London
England


The Experience

The Dorchester, in recent years, has benefited not so much from a face-lift as from serious reconstructive surgery. Injected with new life after a 2003 multimillion-dollar renovation, with new spa, new restaurants and new suites, the place positively hums with energy. The endless lobby is now a veritable orgy of gleaming gold and marble, filled morning to midnight with a constant flow of models and maiden aunts, Asian businessmen and Savile Row suits. Shot through with a strong, sometimes campy sense of theater, the Dorchester is all about escapism; you can indulge your Highland fantasies at the Scottish-themed Grill with its outlandish Braveheart-style murals and tartan upholstery, or imagine yourself in decadent 1930s China in the elegant China Tang bar.

The Rooms

It was Charlton Heston who first drew attention to the hotel’s oversize baths: Here at last were tubs that held water deep enough to cover his knees! The Dorchester is all about generous excess, so that even the most modest standard doubles (definitely on the small side) will seem anything but mean, furnished with generous armchairs, thick carpets, heavy drapes and masses of cushions puffed up like meringues. For space and the near guarantee of a fabulous view over Hyde Park, it pays to upgrade to a suite; you'll get grand be-tasseled four-poster beds, acres of gold leaf and fireplaces. And the Dorchester also has some of the most over-the-top signature suites in London, with intricate stucco, trails of ivy, grottos, gazebos and cherubic fountains spouting water.

The Service

As you would expect from a hotel that warmly welcomes prestigious guests as different as Courtney Love and the President of Pakistan (both who checked in at the same time one summer's day in 2006), the hotel is adept at dealing with all the demands and foibles of its celebrity clientele. It prides itself not only on its unstuffy service but on offering the tightest security in town; there are various secret doors and escape routes, useful for quiet getaways and arrivals.

The Highlights

China Tang is the most talked-about restaurant in London; a large and glamorous space with sliding screens in carved lacquer and etched glass. Girls in authentic chi paos guide you to your table, where you’ll dip solid-silver chopsticks into exotic delicacies such as abalone with oyster sauce, steamed beef cake with orange peel or shark fin soup. Opulently decorated, there are filigree birdcages on the walls and cabinets filled with rare oriental objects d'art. Even the adjoining washrooms are a sensation; it is not music but poetry that gets recited here over the sound system.

--Catherine Fairweather

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