From the bustle of Regent Street to the calm of its luxurious interiors, Hotel Café Royal offers an escape in the very heart of London, says Sarah Rodrigues.
Laden with branded shopping bags, crowds of people cross paths with one another; even those glued to their phones managing, miraculously, to avoid collision. Behind them, the unmistakable double deckers rumble past, their red occasionally punctuated by an equally iconic black cab. Where else could we be, but London?
Where Regent Street meets Air Street, Piccadilly Circus is just a stone’s throw away, while the old-school elegance of Mayfair and the vibrancy of Soho are both within walking distance. It’s hard to conceive of a better location for Hotel Café Royal, a member of The Set Collection, and a hotel with one foot in London’s glamorous history - and another in its contemporary incarnation.
The Grade II-listed building has an impressive cultural history. Opened in 1865, it became a favourite meeting place for the likes of Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf; later, it was a favoured lunch spot for Princess Diana. Characters as diverse as David Bowie and Winston Churchill have also been regulars here. Sitting in the lavishly frescoed and gilded Grill – historically known as the Oscar Wilde Bar – it’s not difficult to imagine the presence of such luminaries. And given the hotel's history, it's easy to imagine that some fairly wild private events have taken place here - the red-wine-splattered ceiling fresco is testament to that.
But dinner is still a few hours away when we swap the Regent Street throngs for the hotel’s grand reception area. A glass of Laurent Perrier is poured into a crystal coupe while details are efficiently taken, and we admire the glorious florals taking pride of place under the striking Murano glass chandelier, dangling from the double-height ceiling, in the lobby.
Trundling upstairs in the wonderfully archaic elevator, you might expect the entire hotel to be a reimagined, or at least painstakingly restored, vision of Victorian/Edwardian grandeur - but you'd be wrong. Along with the red wine splatters on the ceiling, one of the most delightful contradictions of The Café Royal is the way its otherwise contemporary interiors form a deliberate contrast with the building’s heritage, exterior and public spaces. Acquired by the Set Collection in 2008, the hotel reopened after a four-year renovation period: a modern luxury hotel gracefully inserted into an historic carapace.
The result, as we see when we exit the elevator, draws heavily on Japanese influences, with a minimalistic aesthetic which, after the opulence we’ve briefly witnessed, is at first disconcerting, but then oddly soothing. The hubbub of Regent St seems an increasingly distant memory.
A glance inside the bathroom confirms that it’s almost as large as our suite: an expanse of neutral marble, with a rainfall shower and enormous double-ended bath. Multiply a bathroom like this by 159, and the 1,000 tonnes of Carrara marble transported from Italy during the hotel's refit - and hand-carved on site - begins to make perfect sense - as does the fact that this is known as ‘London’s heaviest hotel’.
Given that the common areas have such a strong sense of place, the almost austere rooms might almost run the risk of feeling impersonal, were it not for the quiet luxury they embody - and the thoughtful touches throughout the space, such as a welcome note written on the mirror, and monogrammed pillowcases for us to take home on the bed. There’s also an array of macarons and chocolate strawberries that we can’t help but sample, even though we’re soon to head down to dinner.
Rippling chords are being played at the grand piano when we enter The Grill, a dazzling confection of mirrored walls and gold moldings - plus, of course, the heavily decorated ceiling - punctuated by crisp white table cloths and red leather chairs made for inevitable post-prandial lingering.
Because yes - it’s a dinner worth keeping space for and, considering the lavishness of the room, surprisingly good value. We start with Negronis and oysters, which seem suitably decadent for the setting, and move on to Launceston lamp chops and fillet steak. Accompanied by buttered Jersey Royals, creamed spinach and a lettuce and herb salad, the meat is cooked to perfection; furthermore, the service is seamlessly attentive yet unobtrusive.
It’s something of a shock to the system to re-enter the London streets for a theatre performance, but of course, one of the hotel’s core strengths is its location: everything is easily reached on foot, and we’re not rushing to make the show. Even better, this means that just a short walk takes us back to the hotel and its Green Bar for post-theatre nightcaps. Later on, in a supremely comfortable bed, sleep comes swiftly.
We wake up to the odd spectacle of an almost-deserted Regent St and the silent glide of buses; the city is yet to come to life, and it’s a perspective of London we rarely see. Thanks to the hotel’s civilised midday check-out, we have time both for breakfast and to make good use of the subterranean Akasha Spa, with its low lighting and 18m long pool, flanked by deck chairs made for dozing. I haven’t booked in for a treatment but, not for the first time, I find myself incredulous at the thought of a London existing busily above this space.
Despite the fact I feel so far removed from the hectic pace of the city, my mind keeps touching upon it because this genuinely feels like a hotel for Londoners, as well as for visitors. It’s the way it plunks you in the middle of all of the best that the city has to offer yet simultaneously cocoons you from it; the way it celebrates London’s luminaries and history - things that we’re inordinately proud of, despite having no personal connection with them. For me, a midweek stay here might have been a treat, but it’s somewhere I’ll return to again and again for its service and facilities. Next stop, the afternoon tea and spa package. As for ‘mind the gap’? Just make it brief, please: I need more Hotel Café Royal in my life soon.
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