The Mayfair Hotel, London

Insert image here >> https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/05/06/02/5060216_135746d6.jpg >> Photo by Hugh Venables, CC 2.0

Situated in London’s swanky Mayfair district, the fittingly named May Fair Hotel was opened by King George VI and Queen Mary in 1927 and these days still plays home to the mega rich and famous. Stylish and full of famous faces with their paparazzi in tow most days of the week, this high-class hotel is luxury but does not come cheap. The hotel itself can be found in the heart of central London and really bursts into life when London Fashion Week, for which it remains the official hotel, comes into town. The British film Institute (BSI) are another glamorous organisation who maintain this as their official hotel so you can begin to see why A-listers from across the world arrive to and make it their temporary home when in London. Heck, even Kate Moss throws her birthday parties here!

But enough about the other half, what about us? Well, the hotel is, unsurprisingly, really rather good. The luxurious rooms range from actually quite decent and surprisingly fair value standard options on one end of the scale, to massive, palatial suites, fully decked out in richly textured fabrics at the other.

Inside, you will find a 201-seater cinema where you can relax and put your feet up in front of a movie. Meanwhile in the hotel’s former Grand Art Deco Ballroom, you’ll find one of the largest gaming rooms in London – the Palm Beach Casino. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to all guests staying at the hotel, the casino offers a wide variety of games including American Roulette, Blackjack, Punto Banco and Three Card Poker, a variant on more familiar versions of the game such as Texas Hold’em, arguably its most popular version.

Insert image here >> https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/72/03/2720365_a1ff6612.jpg >>> photo by Richard Croft >> CC 2.0 >>

Caption: The May Fair Hotel at night

The May Fair Spa provides five treatment rooms, including one specifically purposed for couples. You will also find a sauna, steam room and ice room, plus a relaxation room and a very well-equipped gym. Sadly, however, there is no swimming pool.

Should you feel hungry after your workout, then the China Tang restaurant serves up a carefully sourced menu of modern, international cuisine. Their slow cooked dishes in clay pots are the best thing on the menu and are definitely not to be missed. Elsewhere, the accompanying May Fair Bar is great for quenching your thirst. In what feels like a throwback to a past time, the Cigar Room is alive with acoustic jazz and billowing cigar smoke that feels like something ripped straight out of Phileas Fogg’s London.

But what of the rooms themselves? As outlined above, there are rooms and suites that, while not cheap, do at least provide a range of pricing options. In total, there are 404 luxurious rooms and 12 of London’s most spectacular suites to choose from. Know this though, the Crystal Room’s gorgeous Baccarat chandelier radiates in past glories and present day fabulousness. Once famous for hosting outrageous parties and mad drunken debauchery, which is incidentally how Mayfair got its name, today the district and its glorious hotel is celebrated for its elegance and charm.