In the biggest top-to-toe revamp in its 117 year history, which was delayed by a fire last summer, London's landmark Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park has finally emerged from behind the massive hoarding designed by Sir Peter Blake.
A crack team – including local architects Purcell, Hong Kong-based design maven Joyce Wang and hospitality design guru Adam Tihany – have worked behind the scenes to spruce up all 181 rooms and public spaces.
Wang took her cues from the hotel's perch, right on the city's beloved Hyde Park, and subtly layered the interiors with her signature modern luxe aesthetic inspired by the early 20th-century's golden age of travel. And so, curved art deco-inspired custom-designed furnishings, hand-etched mirrors, rich leather tufted headboards, Volakas marble-lined bathrooms, and hand-painted gilded silk wall coverings are highlighted with details like the acorn-inspired light fittings, carpets that nod to autumn leaves, bark-effect wall coverings and horsehair light sconces.
The two restaurants – Bar Boulud and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal – and the bar have each received a light update, courtesy, once again of Tihany, who was also behind the hotel's new spa. Here, there is a new Oriental Suite featuring a Rasul water temple and a Bastien Gonzalez Pedi:Mani:Cure Studio, while Chinese symbolism, like the floral art walls that represent both rebirth and the flow of energy, is the perfect setting for the updated wellness-focused menu. This also includes traditional Asanté Chinese Medicine consultations and signature treatments like the Oriental Qi, using bespoke signature oils created together with Aromatherapy Associates.
Elsewhere, the hotel’s iconic marque of the open fan for the lobby has been reinterpreted by Jenny Packham, the British designer fashioning the rosewood spokes on the railings of the gates of Apsley House, and sprinkling sequins and Swarovski crystals drops over organza chestnut leaves.
A crack team - including local architects Purcell, Hong Kong-based design maven Joyce Wang and hospitality design guru Adam Tihany - have worked behind the scenes to spruce up all 181 rooms and public spaces
Wang took her cues from the hotel's perch, right on the city's beloved Hyde Park, and subtly layered the interiors with her signature modern luxe aesthetic inspired by the early 20th-century's golden age of travel
The two restaurants - Bar Boulud and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal - and the bar have each received a light update, courtesy, once again of Tihany
Tihany was also behind the hotel's new spa, which includes an updated wellness menu and traditional Asanté Chinese Medicine consultations
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
66 Knightsbridge
-
This cult Los Angeles pop-up restaurant now has a permanent addressChef Brian Baik’s Corridor 109 makes its permanent debut in Melrose Hill. No surprise, it's now one of the hardest tables in town to book
-
French bistro restaurant Maset channels the ease of the Mediterranean in LondonThis Marylebone restaurant is shaped by the coastal flavours, materials and rhythms of southern France
-
How ethical is Google Street View, asks Jon Rafman in CopenhagenIn 'Report a Concern - the Nine Eyes Archives' at Louisiana Museum of Art, Copenhagen, Jon Rafman considers technology's existential implications
-
French bistro restaurant Maset channels the ease of the Mediterranean in London
This Marylebone restaurant is shaped by the coastal flavours, materials and rhythms of southern France
-
Sir Devonshire Square is a new kind of hotel for the City of LondonA Dutch hospitality group makes its London debut with a design-forward hotel offering a lighter, more playful take on the City’s usual formality
-
This sculptural London seafood restaurant was shaped by ‘the emotions of the sea’In Hanover Square, Mazarine pairs a bold, pearlescent interior with modern coastal cuisine led by ‘bistronomy’ pioneer chef Thierry Laborde
-
Montcalm Mayfair opens a new chapter for a once-overlooked London hotelA thoughtful reinvention brings craftsmanship, character and an unexpected sense of warmth to a London hotel that was never previously on the radar
-
Follow the white rabbit to London’s first Korean matcha houseTokkia, which translates to ‘Hey bunny’ in Korean, was designed by Stephenson-Edwards studio to feel like a modern burrow. Take a look inside
-
Poon’s returns in majestic form at Somerset HouseHome-style Chinese cooking refined through generations of the Poon family craft
-
One of London’s favourite coffee shops just opened in Harvey NicholsKuro Coffee’s latest outpost brings its Japanese-inspired design to the London department store
-
Enjoy a Kyoto-inspired menu with London attitude at this new restaurantAki London offers a serene counterpoint to Oxford Circus, where stately interiors and elevated Japanese cooking cross paths
