It’s been a heady year for new hotel openings in London — in May, the singular Shangri-La at the Shard threw open its glassy doors; the summer saw the Kit Kemp-designed Ham Yard hotel debut; and Andre Balazs’ hotter-than-hot Chiltern Firehouse Hotel arrived in a blaze of glory last month. This week, two more properties joined the buzzy scene: the massive, 359-room Mondrian London at Sea Containers on the South Bank and the boutique, 73-room Beaumont in Mayfair.
The Post was in the UK capital for the openings of both — and we got an exclusive look at the Mondrian’s sure-to-be-scene-y rooftop bar, the Rumpus Room, which is set to open next week, plus a first peek at the shiny art deco-style spa for Beaumont guests.
Mondrian London
At the hotel’s opening-night party Tuesday, Seamus Mullen — the man behind NYC’s Spanish hot spot Tertulia and now the culinary director of the Mondrian’s signature restaurant, Sea Containers — was stationed at the window of the open kitchen, making sure every plate heading out to the tables was picture-perfect. Mullen was clearly exhausted, but smiling — pleased that his seasonal British menu (incorporating lots of locally sourced produce, meat and fish) was finally being served to the public after many months of planning. “I’m a little under the weather but feeling good tonight,” he told us. The spacious, trans-Atlantic-themed dining room features walls of glass that look out directly on the River Thames promenade, so you can be sure there will be plenty of people-watching to be done, from the inside and out.
Next door at the Mondrian’s bar, Dandelyan, bartenders whipped up frothy concoctions from the mind of Ryan Chetiyawardana, whose East London lounge White Lyan was recently awarded Best New International Cocktail Bar by Tales of the Cocktail. And upstairs, guests were unpacking for the first night spent in the Tom Dixon-designed rooms — a stylish, clever mix of bespoke lighting and furniture (check out the Saville Row-inspired pink closet interiors!) and original artwork. Standard rooms start at around $314/night (a bargain for London) but we suggest splurging on a River View balcony suite, directly overlooking the Thames, at around $1,450/night.
On the lower level is the Agua Spa, which deftly walks the line between simplicity and fun — piping glam-rock-inspired tunes into the all-white space. Separate treatment menus were created for men and women (breast massages are a specialty here) using niche brands like Dr. Jackson’s Natural Products, Estelle & Thild and, for nails, Ciaté. Also in the hotel bowels is a 56-seat screening room, which will soon start hosting special screenings Fridays to Sundays with the well-respected London arthouse cinema, Curzon.
Finally, there’s the rooftop Rumpus Room bar, with an expected opening date of Oct. 9. The 12th-floor bar is one single large space, with groovy pendant lighting (as you’d expect from Tom Dixon) suspended over sinuous red leather booths. Though the long, narrow terrace — with its jaw-dropping views of the skyline and the Thames — is likely where the crowds will gather to drink. Speaking of which, the cocktail menu has yet to be finalized, but we’re sure it’ll be on par with the rest of the hotel’s swanky offerings.
The Beaumont
We popped by the Beaumont fresh off its Monday opening — eager to check out the first hotel project from restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, the team behind popular London eateries the Wolseley and the Delaunay. The first thing one notices is the giant, modern, “Transformers”-like figure that juts out from the 1926 art deco former garage. That would be the “inhabitable sculpture” by artist Antony Gormley — and take that “inhabitable” literally; you can actually stay inside the sculpture.
The unique accommodation, simply called “Room,” was designed inside and out by Gormley himself: The sleeping area is a womb-like space lined with wood culled from Germany’s Black Forest and joined by hand (it took eight months to create); a single window opens to the sky. There’s no TV, phone or other modern distractions in the room — only an organic mattress covered with pure white linens. The artist is still working on “Room” — adjusting the lighting, changing the artwork hanging in the living area — but it should be available in two weeks’ time, for around $3,625/night.
The hotel’s remaining rooms (23 of which are suites, named after historical figures like Ed Murrow and Barbara Hutton) are decorated in a classic style befitting the original building’s era — lots of period furniture, shagreen detailing, gray and cream tones. (Rates, including tax and breakfast, start at around $638.) In fact, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d stepped into a New York City art deco tower instead of a modern hotel in central London — everything about the interiors harkens back to that age, especially in the signature restaurant, the Colony Grill Room, where the walls are lined with murals depicting classic American sporting scenes, and in the American Bar, decorated with black-and-white photographs of famous bygone performers.
The art deco theme extends even to the spa (open to guests only), where you’ll find lots of black-and-white tiles and chrome throughout. There are two salon/barber chairs, two treatment rooms, a hammam-like heated marble relaxation room, sauna and steam rooms and an indoor plunge pool.