Flemings Mayfair, nestled on Half Moon Street (by Green Park), has everything you’d expect from one of London’s most luxurious boutique hotels.
Tasteful yet stunning decor, high-tech gym, hip bar and a Front Room (pictured above) that makes your eyes pop.
It’s also a place steeped in history, with a distinct personality and genuinely welcoming for kids. In fact, as we later discovered, the staff are prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty to make your family feel at ease.
As soon as the babes burst into the lobby, riding their Trunkis, they were greeted warmly by two ladies at the desk. ‘Can I have a ride too?’ one asked as the other smoothly checked us in.
My 3-year-old was happy to hold the receptionist’s hand along fragranced corridors, past stunning black and white photographs, up to our lodgings.
The hotel is made up of 6 Georgian townhouses transformed into 129 rooms and apartments, each with their own unique flavour.
We stayed** in ‘Bronte’, a one-bedroom apartment that was stroke me gorgeous but felt instantly cosy — we even had our own Christmas tree!
The bathroom was marble-tiled and nicely lit with space for toilet, bidet (or ‘that teeny tiny sink’ as Ezra called it), power shower and deep bathtub. Toiletries by The White Company went down a treat.
The real show-stopper was our bedroom, featuring king-size bed with theatrical headboard and a sweet welcome note leaning against decadent pillows.
The boys were thrilled by their Fleming the frog packs including fluffy robe and slippers, bubble bath, a mini storybook, and an invitation to order hot chocolate and cookies before bedtime!
The apartment is fully serviced but for families it’s great having your own kitchen where you can do spare laundry or prepare baby food. I enjoyed kicking back with a cuppa brewed in this fancy teapot.
The flat-screen TV was awkwardly placed on a side wall but that didn’t bother the boys who quickly loaded The Adventures of Tintin from a selection of kids movies on offer.
As a writer mama, I loved small but eloquent touches like the Complete Works of Shakespeare on our bedside tables, the room guide (named Jeeves) and tactile ‘bookcase’ walls inside the lift. The boys and I had fun pretending we might discover a secret passage if we pushed the right book.
We’d been given keys to our own separate entrance on Clarges St so we stepped out for lunch at trendy Burger & Lobster, only a couple of doors down.
After stuffing our faces, Dad dashed off to Hamleys and the boys and I wandered along Piccadilly. You could hardly ask for a better location to stay during Christmas — Central London is magical at this time of year. It was lovely to stroll around checking out the Regent Street lights, carol singers outside Burlington Arcade, stalls in St. James’ Church market.
Back at the hotel we had a 3-course dinner in The Grill, the award-winning, super glam restaurant downstairs. Almost everything was outstanding — deliciously creamy mushroom risotto, grilled cod with puree potatoes, pork belly and rump steak (OH’s choices) done to perfection, exotic fruit sorbet and mouthwatering lemon posset.
I say ‘almost everything’ because the kids’ pizza was a bit overcooked and too strongly cheesy for the boys, but at least they filled up on garlic bread and ice cream. The kids’ menu is varied though with pasta, chicken breast or half portions of adult meals on offer. We had a good laugh when what appeared to be Mojitos (fruity Frog Prince Kiss mocktails, actually) arrived for the little ones!
By the time we got back to our apartment, the hotel staff had already made up their sofa bed.
The combo of dinner, sofa bed bouncing and milky hot chocolate with cookies led to every parent’s nightmare — Jed exploding like a character from Willy Wonka’s factory (or a scene from Pulp Fiction) all over the posh bathroom floor.
We called room service for help and, although it was after housekeeping hours, within 20 minutes a miracle worker in plain clothes arrived, sorted the mess and emerged smiling. Harvey Keitel, eat your heart out!
OH tipped her well for her troubles and we were highly impressed by how efficiently and pleasantly the hotel handled that ‘situation’.
Once the kids were asleep, we drifted off ourselves while watching a DVD on the player provided by the hotel. It was such a comfy sleep even the babes didn’t get up until after 9.30am!
We had a lazy breakfast of full English, American style pancakes and Eggs Benedict before check-out at 11am.
Flemings Mayfair was a heavenly experience and I’ll definitely be back soon, at least to sample (alright, gorge myself on) their Chocoholic Afternoon Tea.
**Our review of Flemings Mayfair was arranged thanks to Luxury and Little Ones, a brilliant new service promoting luxury hotels for families, and included complimentary overnight stay, dinner and breakfast.
For family-friendly apartments, shopping and cultural breaks at very reasonable rates, visit Flemings Mayfair, 7-12 Half Moon St, W1 (Green Park tube). Tel: +44 207 499 0000. Email: reservations@flemings.co.uk
Oh wow, what an incredible hotel apartment. Whn can I move in? x