In this age of ironic-minimal hipster home-away-from-home comfort hotels, Rami Fustok’s Mandrake takes hospitality in the opposite direction.
Dark, moody and draped in sumptuous fabrics, with art-filled walls and eclectic (even eccentric) design pieces, it practically swings from the chandeliers. But then The Mandrake is designed as a sensual overload, cocooning guests in fragrance and sound (the former by Azzi Glasser, the latter by Pierre-Arnaud Alunni) and feeding them treats by Frédéric Peneau, who brings his Wan Chai-based ‘democratic French gourmet’ experience, Serge et Le Phoque, to town.
Wrapped around a verdant atrium, with a greenhouse for medicinal plants on the first floor, the hotel takes its botanical inspiration seriously, even serving plant-based cocktails in the bar. Bold and opulent in a wear-your-jewels-in-the-bathtub way, the 30 bedrooms, three suites and lavish penthouse on offer at this hallucinatory homage to hedonism would look quite at home hosting one of Nero’s orgies.
ADDRESS
20-21 Newman Street
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, the design year got underway with Paris’ interiors and furniture fair. Elsewhere, the Wallpaper* editors marked the start of 2026 with good food and better music
-
Structure meets scent in Clive Christian’s new London flagship by Harry NurievWhat does architecture smell like? The British perfume house’s Inox fragrance captures the essence of its new Bond Street store
-
A quartet of sleek new travel trailers accelerate the caravan’s cultural rehabilitationAirstream, Evotrex, AC Future and Honda put forward their visions for off-grid living and lightweight RV design
-
Take an exclusive look at the Royal Albert Hall’s new Artists’ BarLocal architecture studio BDP converts the Royal Albert Hall’s steam boiler house into a sophisticated bar for performers (and their guests – see if you can get yourself invited)
-
Stay at the childhood home of Jessie Buckley’s character in HamnetCwmmau Farmhouse, available as a holiday let through the National Trust, stars in the Golden Globe-winning film as the childhood home of Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes
-
The most anticipated hotel openings of 2026From landmark restorations to remote retreats, these are the hotel debuts shaping the year ahead
-
The most stylish hotel debuts of 2025A Wallpaper* edit of this year’s defining hotel openings. Design-led stays to shape your next escape
-
Neo-Gothic grandeur and decadent martinis await at Hawksmoor St PancrasThe dining room at the St Pancras London hotel has proved to be a revolving door for big-name chefs; now, it's Hawksmoor’s time to shine
-
Form... and flavour? The best design-led restaurant debuts of 2025A Wallpaper* edit of the restaurant interiors that shaped how we ate, gathered and lingered this year
-
At last: a London hotel that’s great for groups and extended staysThe July London Victoria, a new aparthotel concept just steps away from one of the city's busiest rail stations, is perfect for weekends and long-term visits alike
-
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
