Costing upwards of £1,000 a night, the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is as attuned to the needs of business people, as wealthy families with children or guests with dogs. Jenny Southan reports

Opened in 2024, the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London is one of the newest additions to the capital’s luxury hotel scene and Mayfair’s first new-build hotel in more than a decade. Occupying a prominent corner of Hanover Square, it is an unusually intimate Mandarin Oriental, with just 50 rooms and suites, alongside 77 private residences. The wider development is owned and developed by Clivedale London.

The property draws on Mandarin Oriental’s dual Asian heritage while rooting itself firmly in its Mayfair surroundings through British art, fashion, craft and design. Among its signatures are a fan designed by the late Dame Vivienne Westwood, hand-painted de Gournay silk wallpaper and collaborations with local fashion and cultural institutions.

I checked in with my wife, seven-year-old daughter and our dog for a weekend treat. We arrived as a mini whirlwind, but despite the serenity of the hotel, were warmly welcomed and shown to our suite upstairs, which had a bed made up in the living room for our child – and, a dog's bed, alongside various other thoughtful amenities (dog bowl, blanket, books, toys).

LOCATION

The address is hard to beat for anyone wanting to be positioned in central London. The Mandarin Oriental Mayfair sits directly on Hanover Square, a few minutes’ walk from Bond Street station and around five minutes from Regent Street, Savile Row, the Royal Academy of Arts and Oxford Circus. Soho, Covent Garden and the West End theatre district are around a ten-minute walk away. The Elizabeth Line also puts Heathrow approximately 20 minutes away by Underground. This is very much a hotel that makes Mayfair part of the stay rather than simply providing a base within it.

ETHOS

The hotel positions itself at the crossroads of “art, fashion and culture”, blending Mandarin Oriental’s Asian heritage with a distinctly British and Mayfair-centric identity. Rather than leaning heavily on traditional hotel grandeur, the emphasis is on contemporary design, craftsmanship, fashion collaborations, wellness and a strong sense of place.

That approach is becoming more explicit in 2026 through The Living Square, a year-long partnership with Mayfair Design District that effectively turns the hotel into a contemporary salon for art, design and dialogue. Its changing programme includes installations, commissions and gallery collaborations, with chapters tied to events including Collect, Frieze London and PAD London.

GUEST PERSONAS

Its location and relatively small room count make Mandarin Oriental Mayfair particularly well suited to executives and luxury leisure travellers who want to be in the centre of London’s fashion, art and shopping district but prefer to operate somewhat off-radar. (This is not a place to "be seen" in the way nearby Claridge's is, for example.) The residences – ranging from one to three bedrooms, alongside larger options including a Penthouse – also make longer stays and family trips possible.

Families are actively catered for through the hotel’s Mini Mayfair programme. Children receive touches such as panda dressing gowns and a cuddly Ben Bear, while interconnecting suites and apartments make family stays easier. There are also seasonal activities and two location-led experiences: Mini Maestro at the Cartoon Museum and Mini Fashionista at Selfridges. Children under 13 can eat free from the children’s menu, while complimentary rollaway beds are available for children under 12.

INTERIOR DESIGN

Tokyo-based design studio Curiosity was responsible for the public spaces, which combine Asian and British references through contemporary art and craftsmanship. One of the defining architectural features is a dramatic spiral staircase wrapped in emerald-green marble, while other details include installations by British sculptor Charlie Whinney.

Studio Indigo designed the guestrooms, suites and residences. Particularly striking are the bespoke de Gournay silk wallcoverings: their flowering magnolia motif references the magnolia trees of Hanover Square and collectively took more than 9,000 hours to paint by hand. The connection with British fashion extends to Mandarin Oriental’s traditional hotel fan. Here it was handcrafted by Dame Vivienne Westwood, inspired by Hanover Square, and is described by the hotel as the first fan to be entirely designed and made in the UK for more than 70 years.

ROOMS

There are just 28 rooms and 22 suites, making this considerably more boutique in scale than many of London’s grand hotels (the Mandarin Oriental Knightsbridge near Harrods has 181). Rooms measure 33-38 sqm, while suites range from 50 sqm to 141 sqm and can be interconnected. Bathrooms have Natura Bissé amenities, Dyson hairdryers and GHD straighteners.

For guests wanting more space, there are residences ranging from 52 sqm upwards, with Gaggenau kitchens, dining areas, washing machines and dishwashers; some have private terraces. Our corner suite was spacious and light, and the bed supremely comfortable.

MINIBAR AND IN-ROOM DINING

As you'd expect, there is a good selection of snacks, wine and drinks in the minibar, and food can be ordered to the room via a tablet. In addition to reliable burgers, sandwiches and pasta, there is also a cold mezze platter (£30) and 30g of N25 caviar, Oscietra Reserve, for £155. I appreciated the nice glassware, crystal ice bucket and cocktail shaker provided. There was also an Nespresso machine and a kettle.

RESTAURANTS: WHAT TO EAT

Considering the hotel is so compact, there are a good array of restaurants. Street-level Mazarine serves fine French cuisine, while chef Andrew Wong's two Michelin-starred A Wong Chinese restaurant is conducting a six-week autumn 2026 residency. (Somssi by Jihun Kim was shuttered  just five weeks after winning a Michelin star earlier this year.)

The principal option, though, is Atrium, a light-filled space beneath a dramatic triple-height skylight. We loved the highly curated breakfast that gives the option of a buffet of neatly arranged granolas, yoghurts, pastries, cheese, salads and cold cuts, alongside a tempting a la carte menu of savoury classics, signature veggie bowls (£22), matcha and chia seed pudding (£14) and enormous buttermilk pancakes with caramelised banana (£21).

BARS: WHAT TO DRINK

In the evening I popped up to the 50-seat Hanover rooftop bar, which has impressive city views, low lighting, elegant cocktails and was even accommodating of my dog who joined me for a negroni. It also has an outdoor terrace.

Its Icons of Mayfair cocktail menu takes inspiration from the surrounding neighbourhood: drinks include The Tailor’s Cut for Savile Row, The Muse for the Royal Academy (£23), The Bond for Bond Street (£25) and The Shepherd's Mark after Shepherd's Market (£24), alongside alcohol-free creations such as The Serpentine.

New for 2026 is Negronis All Night Long, a Saturday-night concept accompanied by funky house from the resident DJ and featuring Negronis inspired by London, Florence, Mexico City and Hong Kong. For something later, Esmeralda’s is a New York-inspired late-night lounge with live music, DJs, cocktails and dining, open Thursday to Saturday.

WELLNESS FACILITIES

For an urban hotel, wellness is one of the hotel’s strongest calling cards. Hidden below street level, the spa contains a glittering 25-metre heated indoor pool (kids are welcome), alongside vitality pools, experience shower, steam and sauna facilities, a relaxation area and a gym with Pilates reformer. There are two treatment rooms, including a double suite.

Treatments incorporate science-led and sustainability-focused brands including Seed to Skin Tuscany and Swiss Perfection. More unusual offerings include 22-minute binaural biohacking treatments and Sleepfulness, a ritual combining breathwork, aromatherapy and massage aimed at addressing disrupted sleep, travel fatigue and digital overload. A 90-minute bespoke massage costs £440.

Through Laura Dodd’s The Yoga Class, guests can also book private yoga and Pilates, floating sound baths and other wellness programming. The newest development is a partnership with cognitive-performance practice SOFOS Associates. Psychologist and neuroscience specialist Natalia Ramsden joined as Practitioner in Residence in June 2026, offering personalised cognitive assessments and brain-optimisation programmes until the end of the year.

There are two principal experiences: The Brain Map Experience, using quantitative EEG to establish a personalised baseline of brain health and performance, and the longer-term Brain Gym Programme, which uses neurofeedback training and is designed around cognitive function, mental clarity and resilience.

WHERE TO WORK

There is no communal lobby or co-working space but Atrium restaurant works well for client meetings and a few emails.

STANDOUT INNOVATIONS

The SOFOS Associates brain-health residency is perhaps the clearest example of the hotel pushing beyond conventional luxury wellness. Rather than simply adding another spa treatment, it brings qEEG brain mapping and neurofeedback into the hotel environment, with programmes centred on cognitive performance, focus and resilience.

There is innovation outside the spa too. Through luxury fashion-rental platform By Rotation, guests can arrange private in-suite styling appointments rather than travelling with an extensive wardrobe. Partnerships with Savile Row names including Huntsman, Clothsurgeon and Knatchbull similarly allow private consultations and bespoke atelier experiences.

The cultural programming is also unusually integrated into the identity of the hotel. The Living Square positions the property as a changing platform for exhibitions, commissions, craft and cultural dialogue rather than treating art simply as decoration.

For families, Mini Mayfair is another good example of destination-led programming: rather than relying only on children's amenities inside the hotel, its Mini Maestro and Mini Fashionista experiences use the Cartoon Museum and Selfridges to turn Mayfair itself into part of the stay.

SERVICE

The staff manage to be both incredibly polished and personable – no small achievement in the world of luxury hospitality. I was somewhat anxious about the behaviour of both child and dog but every effort was made to engage with both and ensure we felt at home.

VERDICT

There have been a lot of high-profile luxury hotel openings in London in recent years, from the Raffles OWO to the Rosewood Chancery Lane, so in comparison the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is understated. I really liked this though. In a city of noisy competition, it is seeking to deliver top-class, contemporary hospitality without the fervour.

PRICE

Rates start from £1,000 per night.