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England
The Experience
Set beside Green Park in a quiet cul de sac in the heart of Mayfair, this traditional townhouse is perhaps one of the most quiet and peaceful of urban hotels. Turn-of-the-century gas lamps at the entrance set the sedate Victorian tone. Inside this mini-grand, interiors are restful and unostentatious, making it perfect for romantic (and secret) assignations, especially in the conservatory and rose-scented central courtyard with its small fountain. The covert sense of suppressed sinfulness continues to the moody paneled bar, which draws Londoners along with hotel guests for its excellent dry martini cocktail and list of rare cognacs.
The RoomsThe hotel may be dinky but there is nothing pinched about the bedroom space -- even standard singles are large and filled with light. Suites have lounges as well as dining rooms, and the Penthouse its own terrace. The somewhat tired and dated interiors will be transformed in early 2007 by new management, Campbell Gray Hotels (of One Aldwych fame). The traditional English style will be retained, but the new look, interpreted with typical panache by the masters of sophisticated cool, will be classicism with a twist.
The ServiceThe youthful staff are enthusiastic and willing -- and with 50 percent of the clientele made up of regulars, it's a very personalized service they provide. They come to know exactly, for instance, how sir prefers his morning egg cooked, and what kind of flowers to leave in madam's room.
The HighlightsThere are many distractions on the doorstep, from Buckingham Palace and Green Park to the shopping of Bond Street and the lights of Piccadilly, but reward yourself by escaping to the oasis that is The Dukes; the dining room is one of London's best-kept secrets. Sunny and ultracivilized, it's a pleasantly informal place to dine on modern British cooking like Scottish rib-eye steak with horseradish mash or a baked filet of sea bass with couscous.
-- Catherine Fairweather
