Love is always in the air at the Dorchester, says Richard McComb .
There are hotels and there are good hotels. And then there’s The Dorchester.
It’s not for nothing that film stars, pop divas, tycoons and the very private – and very rich – head to this grand pile in Mayfair when they are in town. If you like the place, you just fall in love with it.
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And love, of course, is in the air at the moment. It’s that Valentine time of the year, but it’s so predictable booking an overnight stay for your sweetheart for the second week in February. Everyone expects a “surprise” for Valentine’s Day.
How much more romantic to spring a luxurious getaway on a lover when he or she is least expecting it. If their heart doesn’t melt at the prospect of a stay on Park Lane, it might be time to make a clean break of it, before you splash out on the engagement rings.
Let the seduction begin with a mind-blowing treatment in The Dorchester’s 1930s Art Deco-style spa. This has to rate as one of the very best hotel spas. Some places work very hard to create a spirit of elegant tranquillity; it just happens effortlessly here. There are nine sound-proofed treatment rooms, including two double suites, featuring heated treatment beds and cosy duvets that make hibernation seem an irresistible proposition.
Fight the feeling though because you will want to be at least semi-conscious for one of the divine massages. The Signature full body massage (£165) spirals out for an hour and 25 precious minutes. The spa guide describes it as “pure indulgence” and for once the hype is right. Expect warm oils, soothing strokes and the unexpected appearance of heated stones.
The treatment finishes with an acupressure facial massage and a scalp massage. I could barely speak at the end of it and emitted animal-like whimpering noises. If you’re like me, you will want to roll over and go straight into another session.
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The spa is in the hotel basement so you may want to pop into its Spatisserie to fortify the body with a glass of Champagne or a spa cocktail before returning to your room. And when it comes to accommodation, the sky really is the limit here. Rarely has staying in a hotel felt less like staying in a hotel and more like relaxing in a terribly well appointed and very large private home. When I visited at Christmas, there was a gingerbread replica of The Dorchester in the lobby and the place is good enough to eat.
I booked into an executive deluxe king, one of the hotel’s largest doubles, with loads of room to park your Louis Vuitton luggage. The next step up is a junior suite but there is bags of space, nearly 600sq ft, in a king including a four-poster bed that should do the trick for most amorous couples. The bathrooms are just lovely, decked out in white marble and featuring the sort of deep baths that make you want to kick back, soak and think: “Aren’t I lucky?”
If you want to go for it, The Dorchester has 22 new suites by interior designer Alexandra Champalimaud which fuse modern design with the hotel’s timeless glamour. Or there are the 14 Dorchester Suites (upwards of £3,500) with marble lobbies, opulent living rooms and views over Hyde Park and then there are the palatial roof suites. But wherever you stay, and whatever your budget, privacy is guaranteed.
There are endless possibilities for a romantic “evening in” at The Dorchester. You can start with a snifter in The Promenade’s bar but I love The Bar, towards the front of the hotel. You will struggle to find a better Vesper Martini anywhere. Take it with a twist, just like 007, and feel the pulse start racing.
The dining options are superb, although you will need to book well in advance for the three Michelin star Alain Ducasse restaurant. There is the glitzy celeb hang-out, China Tang, or for informality – and terrific people-watching opportunities – head to The Promenade.
For a traditional Dorchester experience, there is The Grill. The restaurant is decorated in an unmissable tartan theme and the cuisine remains a gloriously unmovable British feast: grouse pie, roast venison, Dover sole and the mega Black Angus beef chop with Bernaise and cottage pie (don’t worry, the latter feeds two).
“You eat everything except oysters, Mr McComb,” says the waiter as I walked into the dining room. That’s right. “How did you know?” I ask. “Because we are The Dorchester, sir,” he replies. Touché.
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After a lovely pre-starter of salty, meaty eel with lentils, I have the home smoked salmon and gravadlax, which is carved at the table. Boy, I miss things being carved at the table. It was a close call whether to have the salmon or the glazed calves’ sweetbread with crispy chicken wings, but you can’t have both.
Actually, you can. As I prepare for my main course – I’ve order a whole roasted pigeon – the sweetbreads arrive. “The chef thought you might like this extra course,” says the waiter, who is rapidly becoming my best friend. I’d ask how the chef knows that I love sweetbreads, but I know what the answer will be. It’s why I love The Dorchester. Its sister hotel, Coworth Park, near Ascot, is lovely for away-from-it-all country pile pomp but there is something irresistible about the grand old lady of Park Lane. The pigeon is carved at the table (hurrah!) with bacon and veggies and little onions and gravy and Britishness.
On the button, chef. The wines are superb – a 2002 Chorey-les-Beaune and a 2008 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Domaine de la Solitude. It pains me to decline the offer of Stilton and I can just about manage a dessert of pistachio crumb with passion fruit bavarois, apricot sorbet and saffron ice cream.
A word of advice if you are thinking of whisking your sweetheart off his/her feet for frolics at The Dorchester: you may want to skip the second starter.
* Travel Facts
Richard McComb stayed at The Dorchester courtesy of The Dorchester Collection.
Prices at The Dorchester start from £450 inclusive of VAT.
For more information, go to www.thedorchester.com
He travelled to London Marylebone from Birmingham Moor Street with Chiltern Railways. Go to www.chilternrailways.co.uk