Upon arriving at the Peninsula, you will find a bevy of magnificent cars in a signature green colour parked at the cobbled-paved central forecourt. This luxury automotive fleet (13 in total) includes two new Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII Series II EWBs, four new hybrid Bentley Bentaygas, three BMW i7s, an electrified vintage 1960 Austin taxi, and a painstakingly restored 1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Sedanca de Ville. The cars, which are the property of the hotel, are stationed there for the sole purpose of driving guests around the area, typically within a four-kilometre radius (to the nearby museums, shops, and restaurants). Needless to say, I was already impressed before I even stepped inside the hotel.
Once through the revolving entrance doors you’re in the hotel’s vast lobby, which is so exquisite it immediately captures your undivided attention. Delightfully airy with a creamy colour palette, the lobby has a refreshing contemporarily feel with a pinch of old-world glamour. Known as ‘The Lobby’ – capitals make all the difference – it is where breakfast, afternoon tea and meals throughout the day are served. It features triple-height, intricately moulded ceilings, magnificent hand-blown crystal chandeliers, and stunning hand-painted de Gournay murals inspired by nearby Hyde Park. Just off to the side of The Lobby is also a very luxurious arcade with nine high-end boutiques including Asprey London, DMR watches, Mouawad, Moussaieff Diamonds, Gilan and Garrard.
After a quick mosey, I made my way to the separate check-in area and lounge to the left of The Lobby. There I was given a very warm welcome and offered a refreshing Darjeeling infused fizzy non-alcoholic drink. Following a seamless check-in protocol, I was headed to my room. I was informed that guests can also customise their arrivals and go straight up and do the check-in in-room. Others, who wish to remain incognito can be met at the underground car park and be escorted by a private VIP lift to their room. Apparently, there are many bespoke Peninsula features to provide extra comfort and privacy for guests.
I was booked in the Grand Premier Park King Room, which has a magnificent view of the Wellington Arch and the surrounding public space. The floor-to-ceiling-windows are triple glazed, so you won’t hear any of the cars driving around the busy roundabout below. Besides the splendid view, the room is full of pleasant surprises. First, there is the very generous mahogany-panelled dressing room and a valet cupboard, where deliveries and dry cleaning can be left without disturbing guests. There’s also a large safe here, a dressing table, a Dyson hair dryer, and a chrome nail polish dryer machine (definitely handy for a DIY manicure). The bathroom is another work of art, clad as it is in the most exquisite honey onyx marble from Turkey. It’s equipped with under-floor heating, a high-tech toilet, a shower booth, but the biggest asset here is the bathtub facing a wall mirror embedded with a TV screen. I discovered later that while relaxing in the tub you can press ‘spa mode’ on the mini waterproof console and this will automatically dim the lights, put on chill-out music and switch on the room’s Do Not Disturb sign. Now, how cool is that?
The bedroom itself, which is more chic private residence than a hotel room per se is a delightful space with soft hues and bespoke furnishings. I particularly appreciated the wonderful mattress, the ultra-high thread-count Quagliotti bed linens, and the fluffy white goose-down duvet. And I love the thoughtful details: as with every Peninsula room, your room comes with a printer, wireless phone chargers (avoiding the socket adapter hassle), and a smart tablet device that allows you to open the curtains, switch off the lights, control the room temperature and so forth with a touch of a button. (I am informed that the technology you see in the rooms, including PenChat – access to a 24-hour digital concierge – is all created in-house by a team in Hong Kong, and not outsourced at all.)
No doubt competition is fierce in London and already a cluster of five-star hotels – both established and new – occupy the city’s most enviable addresses and there’s more in the pipeline I am told (Mandarin Oriental Mayfair and The Emory are 2024 newcomers in the vicinity). However, the Peninsula has an inimitable style and when it comes to hospitality it’s in a class of its own. Don’t expect classical baroque grandiosity or even modern maximalism typically seen in many of the capital’s finest hotels. The hotel, impeccably designed by Hopkins Architects to harmonise with the surrounding heritage architecture, embodies a sleek, spacious aesthetic that fills with plenty of natural light. All 190 rooms and suites, 25 private residences and public spaces were designed by the American interior designer Peter Marino (his illustrious portfolio includes Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Chanel stores).
The Peninsula is all about understated luxury, exceptional attention to detail and outstanding customer service. The friendly staff exude a remarkable enthusiasm and passion as well. In fact, many have previously worked in other Peninsula hotels and have been transferred to the London branch. Indeed, their newly appointed Managing Director, Rolf Beuhlmann, was previously the General Manager at Peninsula New York but he also worked in the Hong Kong and Bangkok properties. And I happened to meet Karim Mostafa, their Director of Sales for the Middle East & Africa, and he came to London after a long stint at the Peninsula Tokyo.
The London branch is the 12th and latest edition within the Peninsula family. It took a staggering 30 years for Sir Michael Kadoorie, whose family opened the original Peninsula Hong Kong in 1928, to locate the site in London. What also distinguishes the Peninsula is that it is a family-owned business. “We don’t just manage,” explains Karim. “We own the land, the building, and then we manage and operate.” The DNA of Peninsula hotels worldwide is to always secure a prime location. “It must be the most iconic in the city, which is why it takes so long to find the exact location,” stresses Karim. For example, in Paris they are on Avenue Kléber (400 metres from the Arc de Triomphe) while in New York they are right on 5th Avenue and 55th Street.
After I unpack and freshen up, I head to Little Blue to enjoy an aperitif before dinner. The cocktail bar, which is also accessible from the street level (Grosvenor Crescent) is a beguiling mix of East meets West, from the décor to the drinks concept. I choose the Terra – a refreshing bright red concoction of aromatic saffron, woody almonds, habanero pepper and cooked agave ash. Afterwards, I climb up the ceramic walled staircase to Canton Blue, an exquisite Chinese restaurant that pays both culinary and aesthetic tribute to the historic maritime trade routes linking China and Britain in the mid-19th century. The restaurant is a collection of magnificently decorated spaces designed by esteemed Hong Kong based designer Henry Leung of CAP Atelier. My meal started with scrumptious steamed scallop dumplings. For my main course, I went for their signature dish, whole Roasted Peking duck (a dish for two persons), which is a real gastronomic event. Each duck gets poached, dried, hung, and roasted, and theatrically presented tableside in two servings: first, with pancakes and plum sauce; and second, with the meat sautéed, deep- or wok-fried. I also tried the superb silky black truffles tofu and for dessert the heavenly deep fried red date ice cream with banana compote. Oh – and by the way – unless you are a hotel guest, a reservation at Canton Blue can take up to three months!
The next morning, I head straight to the gym, equipped with all the latest Technogym kit, and then pop by the indoor pool to enjoy a swim. It’s spectacular. Measuring 25 metres in length it’s heated, pristine and devoid of people (at least when I was there). It also happens to have some discreet underwater speakers to serenade you with soft music and the lighting is wonderful, comprising large panels it’s designed to cleverly mimic natural daylight, so you might forget you’re even below ground. Of course, you can continue the pampering in the steam room and sauna, which are located within the stunning changing rooms. And there’s a gorgeous wellness spa boasting seven private rooms for massages, face and body treatments, and balancing rituals incorporating Ayurvedic aromatherapy.
For my next stop I decided to try Brooklands for lunch, and I would say this might well be the hotel’s crowning jewel. The journey begins on the ground floor where there is a dedicated lobby lined with timber, Bentley lights and a vintage Napier Railton, the legendary aero-engineered racing car built in 1933. The travel theme continues in the elevator which aims to mimic a hot-air balloon ride complete with wicker basket interior, sound effects and red burner light to ‘power’ the ascent to the 8th floor.
Remarkably, it took just four months for Brooklands to be awarded two Michelin stars. Led by Chef Director Claude Bosi and Chef de Cuisine Francesco Dibenedetto, Brooklands offers modern British cuisine in a French style. There is an à la carte three-course menu, a tasting menu (five to seven courses) and the popular three-course Concorde Lunch menu (perfect for business meetings), which I selected. All the ingredients here are freshly sourced from within the British Isles. They serve an addictive sourdough bread prepared from heritage British grains and toasted buckwheat, which is beautifully paired with two types of exclusive farm produced spreads: a crumbly virgin butter and whey from Cheshire cheese. For my starter I was served St. Austell Bay Mussels with cider sauce and three-cornered garlic oil followed by Cornish skate, eel and red pepper miso as my main course. Lastly, a refreshing Yorkshire rhubarb, timut pepper and Moscato emulsion, which really hit the spot. During lunch I can hear Brian Ferry crooning ‘Love is the Drug’ coming from the speakers – best of British, of course, like everything here. The restaurant has a beautiful terrace – ideal for summer dining – offering sweeping views of Hyde Park, Belgravia, and Knightsbridge. I should also mention that the ceiling is embellished with a very cool scale replica of the Concorde.
On the same floor is the glitzy Brooklands bar, that has an undeniable Swinging London vibe. It’s a great place to impress a first date or somewhere to start or end the night. It’s sexy, retro, and modern with an aviation and automotive themed décor. The bar’s cocktails, created by Peninsula London’s Director of Mixology, Florian Thereau, balance precision engineering with inventive creativity. And for cigar lovers, The Tasting Rooms, offers a rarefied and personalised cigar-enjoyment experience hosted by Masters of Cigars Manu Harit. There’s even a walk-in humidor that displays a collection of over 2,000 premier cigars from around the world: the highest quality collection in London, no less. And if that’s not impressive enough, the hotel houses the largest public cigar locker room in the world, with 280 lockers hidden underground!
Prices per night start at 1,300 GBP (1,650 USD) for a 51 sqm Deluxe Room but the top-of-the-pops Peninsula Suite can be connected with as many as six other rooms to create a nearly 1,500 sqm apartment – one of the largest hotel living quarters in London. Staying here is definitely an experience, and one that we would be more than happy to repeat.
Previous spread: The location was once the HQ of British contractor McAlpine, who were also employed to knock down their office and build this state-of-the-art hotel. Opposite and this page, top: Even the baseline Premier Rooms are not exactly basic with understated off-white opulence harmonising with dark trims and furniture accents of orange, jet black, and wavy stony brown. And the art in the rooms was commissioned from the Royal Drawing School. This page, middle: The bathrooms are clad in honey onyx, with heated floors and bespoke sustainable bath products by British-based perfumer Timothy Han. This page, bottom: All 131 rooms, and 59 suites come with floor-to-ceiling views of Wellington Arch or Hyde Park, and if they don't then you'll get a terrace overlooking Belgravia homes.
This page: There are lots of ways of keeping fit at the Peninsula London. For starters, you can try the 25-metre indoor swimming pool, but there's also a very nice fully equipped gym, and there's also a novel digital Wellness Portal with 24-hour programming that allows you to take classes, workshops, and meditation sessions in the privacy of your hotel room. Opposite, top, and bottom right: Brooklands is the hotel's top-floor, double Michelin-starred, modern, English restaurant, boasting an impressive outdoor terrace and decor inspired by Britain’s heritage of aviation and motoring. Opposite, middle: The mahogany-lined reception for check-in/out is located just off The Lobby. Opposite, bottom left: The hotel's Chinese restaurant, Canton Blue, can be found on the ground floor and it features dimly lit spaces that shimmer with silk and porcelain.
