What it’s like to stay in a £1,000 a night hotel
I check in to The Peninsula London
The last hotel I stayed in prior to this trip, cost me £200. Now, I’m checking in to The Peninsula London, at around £1,000 a night. So, the inevitable question, is, is it five-times better?
I am under no illusions how lucky I am as a travel writer, to be able to experience luxury hotels without having to foot the bill. When I do, sometimes I splash out and sometimes I don’t, like my last London-visit, when it was a spontaneous night away with my kids and I couldn’t justify the ever-increasing room rates, so I booked a Novotel.
London hotel prices have increased in the past five years, because of lockdown, rising cost of living and the arrival of uber-luxury hotels such as The Peninsula, Raffles (see my review here) and the latest, The Emory. With £1,000 a night rates becoming the norm, it’s meant it’s pushed up the prices of other five and four-star hotels, which is, of course, not to the benefit of the average traveller. Particularly locals, who get a worse rate then people booking from overseas.
However, there is nothing average about The Peninsula London. Dubbed London’s “first billion-pound hotel”, it took the luxury hotel group 35 years to find the perfect location and eventually, they found it in Belgravia, opposite Hyde Park Corner, overlooking Buckingham Palace. The 190-room hotel is uber-luxurious, with a fleet of Rolls-Royce and Bentley limos, huge spa and two-Michelin-starred restaurant.
Newly-built, the interiors by Peter Marino are all neutrals - marble, wood and cream, with sumptuous fabrics and detailing. Colonnades soar to the high ceilings, walls are covered in bespoke murals and artwork commissioned by The Royal Drawing School.
The staff wear uniforms by Jenny Packham – the satin dresses are very Princess of Wales – and the pill-box-hatted bell boys carry your designer shopping for you. “Did you get everything you needed?” enquired one to the lady with me in the lift, as he transported arms full of Stella McCartney and Dolce & Gabbana bags.
I stayed in a Grand Premier Park Room, with a view over Wellington Arch, which has to be the best hotel room view I have ever had. The room was huge, with a large dressing room and bathroom. I loved the enormous bath, with its control pad, especially the “spa mode” which immediately dims lights and plays classical music. It’s very civilised, as is the Japanese toilet with its automatic seat-warming. Other thoughtful touches include cable-free charging points where you want them, Dyson hair dryers (I love these in hotels, they are brilliant), a nail dryer and even a printer.
The Peninsula has three eateries – the Lobby, for breakfast, all-day dining and the world-famous Peninsula afternoon tea (£85), a lovely Cantonese restaurant, Canton Blue and the jewel in the crown, Brooklands By Claude Bosi. Named after the birthplace of British motorsport and aviation, the restaurant went straight to two-Michelin stars, just four months after opening.
It’s an experience before you even get there - a classic car sits in the downstairs lobby, under the nose of Concorde (turned around on the instruction of the Feng Shui master). You ascend to the rooftop in “hot air balloon” lifts which make a whooshing sound and then arrive in the beautiful bar, with its panoramic views and terrace.
The restaurant, headed by chef Claude Bosi, also has a model of Concorde on its ceiling and motifs throughout, which feels appropriate, because it’s certainly catering to the jet set. The modern British menu, mixing British ingredients with French techniques, is as meticulously thought-out as the rest of the hotel. It’s beautifully constructed and exquisite to taste – I loved the Cornish squid with artichoke and edible flowers and a very clever “Best of British apples” dessert. The wine-pairing was a stand-out, too. Three courses are £145.
I also visited the spa, which goes over two floors and includes seven treatment rooms, using Margy’s Monte Carlo and Subtle Energies products, a fitness room and 25-metre pool and hydrotherapy pool. There’s a designer shopping arcade, cinema and underground ballroom and a café and shop for anyone wanting a small taste of the hotel.
So, back to the big question. Is it five times better than my last hotel? Of course it is: it’s flawless.
I was a guest of The Peninsula London
The Travel List
Rooms from £935 a night
Visit peninsula.com