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MARRIOTT
GROSVENOR
SQUARE
LONDON
by Martin Ferguson
Builders and decorators left the Marriott
Grosvenor Square hotel in London’s Mayfair
just recently, following completion of a £20
million refurbishment programme, and it
seems to be money well spent.
The entrance to the building is surprisingly
calm considering the locality. There is ample
room for taxis to stop and a squadron of
smiling porters to help you with your luggage.
You feel welcome from the outset.
The first floor of the hotel is the Club floor,
whose guests are entitled to use the club
lounge on basement level, where drinks and
snacks are served throughout the day.
My room featured ample workspace, a
DOLDER GRAND
king-size four-poster bed facing an enormous
ZURICH
flat-screen TV, large walk-in power shower
by April Hutchinson
and a bath – by sliding back the removal wall
you could watch the TV while soaking in the
ow do you know a hotel has truly arrived? When it has its own book. tub. Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel
H
Step forward the Dolder Grand. This hotel underwent a transformation
HOW TO SELL IT
but you have to buy credit at reception.
so extensive it has spawned a new 640-page photographic tome with a It would be easy to walk past the hotel
■ Suits City types: this is sleek
princely pricetag of £117. The book followed the development project
hillside hideaway easily
restaurants in the street without realising they
for four years, cataloguing the work of Foster and Partners and United Designers.
accessible from London
are there, such is the understated architecture
For students and fans of modern architecture, this is virtually a textbook. City airport on the Grosvenor Square side of the hotel.
But of course, you can’t beat seeing the results in person. This hotel is dazzling, But behind the brickwork lie two acclaimed
clever, impressive and yes, grand. You arrive in the hotel’s Main Hall, a restored relic
■ It is brilliant for spa-goers:
eateries – Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin-starred
from the original hotel, which first opened in 1899. The hotel had of course seen
they can spend many days
Maze restaurant and Maze grill.
some changes before Foster and crew got their designs on it, but they stripped out
working their way around the
At first glance both seem almost too basic
pools, rooms and treatments
everything that was not a part of the original. Along the way, they also discovered for Michelin stars. But the hotel assured me
magnificent frescoes in the restaurant and bar, and created two new wings. that was Ramsay’s intention: nothing flash. In
■ It’s a destination in itself: the
United Designers made the interiors equally as impressive. The 173 rooms vary
Dolder Resort has a nine-
the Maze grill, based on a traditional New
across styles and sizes, with stand-outs including six rooms restored to original
hole golf course, five tennis
York steak house, prices range from an afford-
glory and four signature suites inspired by previous guests including legendary
courts, an idyllic outdoor pool
able £10 to an incredible £150. Ramsay’s
orchestral conductor Herbert von Karajan, inspiration for the magnificent Maestro
on top of the Addlisberg,
Maze combines French and Asian cuisine.
suite (pictured) in one of the hotel’s turrets with incredible views over Zurich. jogging trails through the Early reservations for both are recommended
I don’t think anyone’s going to be naming a suite after me, but if I had to design forest, complimentary as tables are snapped up well in advance.
a suite, it would be pretty close to the one I stayed in. Set in the new Spa wing, it
mountain bike use and an ice
The hotels meeting spaces were a key part
had private balcony and wooded views through panoramic windows, as well as a
rink, as well as Dolderbahn
of the recent investment. But the Westminster
huge Austin Powers-esque white leather sofa for zoning out in front of the huge TV
link down to Zurich
ballroom is the least contemporary part of
– taking a much-needed rest after inspecting the massive room, which includes a the hotel and clearly not part of the refurbish-
■ Good for gourmets: the
neat work area, bags of closet space, steam-shower room and a tub with a view. ment. Its old-fashioned decor of chandeliers
Restaurant has a Michelin
As well as Foster and United Designers, the hotel’s owners enlisted US spa
star and a 17 Gault Millau
and gold trimmed furniture are in complete
consultant Sylvia Sepielli to create a phenomenal spa. Below the main level of the
rating in Switzerland and
complete contrast to the facility’s ultra trendy
spa wing, its yawning white lobby is dreamlike, but also a little on the clinical side.
The Garden Restaurant is
reception bar.
As with the hotel generally, it did a feel a little surreal, with a kind of Last year at
also superb and perfect
Marriott Grosvenor Square, London W1K
Marienbad vibe to it. I had a “smoothing repairing treatment” by Kenzoki which was for summer 6JP. Tel: 020 7493 1232, marriott.co.uk
incredibly refreshing, but La Prairie and Kerstin Florian are also on the menu in the
19 treatment rooms and two spa suites.
How to book it
HOW TO BOOK IT
Or guests can just spend endless hours admiring the sparchitecture as they dip
Rooms start from €562
Standard rooms from £289. The Buckingham
in and out of the Aqua Zone’s indoor and outdoor whirlpools, sanarium and steam-
(room only) and the hotel is
Palace package (valid August 1-September
a member of Leading Hotels
bath, as well as a “Snowparadise” for cooling off. 30) includes one night plus tickets to the
of the World (lhw.com).
The Dolder Grand, Kurhausstrasse 65, 8032 Zurich. palace tour for £99pp plus VAT based on
Tel: 00 41 44 456 6000, thedoldergrand.com double occupancy. Call 0800 221222.
56
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