The Mandarin Oriental has a foot in two worlds of London, both as iconic as the next: fashionable Knightsbridge and the royal parkland of Hyde Park – and this split personality has served it well since 1902. The hotel is a grande dame in the fullest sense, reimagined for today after a careful restoration, in which the iconic Edwardian architecture was combined with a softer, more contemporary edge. But with its liveried doormen, hushed corridors, and the sense of a place that has seen everyone and forgotten nothing, it still does old-school London with total, effortless conviction.
You could plan a whole stay around the restaurants at the Mandarin Oriental, the first of which is two Michelin-star Dinner by Heston Blumenthal that turns long-lost British recipes into something close to magic. Then there's the Aubrey, a moody izakaya of small Japanese plates and cocktails, while the Rosebery offers something totally different: a classic British afternoon tea. Between meals, the handsome public rooms beckon – polished wood, deep armchairs and the Mandarin Bar, where a glamorous crowd gathers over a martini.
The 168 rooms and 26, restyled by Joyce Wang after the fire in 2018, take their cues from the view of Hyde Park and the romance of golden-age travel. We're talking soft greens, warm metals and a mood straight out of the 1920s, but with all mod-cons including Dyson hairdryers and smart TVs artfully hidden. Marble bathrooms encourage a slow start to the day (and come complete with Japanese loos!), and the park-facing rooms wake you with nothing but treetops and open sky. The suites add plenty more space and small balconies.
Hyde Park is the obvious place to start on your London exploration and step out the back of the hotel and you can walk for miles, row on the Serpentine, or watch the riders on Rotten Row. At the front, designer dens Harrods and Harvey Nichols are within a two-minute stroll, and the museums of South Kensington and the Royal Albert Hall are a little beyond. You really can spend your days drifting between greenery and glamour; few hotels in London make it this easy to have both.
The hit of grandeur the moment you step inside: high ceilings, soft light, and acres and acres of beautiful marble.
Enjoy breakfast at a window table and keep an eye on the road: most mornings, the Household Cavalry trot past in full regalia on their way to the Changing of the Guard.
Knightsbridge is a coveted address but a busy one and there's traffic, crowds and the churn of London's smartest shopping street outside the door. But step inside and you'd never know.
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