You know when you are enjoying yourself so much that you forget to take photos? Yeah, that kind of happened when we spent two nights at the gorgeous, luxury 5 star hotel, The May Fair Hotel in London.
We were sent to stay at The May Fair Hotel in January this year as part of a Lastminute.com project. It was wonderfully spontaneous if a little hectic to make it to as we were attending the Blogger’s Brunch in Birmingham that afternoon.
We rushed down to London and the moment we walked through the doors into the lobby of The May Fair, I was in love.
Although, this was to be a rather tumultuous (and long) love story.
As you walk into the lobby you are welcomed with the most exquisite scent. A scent that I wish they would package up in a bottle (or candle or anything!) just so I can carry that around with me wherever I go. It was positively intoxicating. I later found out, after questioning the concierge, that the scent was designed exclusively for the hotel by the wife of the owner. She is a lady with great taste, I must say.
To check in we were pointed over to the sweet trolley next to the reception desk so we could tank up on sugary goodness whilst the staff processed the check-in. One of the many thoughtful details of this hotel.
Our room was on the second floor towards the rear of the hotel. And this is a rather large hotel with hundreds of rooms.
The May Fair is a historic hotel, which first opened in the 1920’s but was renovated and updated 8 years ago. It’s situated in the middle of Mayfair, not far from Green Park tube station.
The room was stylish yet comforting with elegant, thoughtful design. We had a large comfy bed, and the bathroom was stunning. It even had a TV opposite the bath – I’ve never experienced that before! It was a real novelty. There were interesting pieces of furniture and art that looked East or Southeast Asian. There was strong Buddhist and Zen vibe to the hotel.
So we fell onto the bed and watch a spot of Countryfile while we relaxed. It had been a long day and we just wanted to sleep. But, after a while we fancied some food and a wander. We were in the centre of London afterall.
This was the first time I’ve ever stayed actually stayed in the West End and it was brilliant to be able to just walk to Soho (my favourite part of London) – no need for public transport at all! We wandered down Picaddilly. There were hardly any cars on the roads, it was so quiet on the Sunday evening – bliss! We were able to take our time to marvel at the gorgeous architecture that is so typically London – all higgedly piggedly and steeped in history.
We ended up at Wong Kei for some Crispy Pork and Rice. It was so funny that we were staying at one of the top hotels in London but eating a £5 dinner in Soho. Ah well, London is full of contrasts is it not?!
As it had been a long night we headed straight back to the hotel for pyjama time and sleep. I snuggled up happily on the beautiful bed. But sadly comfort was not to be my friend that night. We ended up having to move rooms at 1 in the morning due to music from the casino below. It was not only inconvenient and tiring, but sad. I didn’t want our experience to be marred by this. But then the room we then ended up in was really cold and we hardly slept.
Groggy the next morning, we sloped down to breakfast in the sumptuously decorated Quince restaurant for breakfast. Resplendent with rich blues, reds and golds, this restaurant was the ultimate in comfort and style. I was sat on a deep red squishy bench seat and we were served by one of the best waitresses I have had the pleasure of dining with – thank you Kristyna! After the night we had had, this was a wonderful treat.
For breakfast you can pretty much have anything you can think of. The boyf went for a continental selection of fine meats, cheese, croissants and fruit. Whilst I started off with bacon, sausage and beans. All served with fresh toast and tea.
We took our time enjoying our breakfast and taking in some people-watching time. I love hotels for that. You get such an interesting cross-section of people visiting a hotel. And I think breakfast is such an intimate personal time that you get to see people at a vulnerable place in their day, when their guard is down and they are waking up to the world. It’s very beautiful to watch (the Anthropologist in me can’t help it).
The boyf went off to talk to the management about our night. We felt it was right that we let them know our feedback face to face as I am sure it is very important for them to know.
Meanwhile, I ordered another pot of tea, chatted to our waitress and relaxed in the comfort of the restaurant.
When the boyf returned we ordered more hot drinks and chatted. Our waitress offered us more breakfast so we decided to go for second round – I chose french toast with maple syrup and the boyf went for the American pancakes. They were amazing! I love how generous they were with the food and there was no rush despite they were clearing up after the breakfast session.
Stuffed, we went back to our room to pack our bags when the manager of the hotel called us to apologise for the previous night. She had been investigating all that morning as the casino does not usually have music on that late. It appears to have been an unfortunate occurrence and timing for us, but the manager was very apologetic and asked if we would stay another night so we could experience the real May Fair Hotel experience.
Given that we are both able to work wherever there’s an internet connection (and this hotel has brilliant wifi by the way) we decided to stay in London for another day. So the manager took us over to our new room which was one of the Duplex Suites.
It. was. stunning.
We were in luxury heaven. The Duplex Suite features a living area with a deep, plush sofa wich I sank into, a large flatscreen TV, a Bose sound system (which we made FULL use of) a couple of desk areas (ideal as we had work to do), a bar area with a union jack Smeg fridge and Nespresso machine, a large wardrobe, luxurious bathroom. The living room was double height with a mezzanine bedroom complete with kingsize low-level bed overflowing with gorgeous linen. The decor of the room was contemporary with South, East and Southeast Asian elements, it was understated, elegant and wonderfully calming.
We spent the day in the room, listening to music and working on our laptops. We were so full from our epic breakfast that we skipped lunch. However, as evening drew we decided to stretch our legs and go for walk, ending up back in Soho for dinner. This time at Bill’s, a lovely little restaurant which turned out to be quite romantic.
Anyways, back at The May Fair Hotel. We headed back to our room, swinging by the AMAZING bar. The May Fair bar is probably one of the best I have been to in London. Think cool, but welcoming, yet high-end. It’s open to all to enjoy, and you get a great buzz in there. You need a few pennies to enjoy the cocktails, but it’s totally worth it for a treat.
Super comfy sofas + red wine = very chilled outHowever, we were pooped after the night before so we grabbed a bottle of red and chilled out in our room. I took a long hot bath in the beautiful bathroom, making the most of the gorgeous smelling toiletries. Best hotel toiletries ever! And we headed to bed for a long night’s sleep.
That night I slept heavy and well. So well in fact that I was sad to have to go to breakfast the next morning. And I’ve already mentioned how amazing that was. Jeez. Why can’t I stay in beautiful hotel suites like this ALL THE TIME?!
So, yes. The next morning I jumped into the MAHOOSIVE waterfall shower, now that is one way to really wake up, and got ready for another epic breakfast.
I think I could spend all my days in the Quince restaurant. It is so darn lovely.
We spent this breakfast sat next to a rather famous footballer and his son, which was rather surreal but nice. Given the surroundings it seemed entirely normal and nobody batted an eyelid.
This time I opted for one of the lemon muffins which was beautifully sweet and perfect balanced with my strong pot of tea. I then opted for another portion of french toast but this time with a side of bacon and lashings of maple syrup. It was total decadence and entirely necessary as we were drawing to the close of our time at The May Fair hotel.
We bid a sad farewell to one of the loveliest hotels we have ever stayed at. The service and the staff was impeccable. It was exactly what you would expect from a true 5 star hotel. The decor created a perfectly luxurious experience. And the scent?! I need that scent in my life!
It’s entirely possible that I might start making trips down to London just to sit in the lobby of The May Fair Hotel and enjoy the scent of their lobby. It’s divine. Do hotels have a groupies?
I feel incredibly lucky to have had the chance to stay at such a beautiful hotel. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. And even though the price of a suite might be out of our budget we will certainly be back to spend time at both the bar and the restaurant.
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I am more than a little gutted that I didn’t take more photographs. Darn it. I was enjoying and relaxing far too much and now I have little evidence of our stay. Well, at least I have the memories!
Image credits: all image my own except first photograph c/o The May Fair Hotel
Thank you to Lastminute.com for the experience.