Review: The Beaumont, Mayfair, London

This luxury London hotel is a work of art. 

While many hotels can be described    as  works of art, you don’t often, or    more like, ever, get to sleep in an   actual piece of art.

But that’s what The Beaumont, in London’s Mayfair, offers in its Room by Antony Gormley, the renowned British sculptor known in Australia for his 51 black steel silhouettes scattered across Lake Ballard in Western Australia. Gormley created a giant crouching stainless-steel figure at the corner of the hotel’s façade as a public work of art (see below right). Inside the structure, which is more than two storeys high, it’s a private experience – it forms part of a luxury suite in the five-star boutique hotel near Grosvenor Square. It’s guaranteed to be the most distinctive experience you’ll have in a hotel room, which is designed to take you on a journey to the big reveal.

You walk through a 1920s-inspired sitting room, into a gleaming white bathroom, up white marble stairs and through black velvet curtains into the dark bedroom, housed in a womblike dark oak cuboid 10m-high structure.

At night, the shutters over the one window are closed to create total blackout. Gormley said he wanted “to sculpt darkness itself”. It is intensely dark and with nothing in there but you, the bed and a very strong smell of wood.

The Beaumont is full of surprises – starting with its origin. You’d be forgiven for thinking the hotel had been a fixture in London for decades, but it actually started life as a car park, built in 1926 to serve Mayfair businesses, including nearby Selfridge’s.

Guests can enjoy its beautiful spa. Picture: Supplied.

It didn’t become a hotel until 2014, originally as the vision of Chris Corbin and Jeremy King – the hospitality duo behind London favourites the Wolseley and Le Caprice – and it’s still privately run. My first thought on checking in was this was somewhere you’d expect to find Jay Gatsby, and that aesthetic runs all the way through, including in the new lounge, Gatsby’s Room, where you can take afternoon tea.

The hotel’s story is created around the fictional hotelier Jimmy Beaumont, who left Prohibition-era New York to set up shop in Mayfair. Everything adheres to the concept and there’s a gentlemen’s club feel to the bar, Le Magritte, and restaurant, the Colony Grill Room.

The interiors are impeccably designed, from the wood-panelling to the black and white floor tiles, sculptures and artwork. My suite was meticulously curated, from its selection of books to Beaumont playing cards placed on a side table, retro slabs of chocolate and Jo Loves fragrance. Guests can use a chauffeur service, enjoy its beautiful spa, hammam and treatment rooms and a hair and beauty salon Daisy Buchanan would approve of.

My first thought on checking in was this was somewhere you’d expect to find Jay Gatsby. Picture: Supplied.

It’s all about quiet glamour and exceptional service. Staff are super-attentive and go out of their way to make you feel comfortable, particularly at dinner. Indeed, the food is key – the Colony Grill Room, which sits front and centre of the hotel, is famous for its steaks. A New York-style grill, with a classic menu featuring beluga caviar and Jersey oysters, shrimp cocktail and Dover sole, as well as steak and triple-cooked chips and Caesar salad. I enjoyed Orkney scallops and Devon white chicken with summer bean stew, accompanied by matched wines from its extensive list.

You can finish with fabulously retro desserts such as rum baba and bespoke sundaes, where you get your own little notepad and pencil with which to craft your ice-cream heaven. The waiter was genuinely disappointed I went for the cheesecake. This is good food cooked superbly, which is why the restaurant is popular with Londoners.

The Beaumont has 101 rooms, 29 of which are suites and studios, and it has recently been refurbished and extended. Jimmy Beaumont’s business is booming.

Room 10/10

I had one of the best night’s sleep I've had in a long time. Picture: Supplied.

Room by Antony Gormley was one of the most unique experiences I have ever had in a hotel. Though unusual, it offered one of the best night’s sleep I have had in a long time.

Food 9/10

This is good food cooked superbly, which is why the restaurant is popular with Londoners. Picture: Supplied.

Classic menus are deceptively difficult to carry off well. But the Colony Grill, where selections include Caesar salad (above), is a London favourite for good reason.

Service 9/10

What makes The Beaumont stand out is its exceptional service. Picture: Supplied.

In a competitive hotel market, what makes The Beaumont continue to stand out is its exceptional service. Book the chauffeur for the full experience.

Verdict 9/10

Set opposite a hidden garden. The Beaumont is one of London’s best-kept secrets. Picture: Supplied.

Small but mighty, The Beaumont is a boutique hotel that feels like a grande dame. Set opposite a hidden garden, it’s one of London’s best-kept secrets.

The writer was a guest of The Beaumont. Rooms (including the suit Room by Antony Gormley) start at £650 a night. 

Top tips when staying at The Beaumont

1.  If you can afford it, book a night in Room by Antony Gormley. Where else can you sleep in a sculpture?

2.  Do not miss the beautiful spa in The Beaumont, with its Oskia treatments and hammam experience.

3.  The Colony Grill is a destination restaurant for Londoners, so enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail, followed by its famous steak.

Originally published as Review: The Beaumont, Mayfair, London