate, hand-painted de Gournay silk wallpaper with chinoiserie floral designs in turquoise impressed by Hanover Sq.’s magnolia bushes — a visually alluring nod to the resort’s distinctive locale.

The room — whose palette was a mixture of silver, platinum and gold — was anchored by a small sectional and ottoman piled excessive with artwork books, a number of curvaceous armchairs and a desk that doubled as my work desk throughout my keep, over which hung a flat-screen tv.

There was additionally an attractive mirrored minibar stocked with a Nespresso machine and an electrical kettle, plus complimentary treats together with a bottled cocktail from Akira Black.

Ducking via the far doorway, the bed room held a king-size mattress wearing immaculate white sheets with silver piping and framed by a top-lit overhang in addition to rectangular brushed-brass hanging lights to at least one aspect.

Set between the 2 nook home windows, a wood-topped Artwork Deco-style vainness was the best place to primp, due to pure lighting and Dyson hair styling apparatuses.

Previous a wall of closets, the lavatory was tiled in a panoply of cream- and brown-hued, deep-veined marbles.

On the far finish, previous the dual-sink vainness, was a soaking bathtub provisioned with Natura Bisse merchandise. The window subsequent to it appeared into the entry lobby however might be fogged up for privateness with the contact of a button.

Subsequent to that was a water closet with a Toto rest room and a separate walk-in bathe with extra Natura Bisse facilities together with overhead and handheld bathe heads.

General, the room felt vibrant and breezy but in addition like a non-public, comfort-filled cocoon after a time out within the metropolis.

Food and drinks on the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London

The resort’s primary restaurant comes courtesy of South Korea-born, Colorado-raised movie star chef Akira Again and sits on the coronary heart of the resort, one degree beneath the road and accessible by elevator or a dramatic glass-framed spiral staircase.

The atrium-like house is illuminated by huge skylights and has dramatic inventive installations together with a swirling picket sculpture affixed to the wall and work by the chef’s personal mom (you may also select her designs on among the plates).

Breakfast is a leisurely affair as company peruse the morning newspapers over dishes like avocado toast with artichoke pesto, confit tomato, pepper and seed tabbouleh with poached eggs ($24); a breakfast bento with salmon teriyaki, glazed mushrooms, spinach salad, onigiri, egg castella cake, miso soup and fruit ($48); and the specialty gianduja croffle with hazelnut ganache and vanilla Chantilly cream ($28).

The lunch crowd appears to draw a mixture of socialites, energy brokers and younger creatives who come to munch on the signature half-and-half pizza of tuna with umami aioli, shiso, truffle oil on one aspect and trumpet mushrooms and truffles on the opposite, throughout an ultrathin wafer crust ($33).

Different specialties embrace a melange of Western, Korean and Japanese fusion dishes equivalent to wagyu bulgogi tacos with roasted tomato ponzu ($23), Jeju domi sea bream with tobiko (flying fish roe) and savory-sweet chojang paste ($28), native lobster dynamite ($58), juicy Jidori rooster with potato puree and savory teriyaki sauce ($35) and rolls just like the Cow Wow with marinated bulgogi and coleslaw ($28) and the Sizzling Mess with sashimi poke, crab tempura and spicy ponzu aioli ($28).

Make sure you question sommelier Andres Ituarte a couple of artistic pairing or two from the globe-spanning wine checklist he is curated together with vintages from China and a sure bottle made in Sweden from grapes grown in Iran.

Go away room for luxurious desserts like Chocolate in a Cup with spongecake, banana foam and vanilla bean ice cream ($21.50).

At night time, you may discover a DJ spinning within the nook of the adjoining ABar Lounge, which serves Korean-inspired cocktails like a spirit-forward Makgeolli Colada with Hwayo soju, makgeolli rice wine, pistachio orgeat, strawberry and coconut ($26.50); the playfully named Javapolitan with Honest Natural quinoa vodka, Cointreau, clarified cranberry, lime, Indian spices and purply butterfly pea tea ($24); and the nutty Peanutful with Suntory Toki whiskey, peanut butter oils, XO syrup, soy sauce and umami bitters with a chocolate truffle topper ($28).

The savory sweetness of the latter pairs nicely with the couple of bar bites I ordered together with piping-hot Korean fried rooster with gochujang pink pepper paste ($19) and silky smoked salmon tostadas ($18).

Open Tuesdays via Saturday evenings and tucked away down a brief hall between Akira Again and ABar Lounge, Dosa is an intimate affair, with a single seating per night time (at 7 p.m. sharp!) for simply 14 diners at a counter round an open kitchen helmed by government chef Jihun Kim. Company are handled — nicely, for 185 British kilos ($234) per particular person — to a multi-course menu that adjustments steadily and relies on seasonal substances and the “mineral parts of the earth.” (We have been requested to not take footage since our go to was through the cooks’ prep time.)

Although not fairly open on the time of our go to, we did get a sneak peek at ABar Rooftop on the highest ground. The Artwork Deco-style decor and the palette of blues and grays have been impressed by the London sky, together with a cloud-like textured gentle fixture over the dramatic marble bar.

There’s house for 50 company with varied seating choices starting from bar stools to low-slung tables and even an outside terrace with some sweeping metropolis views. The cocktail menu was created by barman Paolo Silvestri and impressed by the seasons.

Facilities and repair on the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London

Two ranges beneath the road, company will discover a serene subterranean sanctuary full with a health club, indoor pool and spa.

Convey your bathing swimsuit since you will not wish to skip a dip within the 25-meter pool, which has completely different darkish and lightweight sections and is ingeniously lit with reflective surfaces so it feels such as you’re floating amongst the celebrities. The moist space additionally features a sauna, steam room, small remedy swimming pools and loungers.

The health club is supplied with TechnoGym cardio machines and weights, a Pilates reformer and areas for stretching and yoga, and private coaching companies can be found.

The spa has simply two therapy rooms, together with a double suite with blond wooden paneling and flooring. Principally, you decide the period of time you wish to spend within the spa (an hour, 90 minutes, two hours, and so forth) and may create a tailored expertise for your self that may embrace therapeutic massage, facials, physique wraps and extra.

Nonetheless, there are additionally particular experiences on supply that incorporate skincare manufacturers equivalent to Seed to Pores and skin Tuscany and Swiss Perfection. The 2-hour Tranquillity of Mayfair, for example, is a four-handed therapeutic massage adopted by a binaural vibroacoustic remedy (like a sound bathtub) for 440 kilos ($555).

Out and about

As its title would recommend, the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London is within the midst of one of many metropolis’s most upscale neighborhoods, Mayfair, and a brief stroll to pleasant Marylebone, which appears like slightly (albeit very costly) village within the coronary heart of the capital.

In the event you’re on the town for buying, you are in luck, because the resort is situated between Bond Road, Regent Road and Oxford Road, the place you may discover all the things from world vogue manufacturers to boutiques peddling customized designs, and never removed from modern Carnaby Road, whose pedestrianized lanes are wonderful for window buying. The resort can also be a brief stroll from the Royal Academy of Arts should you’re on the lookout for tradition, or the hopping cafes and bars of Soho if you wish to expertise some full of life native life.

Accessibility on the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London

Due to the truth that it is a new-build resort, you will discover all of the up-to-date accessibility options you’d count on, together with zero-step entry from the road and wheelchair-accessible elevators with chair-height buttons to entry every degree. With using a hoist, spa attendants will help company who want help getting into the pool.

Numerous tailored room sorts embrace facilities equivalent to wheelchair-accessible bogs with rest room and bathe seize bars and lowered counters and sinks, accessible gentle switches, and visual doorbell notifications and hearth alarms. As all the time, name the resort straight to make sure you can e book a room that meets your particular necessities.

Testing

Luxurious inns in London vary from the historic and grandiose to the tiny and tucked away. The brand new Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London skews extra towards the latter, with simply 50 rooms in a slender tower overlooking certainly one of Mayfair’s oldest squares.

Although small in measurement, due to its unparalleled location and show-stopping facilities — together with its beautiful spa and Akira Again’s advanced of eating and ingesting institutions — the resort has already skilled a launch that will make even probably the most formidable London debutante jealous.

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