The Dorchester is something of a London institution, known as much for its famous regulars as its unapologetic grandeur. It was a favourite stay of Elizabeth Taylor’s, with its Harlequin Penthouse suite now renamed eponymously in her honour.
More recently Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and their It girl contingent were known to hop between its restaurants and bars on nights out in the Noughties. While nowadays it attracts a steady flow of mostly international visitors for its spoiling service, palatial suites, and exacting standards. And this is what it promises to deliver with bells on for Christmas.
The hotel unveiled a major makeover earlier this year with an overhaul of its rooms and a more contemporary scheme, so this winter marks its first festive season with the new look.
The decorations went up on 16 November (staff work overnight like elves so that guests can wake up to the festivities) and this marked the start of its ‘Magic of Christmas’ themed events and offerings which include celebrity carolling events, handmade festive afternoon tea, and a gourmet five-course Christmas menu.
An overnight stay in the festivities DURING THIS PERIOD? costs over £1,000 — it comes in the wake of a new series of ultra-luxe hotel openings in London charging the sum for their new suites (part of a so-called ‘gold rush’ in the industry). So just how much does a 24-hour stay deliver on the festive feels and glitz for the price tag? We slept over to find out.
Its location gives The Dorchester hotel a serious advantage during the festive period: it is positioned on Park Lane in plum position opposite Hyde Park and adjacent to St James Park. Winter Wonderland is currently in full swing in the former, so the lights of its ferris wheel and rides twinkle in the distance from front-facing rooms. And if you’re feeling brave enough to join the jostling throngs, you can reach Oxford Street in just 10 minutes to see more light displays and shop for gifts.
Marble Arch is on the corner of the same end of Oxford Street for the Tube, though many of the hotel’s well-heeled guests will arrive by a private car booked through the team. There is a Dorchester Bentley for those who want an A-list arrival, or one of the doormen is on hand to help you hail a taxi at the hotel’s rank.
Back to the polished confines of the hotel, and the frontage has been updated with fairy-lit firs below its shiny silver signage to welcome you. And as you enter the grand lobby on any given weekend in the lead up to 25 December, you’ll feel as if it is screaming “It’s Christmasss” at you.
A huge tree sparkles with oversized pastel baubles and its star scales as high as the humungous chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. There is a hot chocolate station waiting for you to grab a cup to warm your cockles with by the reception desk. And on weekends your ears will be filled with the sounds of carol-singers belting out Mariah Carey in the Promenade’s 24-hour dining room, or perhaps a brass band or pianist pumping Yule Tide classics. This past weekend there was a concert headed up by Alexandra Burke
If that’s not festive overload enough, the huge gilded table in the centre of The Promenade, the 24-hour dining room behind the lobby, is covered in an installation of a miniature forest lined with chocolate tree sculptures (Willy Wonka eat your heart out).
And this is before you’ve even spotted the numerous other trees standing in line with The Promenade’s pillars, or set foot in your room.
The new-look 241 rooms come in 19 categories. Though ‘new’ here does not in any sense mean modern or minimalist, this stalwart of the London hotel scene stays very much true to its former Art Deco 1930s aesthetic: furniture is all ornate dark wood, hand painted and gilded; there are molded walls to frame curated floral artwork; and all is palatial in its size and aesthetic (room 117 has a shower large enough for a group of five to stew in). Though there are contemporary finishes: Bang & Olufsen TVs and sound bars from which to pump your festive playlist, underfloor heating in the shiny marble bathrooms and master light switches to set the mood with.
And obviously they’re decked out with a real Christmas tree — a “mini” of the lobby’s fir. While any spare surface — dining tables, end tables, fireplaces — will be dressed in ornate matching garlands.
Your bedroom will remain a festive-free sanctuary. In here the decor is inspired by gardens to give them a lighter feel than the rest of the hotel’s spaces.
A Christmas dinner can be taken in your room, and seeing as you may need to be rolled to bed after, it’s probably wise. The hotel’s butler service will pre-prep the scene (low lighting, Smooth FM and your table settings) while you sip a cocktail or two at Vespar bar. Try the Mexican inspired Rosita Vendela with Coffee Flor de Caña rum to liven yourself up if you’ve ventured out among the madding crowds.
Then enjoy a five-course feast of your choice from the festive offering served by the doting butler team. There’s blinis and caviar, truffle-topped soup, mputh-watering beef wellington main with a madeira jus, and perfect roasties and just-tart-enough cabbage for sides. Culinary director Martyn Nail has surpassed himself. It’s all very Home Alone, but make it five-star: Champagne over soda, and luxury Christmas pudding over Kevin’s silver platter of ice cream.
There’s the option of a festive afternoon tea, made by the in-house bakers and chocolatiers. And given how much the interiors of The Promenade evoke Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette it really would be rude not to let yourself eat cake.
Breakfast is included — take it in bed or in The Promenade — and if you’re still hungry for lunch then The Grill from two-AA rosette Tom Booton is a crowd-pleaser for its succulent, perfectly-seasoned meat and fish mains and indulgent sides. The steak tartar with lingering umami flavour is a must.
The lower ground floor spa is subterranean bliss. Treatments include bespoke ishga massages as well as facials from Valmont and Carol Joy London which will revive shopping-addled shoulders or stressed visages. There’s also a nail bar by Mii, encased in a perspex wall of nail varnishes in every shade imaginable, and a Spatisserie where you can sip more Champagne.
If you wake up needing to work up an appetite you can use sister hotel 45 Park Lane’s souped up gym and peaceful pool.
There’s no doubt the hotel’s regulars and well-heeled international visitors will be charmed by the usual immaculate service, elevated by Christmas sparkle. And for solos or couples with families out of town this year, it’s also well worth considering for a one-off blow the budget adult Home Alone experience with sensational food. Or you could just tell your clan you’re the one who is out of the country while secretly hauling up in a suite…
An overnight stay at The Dorchester’s starts from £1,010, including £150 hotel credit to use during your stay in the restaurants or spa, plus a seasonally inspired welcome gift on arrival. A set Christmas menu from Tom Booton’s The Grill starts at £65.
The Christmas Carols Afternoon Tea, featuring a vocal choir at 1pm, is available every weekend from 12-4.30pm from November 16 to December 22 at £135 per adult including a glass of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut Champagne NV, and £70 per child.
The Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge is known for its decadent marble interiors, which are a nod to 20th century’s Golden Age of travel, as well as the hotel’s royal heritage. For shoppers it has proximity to some of Brompton Road’s fanciest department stores, and right now the lobby has added festive appeal as it has been transformed into a cosy alpine ‘Winterhaus’, inspired by a traditional Bavarian chalet. It will serve up German delights daily, and gingerbread decorating for kids will take place every Saturday in the lead up to Christmas.
Rooms from £895 per night. mandarinoriental.com
This family-run five star hotel in the heart of Belgravia prides itself on offering a thoroughly British take on Christmas. Its tree was one of the Capital’s first to go up, so let that be an indication of the team’s fervour for the festive season. Book in for a Christmas Eve to Boxing Day experience for a traditional take on Noel feasting minus any of the legwork. Meals are served across its The Dining Room and The Veranda restaurants and there plenty of traditional trimmings.
Bedrooms from £1,345 per night. thegoring.com
If your Christmas personality is more on the kitsch side, with a ‘more tinsel the merrier’ mentality, then Soho hotel The London EDITION has you covered with decor devised by fashion designer Ashish. As for its offering in the lead up to the big day, expect Christmas cocktails in the Lobby bar before a session at SKATE at Somerset House. The next day you’re treated to a late checkout and breakfast either in-room, or at Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton’s restaurant Berners Tavern.
Until 10 January 2025. editionhotels.com
