Mayfair Townhouse Hotel

London, England

Once famed for being one of Oscar Wilde’s old haunts and the setting for his play, The Importance of Being Earnest, Half Moon Street is now home to the new Mayfair Townhouse. The charismatic hotel stretches the length of 15 converted Georgian houses, including Number 40, previously the home of Wilde’s first lover, Robbie Ross. It combines modern elegance typical of the team behind Cliveden House and Chewton Glen with a less stiff and more eclectic approach than is often the case with some of this area’s other offerings. The decor of its 172 rooms and garden suites brings to mind Dutch blues and moody hues, with details inspired by gentlemen’s pocket squares and fox iconography (the hotel’s motif). There’s surrealist art including mythological creatures in couture. Wilde’s theatrical world prevails in the 25,000 crystals that embellish a peacock sculpture named after another of his lovers, and in the flamboyant cocktails served in the Dandy Bar.

Doubles from £252. 0208 138 3400, themayfairtownhouse.com

Words by Jasmina Matulewicz.

This review was taken from the March/April 2021 issue of Food and Travel.

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