From the hoteliers that brought you some of London's grandest dames including Claridge's, The Connaught and The Berkeley, the Maybourne group have brought something very different to Belgravia: an all-glass, all-high-tech five-star luxury giant hiding in plain sight by Hyde Park. Named The Emory, it's London's first all-suite hotel.
Designed as one of the late architect Richard Rogers' final projects, the sleek glass box of a building has great protruding steel outriggers that look like giant sails all across it – designed as anti-vibration bearings from the Piccadilly Line nearby. But good luck spotting the hotel from afar. The Emory is all about quiet luxury. Rather than a splashy entrance, the hotel has its own private side street in the newly spruced-up Old Barracks Yard. Most guests will arrive here in one of the hotel's complimentary fleet of BMW i7s if they're coming from certain airfields and private jet terminals. Similarly, anyone booking the corner suite or above will also receive complimentary helicopter transfers.
It's all about discretion and luxury at The Emory. On arrival, guests are whisked to the glass box reception room and meet their ‘Emory Assistants’, who you can contact on WhatsApp or text for anything you need during your stay, from room service to spa booking changes.
The Emory is London's first all-suite hotel meaning you're in for a treat whichever of the 60 suites you stay in – and no suite is smaller than 55sqm. For the suite interiors, the hotel didn't rest on its architectural laurels. Six big-name interior designers were involved in the designs, André Fu (Claridge’s Spa), Pierre Yves Rochon (of The Dorchester), Alexandra Champalimaud (Raffles Singapore), Rigby & Rigby and Il Sereno's Patricia Urquiola.
I spent the night in the Alexandra Champalimaud and André Fu-designed Hyde Park Balcony Suite, with floor-to-ceiling windows which are primed for its privileged views over Hyde Park. Tranquil tones are dotted throughout to match the seasons outside, with timbers, sages and greens, and calacatta viola marble. The quiet luxury is in the details and amenities here. There are Japanese Toto toilets and a full suite of Dyson hair tools in the bathroom and dressing room. In-room coffee is also a step up from the Nespresso machines luxury hotels have been adopting as of late and instead is the Morning Coffee Pod Machine with temperature and pressure control and Fellow electric pour-over kettles for tea at exactly the right temperature (the tea options are all loose leaf, naturally).
But the hotel's biggest draws can be found in the shared spaces. When it comes to food, that's abc kitchens on the ground floor, with huge glass windows facing Hyde Park across the road and Damien Hirst artwork on the walls. French super-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten has blended his three NYC big hitters, abc kitchen, abcV and abc cocina – which have been hot tickets since the original opened in 2010 – to create a London abc kitchen which focuses on all three elements; farm-to-table, plant-based, and Latin-inspired. It's well worth a visit. Each dish was better than the last including a stand-out giant dosa paired with a tangy coconut yoghurt dip and incredibly more-ish ‘arroz con pollo’ with crackling skin, lemon zest and black pepper. The restaurant's popular spring pea guacamole with sunflower seeds and crunchy tortillas has also made it across the pond.
The Emory Rooftop Bar on the top floor has some of the best and most exclusive views in London – and it's only open to hotel guests. From September to November, it has also joined forces with Legendary Argentinian bartender Renato 'Tato' Giovannoni, winner of the World’s 50 Best Bar’s Industry Icon Award, for an Argentinian bar takeover. Expect tango tracks, empanadas and standout cocktails including a ’garua martini' which calls for ‘local London rainwater’ alongside more classic ingredients such as gin, dry vermouth and star anise. Come here for a sunset tipple.
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Guests at The Emory also have full access to a four-storey subterranean wellness club below. Known as Surrenne, the £10,000-a-year private member's club focuses on ‘longevity and wellbeing’. As a standout feature, guests will have an on-site doctor on tap, focusing on functional diagnostics ranging from blood work to cardiovascular and hormone tests, to microbiome mapping and epigenetic testing. The fitness studio is Tracy Anderson’s first London workout studio and the tranquil pool room comes complete with plush cabanas, a steam room, a sauna and a snow shower for cold exposure – all to the soundtrack of neuroscientist-curated music. Facials are courtesy of FaceGym and Stella McCartney.
Old Barrack Yard, Westminster Borough, London, SW1X 7NP, United Kingdom
