Courtesy: Bridget Arsenault | News Source: forbes.com

There are few better places to enjoy London than Grosvenor Square. What was once the Millennium Hotel has been made over into The Biltmore, by Hilton’s new upmarket marque LXR. The columned cream and marmalade-coloured building stands out as you pass; it’s the type of building you might imagine silk-screened onto a dish towel or blazoned onto a biscuit tin. This leafy central London location means the hotel is fewer than a five minute walk to Hyde Park or to rack up shopping bags at Selfridges. Equally, Bond Street, Regent’s Street and Buckingham Palace are not far, nor is the Strand and the city’s thrumming theatre district. And once inside, business travellers, families and young couples alike all look at ease in this smartly designed property.

King premiere one-bedroom suite

Niall Clutton

Modern, light and understated, the hotel has a sheen of newness from the moment each guest walks through the doors. The 307 rooms and suites very in size, prize and category but they are all light, modern and inviting. If possible, request a view of Grosvenor Square, you might even momentarily forget you are in London altogether, as this slice of the city has a serenity that is rarely found in such a cosmopolitan enclave.

The blond-wood chevron floors are a welcome change from typically fussy hotel carpets and the dusky gold mirrors behind each bed conjure up a feeling of openness and space. Styled like an apartment as opposed to a typical hotel room, guests will find an assortment of London-centric books on the table, an umbrella and ironing board in the cupboard and a sense that the space has been designed with functionality in mind.

King premier one-bedroom suite

Niall Clutton

The Betterment, the hotel’s restaurant, has certainly caused a buzz. That hype is mostly down to the name behind it, Jason Atherton, the Michelin-starred British chef who now presides over a staggering 19 restaurants around the world. In fact, Atherton looks after all of the fare that comes through the hotel - from the afternoon tea to the snacks in the atmospheric Pine Bar.

The Betterment

The Betterment

Niall Clutton

The restaurant itself is set to be a London destination; it already boasts its own entrance and website. The menu highlights what Atherton does best, colliding fine dining with comfort items. The restaurant’s signature dishes are various iterations of seafood and meat charred on the wood-fired oven. Decadence comes from touches like the pre-dinner Champagne trolley and the post-dinner selection of gooey cheeses. Breakfast is equally rich, featuring items like truffle-scrambled eggs with lobster and a chorizo shakshuka drizzled in a creamy yoghurt sauce. It is of course more than possible to be virtuous and breakfast, in particular, features a chunk of delightful wellness options - such as the egg-white quesadillas -in one corner of the menu.

Equally, the neighbouring Pine Bar has a British bent, and here the mixology is informed by British produce and heritage. So expect a drink’s menu underlined with ingredients like honey, tomato and fragrant herbs.

The Pine Bar

Niall Clutton

Aside from a ballroom and event’s spaces, the team are particular proud of the gym and fitness facilities. Said to be the largest in Mayfair, the newly renovated gym is bursting with every piece of floor equipment you can think of, and there is a separate studio that features a cinema-style video screen streaming Les Mills-branded workouts.

In all, The Biltmore Mayfair is a magnet for a well-heeled curious traveller who wants a high-end central London hotel without the pomp of one of the neighbouring grande dames.

Rooms at The Biltmore Mayfair (44 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London W1K 2HP) start at £550 per night, room only.
Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website.