Very few hotels these days can find the perfect balance of old-school glamour and class without coming across as stuffy and rude, but the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park has it perfected – posh without being pretentious and grand without feeling impersonal.
With 180 rooms and suites, it is a large property, with a famous tearoom, two-Michelin star restaurant, a bar, and a luxury award-winning spa on-site, the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park has everything one would need for a five-star London stay.
Scroll to the bottom for our stay in pictures – click on the small images to enlarge.
LOCATION
With a prime address in Knightsbridge and facing the leafy acres of Hyde Park, the hotel’s location allows guests to be in the city centre of London without being completely overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of tourists.
If you are here for shopping, you’ve hit the jackpot as you couldn’t be any closer to Harvey Nichols and a 5 minute-walk away is the famous Harrods department store.
As well as being within walking distance to some of the city’s best shops, you’re also in a prime position to get to almost anywhere in London with the entrance to Knightsbridge station metres from the hotel’s front door and South Kensington, the V&A, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, and Royal Albert Hall just a short walk away.
DECOR & ROOMS
In 2018, The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park underwent an extensive multi-million-pound refurbishment with the entire hotel being given an overhaul by Hong Kong-based designer, Joyce Wang.
Taking inspiration from the peaceful park location, as well as the glamour of the early 20th century’s Golden Age of travel, Wang redesigned all 181 guest rooms and suites along with the creation of the hotel’s new Penthouses.
The hotel’s corridors now feature stunning pastel colours along with bespoke wallpaper, the texture of bark with flashes of copper, whilst crystal chandeliers have been replaced with large statement ceiling lights designed to look like flowers or other natural elements, such as the stunning acorn light in our suite.
During our stay at London’s Mandarin Oriental, we stayed in the hotel’s Hyde Park Suite, with both the master bedroom and spacious living area and library overlooking the city’s largest Royal Park.
The Hyde Park suite, along with the hotel’s other rooms and suites are all filled with bright natural light and the decor is a perfect mix of Art Deco and British elegance which you’ll find in the form of stylish sleek greys, gold, and pastel finishings.
Bedrooms are, as you would expect, superbly equipped with all of the amenities guest might need, plenty of USB and plug sockets, and supremely comfortable.
Thoughtful and exciting touches include platters of fresh fruit, GHD hair straighteners, Nespresso coffee machines, his and her Miller Harris miniatures, Jo Hansford hair products, and heated Japanese electric toilet seats.
When it comes to the bathrooms you’ll find they’re laden with marble and feature grand tubs and separate walk-in showers depending on your choice of room – unsurprisingly extravagant, with the suite bathrooms are more like your own personal spa.
The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park offers a wide range of guest room options, all as luxurious as the next. Standard rooms include the Superior Room, Deluxe Room, Mandarin Room, Hyde Park Room, and Mandarin Hyde Park Room. Whilst suite options are made up of the Turret Suite, Superior Suite, Sloane Suite, Knightsbridge Suite, Belgravia Suite, Executive Suite and Hyde Park Suite.
Dining
If you want a superstar chef to helm the restaurant at your luxury five-star stay then we can’t think of many better than Heston Blumenthale.
Complete with an impressive two Michelin-stars, Dinner By Heston Blumenthale, offers modern dishes inspired by historic British gastronomy.
Breakfast is a grand affair at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, as it is in all of the group’s many hotels worldwide and also served at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. Ask for a window seat and you’ll be able to enjoy views of the stunning Hyde Park and its morning cyclists, horse riders, and even the Queen’s Cavalry Guards.
As to be expected, there is a vast array of breakfast options from freshly baked croissants and pastries to eggs benedict or a full English if you’re feeling particularly hungry. Chinese and Japanese breakfast options are also on offer from Dim Sum and Congee to Miso Soup and Grilled Salmon.
Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park is ideal for a catch-up with a friend or a special occasion with a loved one. Served in The Rosebery Lounge beside the hotel’s grand lobby, the tearoom features high ceilings, a stylish bar offering a selection of wines and spirits.
Sir Winston Churchill was known to be a regular along with members of the British Royal Family so it’s not hard to see why The Rosebery is one of London’s most celebrated hotel tearooms.
On offer there’s a large number of loose-leaf teas to try from White Teas such as Mango, Peach and Rose to Green Teas with the Organic Genmaicha being a favourite along with Black Teas such as the Lychee Rose Noir – a Canton tea comprised of Black Tea, Lychee Fruit Essence and Rose Petals. The Rosebery also offers a long list of different champagne and wine.
When it comes to the food, a wide selection of freshly made sandwiches; Smoked and Teriyaki Poached Salmon, Prawn Cocktail, and Avocado Mayonnaise, Braised Black Chicken Leg and Roasted Hereford Beef along with freshly baked raisin and plain scones served with clotted cream, strawberry jam and rose petal jelly.
The handmade pastries, however, steal the show as they are almost too beautiful to eat. From, Caramelised Pecan Praline to a delicate Apple Tart Tatin and a stunningly hand-crafted Raspberry Shortcake with creme fraiche. All sandwiches and scones are served from a mandarin-adorned metal tree in tribute to Hyde Park.
Service and Facilities
The service at The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park is utterly faultless and quite honestly incomparable. Staff are polished and attentive yet incredibly kind and warm from check-in to housekeeping, dining and the doormen – everyone will know your name even before you have introduced yourself.
Elsewhere, the extensively redesigned wellness centre by New Yorker Adam D. Tihany is a must-visit during your stay along with a treatment or two at the hotel’s award-winning spa. The Spa at Mandarin Oriental offers a diverse range of treatments from traditional Chinese medicine, Bastien Gonzalez renowned manicures and pedicures and anti-ageing Nescens facials. With 13 luxurious treatment rooms, you’ll also find the Oriental Suite, featuring two massage beds and a Rasul water temple.
There’s also a 17-metre heated pool for guests to enjoy along with a vitality plunge pool and amethyst crystal steam room.
In the hotel’s custom-designed PilatesPT studio, there are various training programmes devised by award-winning trainer, Hollie Grant. Alongside reformer Pilates and traditional personal training.
Bottom line: Is It Worth It?
Yes! If you’re looking for a stay wrapped with British elegance and close by to one of London’s best parks and most luxurious shopping areas, you won’t be disappointed.
However, It is always going to be the air of enchantment and the fabulously happy staff that completes the experience and brings back guests time after time. Above all, The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park’s service is truly one in a million.
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KeiKei is a London-based award-winning journalist and videographer with a degree in Broadcast Media and Journalism from the University of the West of Scotland and an extensive reporting background in news, entertainment, travel, and lifestyle.
KeiKei has travelled the globe interviewing, reporting and reviewing. Her work has been published in worldwide media outlets including, The New York Post, The Guardian, The Mirror, The Daily Mail, National Geographic and Conde Nast publications.
