It was Jen’s birthday recently, and so we wanted to stay somewhere nice in London, preferably in Mayfair. One of my clients recommended Flemings, which is a hotel dating back to the 1850s which comprises seven Georgian houses effectively knocked into one. The location is great, down a relatively quiet (for central London) street off Piccadilly, close to Green Park and Hyde Park Corner underground, and within a few minutes walk of some fantastic restaurants and bars. (I can recommend Tamarind in Queen Street for an outstanding Indian meal)
From the moment we arrived we felt very well taken care of – the receptionist was friendly, she looked after us and make sure we knew everything about the hotel. We were then lead to our room which was incredibly close to reception. We hadn’t asked for a wheelchair accessible room but we got one anyway, apparently the hotel was heavily booked the day we arrived and so they allocated us that room.
The room was in an L shape with a bed and TV in one arm of the L, the bathroom leading off the corner and, on the other arm, a nice entrance area with large wardrobes, one of which contained drawers, a safe, two pairs of slippers, sewing kits and the like. There was also a high quality chair and desk with sockets for UK, European and American plugs as well as a USB charging point. The room was air-conditioned with easy to understand controls by the door. Between the desk and the bathroom was a large cabinet containing a minibar, some water and a Keurig coffee maker with Nespresso coffee pods, along with a kettle and a decent selection of tea and instant coffee. By the bed is a tivoli radio with bluetooth functionality that worked first time. Wifi is free, as it should be everywhere in 2019.
The bathroom was large, square and tastefully decorated – a mosaic floor and slate wall tiles giving a stylish look. We had a large wheelchair accessible shower, which had a ceiling mounted rainfall showerhead along with a small handheld one. There’s a heated towel rail which I really like and the bathroom was heated separately to the room – no more getting out of a lovely warm shower into a cold bathroom. Toiletries were by Elemis, and very good. Jen appreciated the very good hairdryer.
The Receptionist had asked whether we were there for a special occasion and upon discovering it was my wife’s birthday, a bottle of Prosecco was sent to our room, on the house, which we both thought was a nice touch.
Apart from the bed being rather too hard for me (Jen said it was perfect!), the drawbacks to the room were the constant rumblings of what I assume was the Piccadilly underground line spoiling the otherwise amazing quietness, and the view, which was of nothing. Well, some plants and an opaque panel around 18 inches from the window. You can avoid the first and probably the second if you get a room on one of the upper floors. A view of nothing isn’t really what I’d expect in a 5* hotel. If we hadn’t been reviewing the room we got, I’d have asked for a change.
The hotel has some decent facilities, a gym, a lovely restaurant, Ormer Mayfair (we had a continental breakfast included which was plentiful and good quality), a small cocktail bar called Manetta’s and The Drawing Room, a lovely Afternoon Tea lounge (which was a little expensive for what we got). There are also meeting rooms and private dining facilities. For the more well-heeled, there’s a townhouse and a couple of apartments, along with better rooms available.
Can we recommend Flemings Mayfair? Simply, yes. It’s old-school charm, combined with modern facilities. The staff were all fantastic and welcomed us like old freinds. Just, whatever you do, don’t get a ground floor room unless you need one, and check the view before settling in.
Widely Traveled 