The busy crowds of Oxford Street fade away as you turn the corner to the Greater Cumberland location and approach Montcalm Mayfair. This hotel is one of London's newest luxury openings, located in a Georgian-style row. With the entrance enveloping, evoking historic grandeur and distinct British charm, the lively passage nearby feels like a distant memory. Technically, in Marybon instead of Mayfair, Montcalm Mayfair is located in an ideal blend of some of the capital's popular dining and shopping destinations. This means easy access to Hyde Park, Mayfair, Marybon Village and the marble arch without noise or wonder, which is the hotel's enhanced sensitivity in a garden-style public place.
Montcalm Mayfair is the latest member of Montcalm Collection, a London hotel brand run by a family-signed hotel group. The hotel draws inspiration from a Georgian garden, partly because it is in a row of historic townhouses, as well as local figures like British musician George Bridgetower and British literary critic Elizabeth Montagu, who runs the Blue Stockings Society, a social movement and salon that invites men and women to join.
“I remember staying here a few years ago before I came to London, and then going to the Ritz with a friend,” Samantha Van Exter, head of the hotel at Montcalm Collections, told Observer. “The doorman looked up and down at us and said, ‘Do you have a reservation?’ I said to my friend: “I would never do that when I opened a hotel in London one day. “I want all my guests to be very welcome.”
From the moment I stepped onto the hall, it was obvious that Montcalm Mayfair did embrace the seductive, friendly Vibe Van Exter hopes of those years ago. The cooking products feel like the work being done, I haven’t experienced spa treatments in person, but overall it’s a property with great potential and almost perfect location.
The hotel is part of the Marriott Hotel signature series, which curates independent hotels under a brand umbrella (which technically still makes it a boutique hotel, at least according to Van Exter). It was formerly London marble arches and underwent two years of renovation by construction company Holland Harvey. Reno includes restoration of its impressive Class II Georgian entrance, which was damaged during World War II and was never completely restored. The sprawling lobby covers the bar and several seating areas, which are both stylish and enthusiastic, yet in natural-style greens and soft tones, which are the highlight of Studio Est’s interior design. The garden theme is everywhere, with lots of plants and hand-painted ceiling frescoes by Camille Rousseau. The hotel calls their atmosphere a “sensitive luxury,” a term that Van Exter calls it, about intuitive service and awareness.
“It’s more about giving guests what they want before they know what they want,” she explains. “It’s sometimes lost in hospitality because we’re very focused on design, look and feel. But it’s really about how people remember how you make them feel.” For Van Exter, that means “sensitive to the personal needs and needs of the guests” because every traveler “feels different.” It is not clear how this will work, but she points to the exquisite floral scent of the hall as an example of evoking some aesthetic while keeping in mind something that doesn’t pump.
In the sustainability work, the hotel has cleared all single-use plastic items and equipped with some recyclable materials, including bathroom benches, which are made from cut wood from the Goldfinger factory. The slippers are made of bamboo and are packaged in paper sets instead of plastic bags. The snacks that arrive indoors are from Luminary Bakery, a social enterprise that empowers women facing adversity (mine is a delicious mini plant-based lemon cake). Myanmar-based company Kalinko has purchased hard-made artisan products for the room, including rattan stents, tissue boxes and ice bucket lids.
“These costs may be five times more than regular hotel accessories,” Van Exter said. “But for us, it's about the story behind it. We really want to make an impact by spending the right way. We want our guests to feel that, too.”
Montcalm Mayfair has 151 rooms and suites, including three signature suites: Plant Suite, Royal Suite and Presidential Suite. Although many rooms designed by Studio Mica are relatively compact (a symptom of central London), the small space is well used, including the clever drawer under the bed for luggage. Flax is fretter, and toiletries are from Penhalagon. Many details fit into the boutique hotel: each room has a unique framed sleep poem written by Creative Writing MFA students at nearby Goldsmiths University, and The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The singal-framed-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle-sle Most notably, the sound insulation on the windows was impressive – I couldn't hear anything on the streets around the room on the fourth floor.
Montcalm Mayfair's underground level displays the Yātrā logo spa designed by Studio Est. There are four treatment rooms, two saunas (infrared and traditional), a steam room, a dwarf pool and a hot tub with several loungers. Facial and body therapy blends East African and Ayurvedic rituals. The fitness center features shiny new technology machines and weights and is perfect for London Hotel Stadium, a detail that I particularly like as an avid gym user, and even in some luxury hotels he is often disappointed with the city’s products. A range of free weights and aerobic equipment means anyone can do the usual exercises on the go. The planned yoga and wellness studio will host a hosting meeting so guests can attend classes at any time.
Montcalm Mayfair's signature restaurant Lilli Bay Akira Back has had a slightly successful success. It marks the third opening ceremony of chef Akira Back, who announced Akira and Dosa at Oriental Mayfair last year (a stellar guy who was another outstanding guy when Akira Back Reck to I Rekise the Hotel). Situated in a sophisticated dark green restaurant, Lilli focuses on the chef’s perception of British cuisine. The menu is still flooding with lack of cohesion, especially since many signature dishes are not particularly British. Back’s iconic Wagyu Pizza ranks topped the appetizers, and the dynamite shrimp dish evokes Oriental’s outstanding dynamite lobster. But this power supply is a rather eclectic combination, from Kimchi's beef Wellington to spicy Calabrian Rigatoni to Mediterranean-style halibut.
Van Exter has known each other for a few years and he says what the chef wants to do
Compared with his outpost in Oriental Mandarin, it is in “residential style”. “He likes the whole idea of the garden because he is increasingly focused on sustainable, farm-to-fork, local produce,” she said. Van Exter explains that Back “hopes to take British cuisine to the next level by combining Korean flavors. This approach is not fully realized on the current menu, and despite the great potential of the concept, the chefs are continuing to adjust.
Drinks and breakfast are served in the bright Lilli's Bar and are open to hotel guests and visitors throughout the day. (I highly recommend it to anyone who needs to set up a meeting in the area.) The garden-inspired cocktail list includes several very nice non-alcoholic options (Ember is a favorite). The wine list balances the easier-to-get options of high-end bottles and glasses, as well as a wide variety of champagne. While you will find Spanish, Italian, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand options, the focus is mainly on French wines. Breakfast is a compact mainland buffet, and the dishes are not cooked.
On the sixth floor, the hotel will soon debut in the library, a guest space for high-paying suites only (rooms are about $666 per night, and currently, plant suites are priced at over $5,300 per night). The book-filled room has a member club-like atmosphere with a cozy seating area and an exclusive feel, and it will offer snacks and drinks once it opens on May 15. The library will also hold public events; the first is the coincidence with the Chelsea Flower Show on May 22. It will be written by Michael Marriott Rose Book.
Hopefully people reintegrate the bonds into the spotlight of Elizabeth Montagu. “The idea is to do these cultural salons where we can talk about Georgian gardens, Georgian music, poetry, etc. to make her blue stock society live in a modern way,” Van Exter noted. “In her cultural salon, they talk about all kinds of things, and everyone is welcomed and invited. It's also something we encourage in the hotel – welcome and invite everyone.”
