Inside the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, one of London’s latest hotel openings

London has never suffered from a shortage of hotels. Throw a stone in any direction and you’re just as likely to hit a luxury retreat as you are to bump into Pierce Brosnan – all tanned, handsome spy-ish, and debonair – checking into the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. True story.

Which is just a sneaky segue to say that if you’re a fan of the Mandarin Oriental (insiders will get the joke), you’ll be thrilled to know that the brand recently opened its second property in London, this time in swanky Mayfair. 

And if you were to hold your breath a little longer, a third property is all set to open in 2026 in Vauxhall which is, to continue with the James Bond Easter eggs, within easy reach of the MI6 HQ and nightclubs.

Of course, alert readers might well pipe up and ask: Does any city, even one as sprawling and heaving as London, really need two, much less three, Mandarin Orientals? You might as well ask whether the world needs another Adele residency? To which I reply, Lady Whistledown-like, yes, gentle readers, it does.

Regardless of where you’re flying into – whether Singapore, New York, Tokyo or Milan – there is something intangible, yet remarkably familiar, about each hotel. The superficial exteriors may differ from city to city, but at the core of each, the brand has really nailed down the soft metrics from the Chinoiserie-lite decor, soft linen and lighting, to the colour palette and first rate service.

In other words, you know what you’re going to get when you check into an MO, and in a good way.

For its new Mayfair property, what you’re getting is a brand new, five-storey low-rise designed by famed RSHP architects in the heart of one of London’s poshest neighbourhoods.

If you want to know what old money smells like, come to Mayfair. Claridges is just down the road. As are Sotheby’s, Savile Row and Burlington Arcade. And three of London’s most historic (read, rich) squares and residences – Hanover Square, Berkeley Square and Grosvenor Square – loom to the north, west and south-west.

As addresses go, it’s faultless. So, there’s that.

What you’re also getting is an intimate, expensively furnished interior, courtesy of Tokyo-based design studio Curiosity who created the public spaces including the spa, and London-based Indigo who worked on the 50 guestrooms and 77 private residences, the latter located in a connecting 11-storey block.

Every little detail has been thought through, whether it's the figure-flattering yukata bathrobes, Natura Bisse soaps, or black make-up hand towels (so, you don’t leave unsightly mascara and foundation stains on the white towels). Another winning feature which I’ve only ever seen done properly in the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome is the oversized mirror in the shower – so necessary for shaving, or for examining one’s pores whilst scrubbing.

Everyone is tight-lipped about how much money was spent on creating the hotel, but you can bet it was a pretty penny. Just the green Ming marble alone in the lobby and staircase leading down to the bar and restaurant should give you a hint. In the guestrooms, de Gournay silk wallpaper, hand-painted with magnolia blossoms set off the white and gold porcelain leaves of the chandeliers, and the discrete satin brass and bronze accents.

Meanwhile, the basement spa offers suitably indulgent diversions, not least a fabulous 25m lap pool mood-lit with candle-like wall sconces, three vitality pools, and £300 (US$388; S$512) body and face treatments.

And what’s a Mandarin Oriental without a first-rate dining experience? In London, especially, the brand has really lucked out with its chefs. The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park has the majestic Heston Blumenthal.

In Mayfair, the considerably more low-key, but no less influential, American-Korean chef, Akira Back holds court with a high-ceilinged smart-casual diner, a mod-Korean restaurant, and a cocktail bar lined with shimmering bronze ceiling panels, that was heaving with beautiful people when I was there, everyone gossiping and laughing whilst sipping crazily inventive drinks called Miso Negroni, Goma Margarita and Guangzhou’s Blossoms. Paging RuPaul.

At Dosa – all glossy with its sculpted mirrored ceiling, open kitchen, and U-shaped chef’s counter – Back banishes any initial impressions that you’re about to tackle an Indian menu (the name refers to a Taoist monk) with a polished, millennial take on Korean standards and ingredients. Think cold seabass soup hit with fermented sweet pepper and wasabi; red Mazara prawn cerviche cured with ginger and ganjang; and gochujang pastry concealing dry-aged duck marinated in doenjang, kimchi and ganjang-braised daikon.

There are, in the end, any number of reasons to check into the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair. You might have just earned a whopping bonus, for instance (room rates start from £1000). You’re hoping to spot a popstar or two at breakfast. But the best reason, perhaps, might be that if Agent 007 is a fan of the brand, surely, that’s got to count for something.