Sister properties 45 Park Lane and The Dorchester in London's posh Mayfair district bordering Hyde Park provide guests with distinct interpretations of the royal treatment.

 by Bridget Williams / Images courtesy of The Dorchester Collection

I will readily admit to being an occasional ardent Anglophile. A storage tub in my attic holds yellowed newspaper clippings from the wedding of Charles & Diana: a testament to the rapture the spectacle inspired in my seven-year-old self. Whimsical wallpaper in my foyer is emblazoned with bowler hats and British flags, and an accent pillow in my living room reimagines a famous portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth in profile from a punk rock perspective. So, imagine my delight when, while strolling The Mall, a tree-lined royal road leading from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace, a polite bobby asked us to wait for a moment before crossing at a corner. Our compliance was rewarded moments later by a backseat nod from King Charles himself as his car turned down a street in front of us...my idea of a magic kingdom moment!

During this London holiday, I wasn't the only one to have foggy childhood memories rush to the forefront with the suddenness of a pie to the face. After taking the Eurostar from Paris to London and exiting the Tube to see characteristically grey skies, we approached the 10-story building at 45 Park Lane (dorchestercollection.com/london/45-park-lane) in London's posh Mayfair neighborhood, designed by a team of Modernist champions that included Walter Gropius (founder of the Bauhaus school and architect of the MetLife Building in New York) when my fiancé suddenly remembered walking by this spot on multiple occasions with his family as a child and getting up onto his tippy toes to try and see what was going on behind the curtained street-level windows. The intrigue was undoubtedly heightened when he lived in the city during his boarding school years, knowing that the prestigious address was the hippity-hoppity home of the London Playboy Club (1965 until 1982).  

In 2011, 45 Park Lane was given an extreme makeover inside and out to become a suitable sibling to its sister, The Dorchester (dorchestercollection.com/london/the-Dorchester), one of London's most iconic hotels since it opened in 1931. While not quite a regular, the late Queen Elizabeth was a long-time fan of The Dorchester, having attended her first charity ball there and using the property for an event to formally announce her engagement to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, who later held a "media-friendly" stag night in the hotel's Park Suite before taking the raucous party private at the Belfry Club.  

Though both fall under the 5-star Dorchester Collection umbrella, 45 Park Lane and the Dorchester are dissimilar siblings in their aesthetics. However, their shared DNA is evidenced in terms of top-notch service and amenities.  

London-based architecture firm Paul Davis + Partners added metallic grille accents to the precast concrete exterior of 45 Park Lane that lend a slightly subtle Art Deco flair, with renowned French architect-designer Thierry Despont (1948-2023) running with the theme for the clubby interiors chock full of an evolving collection of Blue-Chip artworks by contemporary British artists in both public and private spaces. Each of the 45 guest rooms overlooks leafy Hyde Park. The view from our sexy Curzon Balcony Suite, with a whopping 1,100 square feet, a dining area for six, and a separate living room, allowed us to see all the way to Wellington Arch. The sensual interiors were highly detailed, with raised sisal plaid carpet, Tiffany blue velvet paneled walls, oversized floor lamps with shades bound in leather to match an upholstered closet wall, and a cute branded purple rubber duckie to keep you company while soaking in the deep bathtub.  The room was also exceptionally quiet without a hint of street noise from Park Lane.

There are two restaurants on the property. Just off the double-height lobby is Cut at 45 Park Lane by Wolfgang Puck, his first eatery in Europe. We started dinner with our first-ever tasting of British bubbly, a 2019 predominantly pinot Classic Cuvée from Rathfinney Estate in Sussex. Apparently, as we learned from head sommelier Davide Bottoni, climate change is gradually expanding the possibilities for viticulture in the UK. The Negroni trolley pulled up to our table just in time to steer the table topic to something lighter, including the Italian sommelier's recent road trip along Route 66 with his brother and parents. After careful consideration, I opted for the chestnut-infused variety, a riff that imbued the classic cocktail with a smoother finish.  

For the main course, we had the world's red meat literally at our fingertips as our server presented a tray with cuts hailing from the US, the UK, Australia, and Japan. Our perfectly prepared steaks paired wonderfully with a red wine from Judeka, an organic/biodynamic winery located in the southeastern area of Sicily.

Ascend a flight of stairs to reach Sushi Kanesaka, an exclusive Michelin-starred omakase-inspired experience offered to just nine guests in two evening seatings. Also tucked away above the lobby is intimate Bar 45, sitting alongside The Dorchester's swanky Vesper Bar as the pinnacle of Mayfair hotel bar luxury, offering all the beautiful people sipping unique cocktails from bespoke glasses.

45 Park Lane's spa and wellness center is a subterranean respite from the bustle of the city. The complex's centerpiece is a 20m lap pool dramatically illuminated to highlight the intricate tile mosaic depicting oversized hyacinth. Sprawling and well-equipped, 007 would feel right at home perfecting his physique in the gym's ebonized interiors while his paramour luxuriates in the warmly lit spa, enjoying treatments designed by Dr. Uliana Gout (a respected thought leader in evidence-based aesthetic medicine) with products from ishga that harnesses the power of Scotland's pure seaweed.

As hard as it was to leave the chic confines of our suite at 45 Park Lane, we decamped to The Dorchester for a few nights, with the doorman at the former insisting he transport our bags for the short transfer. I hadn't been to The Dorchester in over a decade, and as soon as I stepped inside, the familiar feeling of an eternal spring washed over me. It was a moment of déjà vu spurred by a pair of omnipresent urns positioned at the start of the Promenade continually burgeoning with fragrant blooms that are refreshed every three days so there's never a less-than-perfect petal present. 

The Promenade has been the place for high tea and leisurely lunches with Niçoise salad tossed tableside for nearly a century. Glasses clink against the backdrop of a pianist tickling the ivories of a grand piano covered in mirrored mosaic tiles that once belonged to none other than Liberace. Composite columns of black marble with gilded capitals separate mirrored wall panels from which an eclectic art assemblage is displayed. A contemporary collage by Maria Rivans highlighting the piercing gaze of a young Elizabeth Taylor (who considered the hotel a second home in the 1960s), and an oversized rendition of a Machin stamp depicting a young Queen Elizabeth created by Ann Carrington using more than 1,000 mother-of-pearl buttons, overlays youthfulness upon the ornateness, which culminates at a gilded and bespoke Lalique bar crowned by a Baccarat chandelier. The sumptuous setting, formal and fabulous, is perfection for people like me who fully embrace pomp and circumstance.    

Determined to age with grace without looking old (a reality this 50-something traveler can relate to), guestrooms on four of the eight floors were under renovation during our stay. Our third-floor room, recently redone, boasted a spring-like palette in shades of green and yellow with a proliferation of patterns that called to mind the bold and beautiful interiors of The Greenbrier.  

Befitting a property of its stature, the food and beverage options are plentiful, from the three-Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester to Cake & Flowers, whose tagline is "Where Beautiful Blooms Meet Outrageously Good Cakes." 

We were thrilled to try The Grill by Tom Booton, which, when it opened, made Booton the youngest chef appointed to helm the kitchen in a 5-star hotel (he was 26 at the time). Still baby-faced at 31, Booton invited us into the kitchen following our meal, where his staff was putting the final touches on preparations for an event at Royal Ascot the following day. The Colchester native is clearly confident without being cocky, citing a work-hard ethic instilled by his parents and an understanding of the need for time outside of the kitchen as the bedrock of his success in what can be a grueling industry. 

Bypassing formal training for time in renowned kitchens starting at the tender age of 15, Booton's menu at The Grill is, in his words, "simply plated, precise plates of food using beautiful ingredients." Booton was also given authority to refashion The Grill's interiors, and even the playlist, to reflect his upscale British grill classic fare and comfort dishes. If you can't get there for dinner, don't miss one of Booton's favorite dishes—the truffled egg soldiers—at breakfast.

Just beyond the hotel's landscaped forecourt, in which stands The Dorchester Sphere, a bronze sculpture by Jill Berelowitz commissioned to celebrate her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, is the English capital's affluent Mayfair district, offering ample world-renowned shopping, theater, entertainment and tourist attractions. If you're feeling inspired by all The Dorchester and 45 Park Lane art, head to the National Gallery (nationalgallery.org.uk), where Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers is on display through January 19th. The Victoria & Albert Museum (vam.ac.uk) is hosting Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection through January 5th and NAOMI IN FASHION, an exhibition exploring the career of fashion model Naomi Campbell through April 6th. For the ultimate art-lovers experience, book a bespoke walking tour with a chauffeur-driven car through the concierge at 45 Park Lane. The royal treatment, indeed.