Inside The Peninsula London, Belgravia’s new Grand Dame that whisks you away to a world of afternoon teas and crystal chandeliers

Rooms with stunning views of Wellington Arch, a rooftop bar that pays tribute to British motorsport and aviation, there is much to love about The Peninsula London, which opened its doors in September

With one spin, the revolving doors to the lobby of The Peninsula London sweep me from traffic and noise to a world of silver teapots and soft carpets, tinkling piano and crystal chandeliers. The two white stone guardian lions outside had already set off a glow of nostalgia; inside the lobby, I feel a warm rush of familiarity: the spirit of the SAR’s Grande Dame is here in Belgravia, among the potted palms and pillars, the pages in their smart uniforms, and the friendly smiles.

London’s lobby may be more contemporary, with clean lines on its Portuguese limestone columns, and coral red chairs adding colour to a space that is largely white, but the atmosphere evokes a similar cocoon of ease to The Peninsula Hong Kong.

When I am shown to my room, I am reminded that I am in England. The view floods in through the tall windows—the Wellington Arch, originally built as an entrance to Buckingham Palace, with its impressive Angel of Peace descending on the Quadriga, or four-horsed chariot, of War. I am surprised by how close the arch seems, and the unobstructed view, framed by curtains of champagne-hued and subtly embroidered silk, makes me feel like it is all my own.

Above The lobby at The Peninsula London evokes a similar atmosphere to The Peninsula Hong Kong (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula London)

My room, by American architect Peter Marino, has a contemporary elegance with its unobtrusive palette of sandstone, cream and brown. Details are textural: there are geometric arrangements in the carpet pile, furnishings are plush, and there is an almost shell-like feel to the walls. The spacious bathroom, with The Peninsula’s customary double sinks and giant bathtub, is a serene vision in marbled honey onyx, while the dressing room is panelled in mahogany as a nod to nearby Savile Row tailors.

The decision to build a sense of place into the hotel was a conscious one, according to managing director Sonja Vodusek, who has been with Peninsula hotels in New York, the Philippines and Tokyo for the past 13 years. She now oversees a staff of 650, representing 55 nationalities, primarily English and Hong Kong Chinese.

“We’re bringing The Peninsula to London while celebrating where we are as a destination,” she says. “The UK and Hong Kong have such a shared history, and we’re embracing all things British, from our staff uniforms designed by Jenny Packham [favoured by Kate Middleton], and our coasters by local studios, to the woodwork and joinery done by British companies. England is known for its quality of craftmanship.”

Alongside respecting tradition, the hotel also embraces the cutting-edge. As it is a new build, architects were able to use energy- and water-efficient fittings, and the hotel is BREEAM-certified, placing it in the top 10 per cent of sustainably managed buildings. There is a sophisticated waste separation system and the hotel plans to send nothing to landfill by 2030.

Photo 1 of 3 Guest rooms at The Peninsula London by American architect Peter Marino (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula London)

Photo 2 of 3 The spacious bathroom features The Peninsula’s customary double sinks and giant bathtub (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula London)

Photo 3 of 3 Guest rooms feature an elegant palette of sandstone, cream and brown (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula London)

Rooms, which start from £1,300 per night, integrate high-tech gadgetry throughout, with all functions, from lights to temperature to concierge services and the WeChat-style PenChat, controlled by touch screen. Above the bathtub there is a setting for “spa”, which dims the lights and turns on meditative music for relaxing.

As at other Peninsula hotels (the group now runs 12 around the world), rooms have a valet box so guests can leave and collect shoes for polishing or clothes for laundering without being disturbed. Each room has its own printer and even a nail dryer—the story goes that the Hong Kong-based hotel group’s chairman, Sir Michael Kadoorie, was late to an important function, delayed by his wife’s freshly painted nails.

Nowhere in the hotel is it more apparent that the more than £1 billion development of the Peninsula London is a pet project of Kadoorie’s than on the top floor. Here, the chairman’s passion for all things automotive and aeronautical are indulged to astounding levels. To access the eighth floor, guests walk under the nose cone of a Concorde (pointing away from the lobby, under the instruction of a feng shui master) and past the 1933 Napier Railton motor vehicle to access a lift styled as a hot air balloon basket.

Brooklands, the modern European restaurant overseen by legendary French chef Claude Bosi, takes its name from the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit and birthplace of British motorsport and aviation. An accurate 13.6metre-long model of a Concorde hangs from the ceiling. The carpet depicts a celestial map of the night sky across Concorde’s route, while tablecloths feature cloud motifs and napkin holders are Concorde-shaped. A giant screen at the back of the restaurant is an interactive artwork based on archived BBC recordings of the air uplift following Concorde’s transatlantic flights.

To say that the design is bold is an understatement.

Photo 1 of 3 Brooklands at The Peninsula London (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula London)

Photo 2 of 3 The terrace at Brooklands with views of London’s skyline (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula London)

Photo 3 of 3 Brooklands reflects Sir Michael Kadoorie's passion for all things automotive and aeronautical (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula London)

But it does not stop there: the central bar at Brooklands Bar next door is made from Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost bodywork and panelling, while the private Napier Railton Room is entirely panelled in aluminium, with brass hinges and copper rivets, inspired by the bodywork of a 1993 Napier Railton car.

David Archer, who in the 1990s worked on the design of The Peninsula Hong Kong’s Felix restaurant and bar, was, with his London-based firm Archer Humphryes Architects, tasked with turning the brief for the various eighth-floor spaces into reality. “We set out to do the bizarre; you have to enter a more rigorous mode of how you’re going to deliver it, even though the initial proposal may seem unusually far-fetched,” he tells me over The Peninsula’s famous scones during afternoon tea in the lobby.

“We had good deal of freedom, but Sir Michael was very involved and we reported back to him continually to make sure it met his requirements, need and vision.”

Archer Humphryes worked on the design’s abstraction, drawing and delivery, while Kadoorie himself provided memorabilia and artefacts, including the Concorde nose cone, to integrate in the design. “We were painstaking, almost academic, in the accurate representation of articles. It was not a ‘feels a bit like’, ‘looks like’, ‘could be’ interpretive thing. If we were referencing something, it had to be dead right—he was strict about that,” says Archer. “There are few projects around the globe with this level of attention, investment and scrutiny.”

Brooklands opened at the end of September; how its extravagant flamboyance is received in a city in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, its mood dampened by the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Palestine conflict, and regular protests from environmental groups, remains to be seen. The day before I checked in, Just Stop Oil protestors sprayed orange paint on Wellington’s Arch to protest the government’s new fossil fuel licences.

Certainly Canton Blue, which opened first and serves classic and more innovative Cantonese dishes by executive chef Dicky Ho, is full when I visit, and booked out a month in advance. The restaurant and its cosy Little Blue bar, designed by Hong Kong-based studio CAP Atelier, are inspired by the historic Keying junk, which set off from Canton to London. The hotel’s spa, indoor swimming pool and fitness centre are yet to open, as are the final guest rooms that will bring the inventory to 190.

Above The entrance to Canton Blue at The Peninsula London (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula London)

Above Canton Blue serves classic and more innovative Cantonese dishes by executive chef Dicky Ho (Photo: courtesy of The Peninsula London)

The Peninsula Hotel Group, which waited 30 years to find the right location in London, is not the only luxury hotel chain now banking on Britain’s capital. Raffles London at The OWO just opened in the Old War Office in Whitehall, Rosewood is opening its second London property in the former American Embassy, and Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is slated to open early next year in what has become a hotel boom largely driven by Asian money.

It’s stiff competition for the city’s hoteliers, but for Vodusek the recipe for success is simple: “It doesn’t matter how old you are—hospitality is making sure the orange juice is cold, the shower is hot, your bed is comfortable and the service is genuine,” she says.

It is no easy feat to bring a luxury brand such as the Peninsula, with its heritage and traditions, to a new city. The Peninsula London, by not trying to be a replica of a traditional hotel while at the same time respecting tradition, has admirably expanded the brand, bringing the spirit of Hong Kong’s Grand Dame to a fresh new home in London.

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Inside The Peninsula London, Belgravia’s new Grand Dame that whisks you away to a world of afternoon teas and crystal chandeliers