This Celebrity-loved London Hotel Just Got One of the Most Stunning Martini Bars We've Ever Seen — and a 'Cake & Flower' Shop
Come for Liberace's mirrored piano, stay for the Champagne selection at the new Artists Bar.
Courtesy of Dorchester Collection
Eisenhower used it as a wartime base. Prince Philip used it for his bachelor party. Exiled Sultan Said bin Taimur lived here. And English socialite Doris Delevingne (great aunt of Cara Delevingne) died here. Ever since its grand debut in 1931, “the Dorch” has acted as a backdrop to history; and now, it’s entering its next era with a new look that’s the peak of chic.
Courtesy of Dorchester Collection
The Dorchester’s major revamp — the biggest one since the 1980s — includes new rooms, restaurants, bars, and public spaces. It's happening in stages over several years. So far, the fully renovated ground floor has been unveiled along with 60 new rooms and suites, while the remaining rooms (there will be 241 in total, nine less than before to optimize space) will arrive in 2024, along with three zhuzhed-up penthouses; a rooftop venue; and new gym.
Courtesy of Dorchester Collection
While quiet luxury might be trending, the order of the day here is non-stop opulence and deliberately un-stealth wealth (Liberace’s mirrored piano is on display, for goodness’ sake). The drama hits me as soon as I step foot inside the re-dressed lobby, which pours into the new Promenade, a Bridgerton fever dream of pastels, palms, and puffed settees.
“The inspiration was English gardens,” says Claire Mabon, principal and senior design director at design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon, highlighting neighboring Hyde Park in particular. “We aimed for ways to bring the park outside into the lobby [by adding a] fresh elixir of colors [and] creating new volume in the space,” she says. “In the lobby, we modified the façade of the building to bring in more light [and] an original collection of contemporary artworks by British artists."
Courtesy of Dorchester Collection
Thrumming all day (especially during afternoon tea time, when a pianist accompanies the scones), The Promenade leads into the sparkling new Artists’ Bar (also designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon), where Lalique and Liberace lay waste to subtlety via a gleaming glass bar and glittery piano, covered with more than 1,000 mirrored tiles. Mabon calls it “a true standout moment.” It’s deliciously decadent, and I could happily spend an evening working my way through the impressive list of grower Champagnes under the shimmery bespoke chandelier — but dinner awaits.
Courtesy of Dorchester Collection
Alongside the hotel’s time-tested staples like the haute hotspot Alain Ducasse, which has retained three Michelin stars since 2010, and the darkly sexy China Tang, new additions include the relaunched Grill by Tom Booton and the brand-new Vesper Bar, a nod to James Bond designed by the legendary Swedish design star Martin Brudnizki. I say, start at The Grill for Killough Bay oysters zinging with fresh lime and shellfish XO sauce and deep-fried shimeji mushrooms good enough to convert any die-hard carnivore, before finishing the night with a citrus-kicked Vesper martini (what else?) at the Vesper Bar, shaken up with The Dorchester’s own Old Tom gin. Drenched in louche moody glamour with emerald velvet and gold ceilings, Vesper Bar might have a fresh look, but it feels haunted by the ghosts of glitterati gone by.
Courtesy of Dorchester Collection
Upstairs, spiffed-up rooms in Easter colors are garden fresh while remaining faithfully English with pompom of hydrangeas; hand-painted de Gournay chinoiserie panels; Colefax and Fowler fabric; and amenities by Hampshire-based Wildsmith Skin, ponging of chamomile, linden, and cedarwood. The old-world air originally springs from Oscar-nominated British set and costume designer Oliver Messel, who added his signature style to the hotel in the 1950s and is best appreciated in the Oliver Messel Suite, resplendent with dizzying florals; theatrical draperies; and even a scalloped, golden toilet. (As this suite is “listed,” i.e. on the National Heritage List for England, it’s one of the only parts of the hotel that will not be renovated.)
Courtesy of Dorchester Collection
The Dorchester’s unofficial motto may as well be “treat yourself,” so on the way out stop at the new boutique Cake & Flowers (two of my favorite things), for a bouquet by in-house florist Philip Hammond or a best-selling Dorchester Rose confection, hand-piped with jasmine and rose Chantilly cream.
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