Review: 1 Hotel Mayfair, London
Lobby Entrance | Image Credit: Mikkel Vang
Amenities
Filtered water taps in each room
3 On-site restaurants
Skyline views of London
The Review
Background
This is the 1 Hotel & Homes brand’s first hotel in Europe. Part of SH Hotels and Resorts, the idea of their properties is: redefined luxury. Created from two existing buildings, the hotel prides itself on reducing CO2 emissions. The hotel has a strong sustainability and nature ethos, with the idea that foliage is something that’s welcomed inside. Over 1,300 individual plants, shrubs, and trees are found throughout the hotel. Plants are watered with the hotel’s roof area rainwater. And, no plastic is found inside the hotel.
Where Is It?
Located very close to Green Park, it’s in the heart of the British capital and a stone’s throw walk to Buckingham Palace.
What’s It Like?
As soon as you enter the hotel, you’re met with greenery and earthy tones of wood walls, Spanish moss hanging from the ceiling, benches made from trees, and stones that house plants. The reception desk is made from a 200-year-old oak tree, and from the time you enter the hotel, it feels more like being in the countryside rather than an urban landscape such as London. The idea of the hotel is to bring in as much British nature as possible, as is the case with the 1 Hotels, where stone, wood, and foliage are sourced from surrounding areas. The hotel is also pet friendly too.
Rooms
Room keys are made from recycled materials, and each room includes filtered water taps with recycled wine-into-water bottles. The Skyline One Bedroom Terrace Suite provides views of Mayfair from the 7th floor. There is construction happening at eye level on the suite, but it’s still a nice area to sit and take in London. Inside it’s quiet where during the day you sit in the living room on the corner sofa and relax and watch TV. It’s like a studio apartment with a dividing wall separating the bedroom and living room.
Skyline One Bedroom Suite | Image Credit: Milo Brown
Skyline One Bedroom Terrace Suite | Image Credit: 1 Hotel Mayfair
The bathroom includes Welsh slate rock giving a mountain nature retreat feel to the room, and bath products are by Bamford. Quite honestly, the bathroom feels like a spa. You won’t want to leave from the walk-in shower to the deep soaking tub. 1 Hotels are great at making you feel like you can really get away, and in a city as sprawled out as London that can leave one feeling drained, rooms and bathrooms offer the ability to turn off and tune into self-care and relaxation.
Food and Drink
Dovetale is a delightful restaurant with a soothing ambience and tasty British fare | Image Credit: Milo Brown
Dovetale is absolutely divine. From its warm neutral tones with pops of green in the restaurant, it gives a fun and upscale dining vibe. It’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as for bank holidays. It’s Tom Sellers, the two-star Michelin-star chef that’s responsible for the culinary direction of the restaurant. Known for breaking convention by combining fine dining with a forward-thinking approach to cooking makes dishes well balanced. It was fascinating to see the number of non-guests arriving off the street to dine at Dovetale for the lunch hour. Because the hotel is based on sustainability, ingredients are local and seasonal. The beef carpaccio and Stracciatella di bufala starter are to-die-for. Infusing all the right notes, they are must tries. And the Fish Pie hits all the right spots on a cold day with strong lemony notes. Or, you can opt for the 2 or 3 course set menu that ranges from $50/60 (£39/£45).
Meetings
Meeting rooms from 32 – 158 square meters are available. The nature essence of the hotel is brought into meeting rooms and the ballroom. And there are various room types offering a more city feel, to a more retreat feel, or a nature feel.
Bamford Wellness Spa | Image Credit: Sam Frawley
Leisure
Wellness is a big part of the hotel, and personal trainers provide curated work outs from strength and conditioning training and boxing. In your room, the hotel can arrange for HigherDose’s Sauna Blanket and PEMF Mat for rejuvenation can be arranged for $120, or £95. Complimentary yoga and breathwork classes are also offered, and the Bamford Wellness Spa provides curated facials and massage treatments organized by Carole Bamford
Verdict stay here.
Best For a nature vibe.
Don’t Miss Dovetale for a fulfilling meal.
Price Online midweek rates in April for the Skyline One Bedroom Terrace Suite prepay non-refundable start from $1603 (£1237).
Contact 3 Berkeley Street, London W1J 8DL | 1hotels.com
