The hectic crowds of Oxford Street fade away into a quieter hum as you turn the corner onto Great Cumberland Place and approach Montcalm Mayfair. The hotel, one of London’s latest luxury openings, stands among an impressive row of Georgian townhouses. The lively thoroughfare nearby feels like a distant memory as the entrance looms, evoking historic grandeur and a distinctly British charm. Technically in Marylebone rather than Mayfair, Montcalm Mayfair is located at an ideal convergence of some of the capital’s popular dining and shopping destinations. This means easy access to Hyde Park, Mayfair, Marylebone Village and Marble Arch without the noise or spectacle, a sensibility that’s augmented by the hotel’s garden-inspired public spaces.
Montcalm Mayfair is the latest addition to the Montcalm Collection, a London hotel brand run by the family-owned Signature Hospitality Group. The hotel draws inspiration from a Georgian garden, thanks in part to its setting in a row of historic townhouses, and from local figures like British musician George Bridgetower and British literary critic Elizabeth Montagu, who ran the Blue Stockings Society, a social movement and salon that invited both men and women to join.
“I remember coming to London years ago before I lived here, and going to The Ritz with a friend,” Samantha van Exter, head of hotels at Montcalm Collection, tells Observer. “The doorman looked us up and down and said, ‘Do you have a reservation?’ I said to my friend, ‘When I open a hotel in London one day, I would never do that.’ I want all my guests to feel very welcome.”
From the moment I stepped foot in the lobby, it was clear Montcalm Mayfair does embrace that inviting, friendly vibe Van Exter hoped for all those years ago. The culinary offering feels like a work in progress and I didn’t experience a spa treatment firsthand, but overall it’s a property with a lot of potential and a nearly perfect location.
The hotel is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, which curates independent hotels under a brand umbrella (technically, this still makes it a boutique hotel, at least according to van Exter). It was previously Montcalm London Marble Arch and underwent a two-year renovation by architecture firm Holland Harvey. The reno included the restoration of its impressive Grade II-listed Georgian entrance, which was damaged in World War II and never fully repaired. The vast lobby, which encompasses a bar and several seating areas, is sleek and welcoming, with a nature-inspired green and pastel tones—a highlight of the interior design by Studio Est. The garden theme is pervasive, with plenty of plants and a hand-painted ceiling mural by Camille Rousseau. The hotel has dubbed their vibe “sensitive luxury,” a term that van Exter says is about intuitive service and awareness.
“It’s more about giving the guests what they want before they know they want it,” she explains. “That sometimes gets lost in hospitality because we focus so much on design and look and feel. But it’s really about the way people remember how you made them feel.” For van Exter, that means being “sensitive to the guests’ individual needs and wants,” since every traveler “feels differently.” It’s yet unclear how this will play out, but she pointed to the lobby’s delicate floral scent as an example of evoking a certain aesthetic while being mindful of not pumping in something overpowering.
In a sustainability effort, the hotel has removed all single-use plastic items, and features some recycled materials, including the bathroom benches, which were made by Goldfinger Factory with felled wood. The slippers are crafted out of bamboo and packaged with a paper sleeve rather than a plastic bag. The in-room arrival treats come from Luminary Bakery, a social enterprise that empowers women facing adversity (mine was a delicious mini plant-based lemon cake). Burma-based company Kalinko sourced hard-crafted artisan products for the rooms, including rattan trays, tissue boxes and ice bucket covers.
“These probably cost five times as much as normal hotel accessories,” van Exter says. “But for us, it was about the story behind it. We really wanted to make an impact in the way we spend by spending in the right way. We hope that our guests will feel that too.”
Montcalm Mayfair features 151 guest rooms and suites, including three signature suites: the Botanical Suite, the Royal Suite and the Presidential Suite. Although many of the rooms, designed by Studio Mica, are relatively compact—a symptom of being in central London—the small space is well used, including clever drawers under the beds to store luggage. The linens are Frette, and the toiletries are Penhaligon’s. Many of the details befit a boutique hotel: Each room has a unique framed sleep poem written by creative writing MFA students at nearby Goldsmiths University, and the turn-down music was created by MindFidelity, who also crafted the British woodland soundscape in the spa. Most notably, the soundproofing on the windows is impressive—I couldn’t hear anything from the surrounding streets in my fourth-floor room.
The basement level of Montcalm Mayfair showcases the Yātrā Signature Spa, designed by Studio Est. There are four treatment rooms, two saunas (infrared and traditional), a steam room, a plunge pool and a hot tub with several loungers. The face and body treatments incorporate East African and Ayurvedic rituals. The fitness center features shiny new Technogym machines and weights, and is notably well-equipped for a London hotel gym, a detail I especially enjoyed as an avid gym user who has been frequently disappointed by the offerings in the city, even in some luxury hotels. An array of free weights and cardio equipment means anyone can do their usual workout while on the road. A planned yoga and wellness studio will feature hosted sessions, so guests can always join a class.
Slightly less successful is the Montcalm Mayfair’s signature restaurant, Lilli by Akira Back. It marks the third London opening for chef Akira Back, who unveiled Akira Back and Dosa in the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair last year (Akira Back was a standout for me when I reviewed the hotel). Set in a refined, deep green-hued dining room, Lilli focuses on the chef’s take on British cuisine. The menu is still in flux and lacks some cohesion, especially since many of the signature dishes don’t feel particularly British. Back’s iconic Wagyu pizza is on the list of starters, and the dynamite king shrimp dish evokes the standout dynamite lobster at Mandarin Oriental. But the mains are a rather eclectic mix, from kimchi-adorned beef Wellington to spicy Calabrian rigatoni to a Mediterranean-inspired halibut.
Van Exter, who has known Back for several years, says the chef wanted to do something that was
in a “more residential style” than his outposts at the Mandarin Oriental. “He loved the whole idea of the garden because he’s becoming more and more focused on sustainable, farm-to-fork, local produce,” she says. Van Exter explains that Back “wants to take British cuisine to a new level by incorporating Korean flavors. That approach isn’t fully realized on the current menu, which the chef is continuing to tweak, although the concept has a lot of potential.
Drinks and breakfast are both served in the brightly-lit Lilli’s Bar, open to both hotel guests and visitors throughout the day. (I highly recommend it to anyone who needs somewhere to set a meeting in the area.) The garden-inspired cocktail list includes several very good non-alcoholic options (the Ember was the favorite). The wine list balances high-end bottles and more accessible options by the glass, alongside a vast selection of champagne. The focus is largely on French wines, although you’ll find options from Spain, Italy, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand. Breakfast is a compact continental buffet with a short selection of cooked dishes.
On the sixth floor, the hotel will soon debut The Library, a guest-only space for higher-paying suite occupants (rooms start from around $666 per night, with the Botanical Suite currently going for over $5,300 per night). The book-filled room has a members club-like vibe with cozy seating areas and an exclusive feel, and will serve snacks and drinks once it opens on May 15. The Library will also host public events; the first is on May 22 to coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show. It will feature author Michael Marriott in conversation with Phaidon Books Gardening Editor Victoria Clarke about The Rose Book.
The desire to bring people together ties back into the hotel’s spotlight on Elizabeth Montagu. “The idea is to do these cultural salons where we can talk about the Georgian garden, Georgian music, poetry and so on to bring her Blue Stocking Society alive in a modern-day way,” van Exter notes. “In her cultural salons, they spoke about all sorts of things, and everyone was welcome and invited. That’s something we want to encourage in our hotel, too—that everyone is welcome and invited.”
