There’s a reason why those without children like to stay in adults-only hotels. No screaming in the corridors, no splashing in the pool, no noisy complaints at suppertime. So what happens when a serene hotel as upmarket as the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, a short walk from Bond St station, starts to tell everyone it’s family-friendly? Well, if you’re a guest, what happens is that your children - however tired and grouchy and tricky they are after a long journey - are welcomed with kind smiles, offers of juice and a refreshing hot towel and a sit-down on a comfy chair while the incredibly patient staff talk to them like they’re just as important to them as their parents. This is normally not the case in a ‘family-friendly’ hotel.
Led to vast, elegant adjoining suites, they have their own paradise to explore - as do the adults. I adored the understated style, the enormous bed, the textures of heavy silk bedcover, pale purple marble bathroom walls, Japanese loos, remote control for the curtains. The hand-painted de Gournay silk wallpaper is luxurious, in an understated way. The children loved the golden rubber ducks in the en-suite along with a toiletry pack with gorgeous all-natural cleanser and shampoo from The Botanist and The Chemist, panda bear towel and slippers, a big, soft teddy in a Mandarin Oriental jumper on the bed, and a little pile of presents, which for them included a ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ book, ‘Draw your own cartoon’ graphic book and dressing up pieces from party planner Meri Meri - who styled Prince George’s first birthday - to take home (the silver and blue superhero cape with matching leatherette red wrist bands and eye mask remain a source of absolute delight to my son).
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It was… challenging to keep the children away from the enormous solid chocolate fan, an edible replica of the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair’s Vivienne Westwood-designed signature fan - and instead, direct them towards the overflowing fruit bowl instead. So - down the green marble staircase to the bright, spacious Atrium restaurant, on the lower ground floor. We opted to sit on a banquette to add privacy and reduce distraction, and the triple height ceiling and glass ceiling seemed to absorb noise rather well. The kids menu was limited (chicken strips or fish fingers and fries, pasta pomodoro or egg fried rice with seasonal vegetables), but nicely cooked. But the breakfast the next day was the real star - either choosing from the buffet (fruits, yoghurts, cereals and pastries galore), or a la carte, where buttermilk pancakes piled high with berries was a hit for the children, and for the adults a fluffy omelette with prosciutto cotto and comte cheese.
The true luxury for the adults, is being able to hang out in the expansive suite sitting room with a glass of champagne, before relaxing in the tub with Jo Loves products, while the children sleep happily in their completely blacked-out room, exhausted after an exciting day. A special mention here for the finest dressing gown I have ever come across, by New and Lingwood - the smooth, weighty silk is a new level of luxury.
After breakfast the next morning, we headed down to the basement spa, two floors below street level. It‘s unclear how much the other guests enjoyed my small children delighting in the dark, serene cave of a pool (at 25m, Mayfair’s longest) and its jet taps and bubbling hot tubs, but… there we go. There’s only so much you can do to quiet down a child in a swimming pool. It also has a gym, sauna, steam room (all adult only, of course).
As part of the hotel’s very luxurious family package, you can choose between some rather marvellous, and curated, extras. A shopping trip to Selfridges with a £50 voucher per child, or a trip to the comic book museum and some take-home gifts. The concierge team also offered help with booking a bespoke itinerary, whatever your London desires are - securing theatre tickets, for example. This is a hotel that knows its way to a child’s, and adult’s heart - they still talk about the magical night at the “fancy hotel”, and so do I.
Minimum two-night stay, from £2,790 per room, per night, mandarinoriental.com
