We checked out some luxury boutique hotels in London’s swish Marylebone Village. All the information you need for when you need to book a special place to stay for a couple of nights. But good luck choosing!
Luxury Boutique hotels but why Marylebone
London’s Marylebone has everything you’d want for a classy short break. Cobble stone streets with independent cafes, restaurants and shops, all located a few minutes from London’s West End on one side and the green open spaces of Regents Park on the other.
Do some celeb spotting at the Chiltern Fire House restaurant or browse for books on any country under the sun at the established and really beautiful Daunt Books. Then shop at any one of the independent home and clothing boutiques. Go to Oxford Street a few minutes walk down the road, but only if you must and that’s after you’ve visited the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square.
But while the shops and restaurants have been evolving, there has been a quiet revolution in the standards of accommodation in the area too.
Your reporter knows Marylebone well having lived there for 15 years, but this time we stayed at the swish Marylebone hotel and checked out the contemporary Mandeville hotel as well as the more traditional Durrants hotel, all within a few minutes walk of each other.
Luxury boutique hotels The Marylebone
The Marylebone Hotel is a boutique hotel and one of a selection of smart hotels owned by the Dublin based Doyle Collection. I’ve been a regular visitor to the hotel’s restaurant the 108 Brasserie for a couple of years now and that’s where you’d have breakfast if you stay at the hotel.
We love the round nook table with the pretty window box and perfect view. But you must experience sitting outside on the cobble stone porch, ideally with the heaters on! Local families come on a Sunday morning and spend quality time over newspapers and good British breakfasts!
The 108 Brasserie is one of the few places open late on a Sunday evening for drinks and snacks in the area too.
There are a variety of types of rooms available at the Marylebone, but do opt for a larger room or any one of the suites if you can afford to. The smaller suites have a very comfortable separate sitting room that’s really cosy to relax in on a cold evening or after a hard day’s shopping!
But whether you stay in a suite or not, you mustn’t leave without looking at the two terrace suites that transported me from Marylebone to Los Angeles in California! The large, glass retractable roof over the terrace allows London literally to come into your room!
But don’t worry if it’s cold or even if there’s a little rain, the roof can stay closed, but you can turn on your outdoor heaters or even switch on the outdoor fire and watch tv comfortably from your very contemporary sofas! Is this the equivalent of our outdoor cabanas by the sea concept?
There is one larger suite and one smaller, but both sleep only two people however they can be interconnected. The larger terrace suite is ideal for a gathering of friends and family and the hotel is happy to accommodate parties here. This would be an evening your guests would not forget!
There is also a pool and gym based in the hotel that guests are free to use. I think the club – called The Third Space is popular with some of London’s You Tubers. The Marylebone has a buzzy vibe at any time of day or night with beautiful places to work, sleep, play or just hang out.
Luxury boutique hotels Afternoon Tea at The Mandeville
I was surprised to learn that The Reform Social and Grill at the Mandeville hotel is actually a sister branch of the Reform restaurant in the Lakes Club in Dubai. It seemed a million miles away! We took Afternoon Tea at the Reform Social and Grill and were immediately struck by the calm atmosphere of the restaurant and the hotel lobby in complete contrast to the busy high street.
You can choose between a Gentleman’s Tea and a Traditional Tea, or why not try both as we did? The Gentleman’s Tea had some good warming, savoury snacks like haddock fish fingers and grilled Welsh rarebit, both very welcome on a cold February evening.
My two London based foodie friends were very impressed with the quality of cakes and fancies on offer here. The green dome shaped, vanilla sponge was a real favourite and reminded us of the Swedish specialty Princess cake that we’ve eaten at the nearby Swedish Kitchen.
As well as the usual selection of teas, there is an artisanal box of hand crafted tea blends and we recommend Roiboos Orange! Stay as long as you like over your afternoon tea, start as late as 5pm and make an early dinner of your evening here. Staff are warm and welcoming and nothing is too much trouble even for a fussy food and travel blogger like me!
Do consider staying at the Mandeville, just a stone’s throw from Selfridges. The rooms are of a good size and furnished in a very contemporary style.
There is even a special Christian Lacroix floor that’s been designed in a very modern way.
Luxury boutique hotels Durrants
Durrants hotel is a London institution and one of the few privately owned hotels left in London. No instagram as yet, which is a shame as it has such pretty places to sit, eat and stay! A white faced building on George Street just off Marylebone High Street, Durrants has been owned by the Miller family for 100 years!
We loved the traditional feel of Durrants from when we walked side on a rainy morning. The fireplaces and wooden floors are a theme that run thoughout the hotel. Rooms here are spacious and they are decorated in more of an English country house style that I really liked.
The dining room and private meeting rooms are all very well kept and it did feel a bit like stepping into a very well run club. A little bit of country house charm right in the middle of Marylebone is what you would experience.
So have I convinced you to stay in Marylebone? I am sure one of the hotels will do just nicely. I have lived and worked in London’s Marylebone and am happy to answer any questions you might have about the area.
Thank you Monica from Marylebone!
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