With Fashion Week just around the corner, stylistas the world over will be jetting into the British capital to get a sneak peek at new collections and mingle at the city’s most sought after places.
After a summer spent relaxing on the French Riviera, you could be forgiven for having some serious holiday blues knowing that the long stretch of Autumn and Winter is ahead, but for those that demand something seriously stylish from their hotel rooms, The Mandeville Hotel, located in London’s most sought after shopping district, recently announced the launch of the new deluxe ‘Riviera Rooms’ designed by none other than Maison Christian Lacroix.
The House of Lacroix, which will be celebrating its 70 year anniversary next year, is loved worldwide for its striking, lavish designs, the very epitome of a luxury status symbol in the nineties and is said to have revolutionized the fashion world since it’s inception.
Having lent its signature bold style to many boutique properties over the years,including their native Paris, The Mandeville Hotel is the latest property to get a style injection.
The Mandeville is somewhat of a not-so-hidden gem, located achingly close to Selfridge’s & Co. department store and the many large retailers of Oxford Street and Bond Street, making it an ideal base for those coming to the city to shop, shop and then shop some more. Technically, part of London’s well-healed Marylebone, The Mandeville Hotel is a great alternative to the chain hotels that dominate central London, offering instead a more intimate style of property with impeccable service to match.
It’s refined frontage tips its hat to a celebration of chic design that make this hotel a traveller’s repeat choice. The lobby is understated and leads off to the main restaurant, Reform Social & Grill, where art dominates the seating area, a nod to its partnership with renowed art fair Frieze London.
The thing to remember about The Mandeville is that it is bijou. If you’re looking for extensive living space, lofty ceilings and great views than this may not be the hotel for you, but if you’re looking for simple elegance and all the modern conveiniences gift-wrapped in über chic package, then you can’t go wrong.
We opted to stay in one of the new Riviera Rooms, such is our dedication to fashion, which take over the fifth floor of the hotel. Whisked upwards in a teeny elevator you are greeted by a burst of colour, quite unlike the rest of the hotel. Fuchsia pink and black candy-striped alongisde heavily patterned wallpaper leads the way to your chamber, the space being dotted with leopard skin cut velvet furnishings, already giving you a glimpse of the couture treat you’re in for.
Each of the feature rooms tells a different story, from ‘Jardin Exotique’ to ‘Jewel Box’, resulting in dramatic design that is as exuberant as it is fun. In short, it’s not something that you would expect from a quaint Marylebone village hotel. It’s no surprise then to learn that The Mandeville Hotel has been quietly yet highly regarded for its complete overhaul, positioning it firmly at the centre of a West London trend.
Telling the story of the wonderfully decadent and sometimes debaucherous French Rivieria, using the Belles Rives collection, the Deluxe Riviera Rooms have been decorated in Lacroix’s renowned fabric and wallpaper collections, which Christian Lacroix has been exclusively designing for the Designers Guild under the creative direction of Sacha Walckhoff since 2011.
The rooms have been designed using Lacroix’s vivid inspiration from the Croisette’s fashionable ladies who co-existed at Jean Cocteau’s famous “Santo Sospir” Villa in Southern France to Grace Kelly’s classic film ‘To Catch a Thief” and are a perfect representation of Lacroix’s flamboyant Haute Couture style.
Pushing open the door to my ‘Jardin Exotique’ room was like being instantly transported to a tropical paradise, yet one that could only exist in your imagination for the feature wall of exotic green palms sit in stark contrast to the starkly monochrome striped neighbouring ones. Taking inspiration from Monaco’s Botanical Garden, this tropical, lush and clearly luxurious rooms is a delight rather than an eyesore. The Julian Chichester furniture adds a touch of grandeur to the room and although compact, there is more than enough space to try on your outfits in front of the full length mirror or happily pen your fashion diaries at the dressing table. The chrome pineapple-shaped lamps are topped off with lime green and white shades and the plush, black velvet armchairs are topped off with signature multi-colour Christian Lacroix cushions. All your mod-cons are there such as that all important Nespresso machine for early morning starts and a flatscreen HD TV with international channels perched on the wall perfect for reclining on your king size bed, putting your feet up and watching a movie on-demand after a long day abusing your plastic.
We managed to sneak a peek at the other Riviera Rooms, all we can report, just as grand as each other, injecting the already beautiful Mandeville Hotel with a little je ne sais quoi that has now catapulted it into the international league.
The ‘Midnight Blue’ room is as its name suggests, a sultry and romantic room inspired by the clandestine ‘Bain de Minuit’ sea-bathing society that met at night in the sea of Monaco alongside Princess Grace’s stolen ‘Pearl’ necklace, making it a truly luxurious space to reside in. Deep, inky blues cover the walls, creating a clash of texture and the odd touch of bubblegum pink breaks up the darkness further accentuated by stark, white furnishings.
The ‘Jewel Box’ however, could not be more different. Inspired by Cartier jewels, this complex and colourful room is perfect for fashion lovers, offering the ultimate in luxury chic. A beautiful twist of patterns and colours that screams to be heard, further emphasising that these carefully curated rooms have been designed with a particular guest in mind.
As night falls head down to the hotel bar which buzzes with life. Well healed fashionistas chat animatedly with suited suitors and groups of tired shoppers wearily indulge in the expertly mixed cocktails.The bar leads into Reform Social & Grill which we know and love from the UAE. A welcoming all-day dining restaurant with leather booths and industrial copper walls, also the outlet that provides the hotel’s room service. Here, British staple food is at its best. From enormous yorkshire puddings topped with cheese or salt beef to hearty Shepherd’s Pie and fish & chips, which is almost an obligatory dish to have when visiting the UK.Portion sizes are generous and the desert menu is even better with the creative take on a classic Eton Mess being a favourite of ours.
The Mandeville is a hotel of contrasts. It’s demure exterior leads the way to something really quite special, with knowledgable staff and comfortable surroundings, it is the perfect home-away-from-home during fashion week, or as the hotel likes to put it “Every week is fashion week on the fifth floor”.
Book direct here http://www.mandeville.co.uk/
The Insider UAE 