I was wrong.
When I heard that the first-ever UK Peninsula was to be built by one of Britain’s busiest roundabouts, mild shock was my response.
Surely, I mused, views of – and noise from – nose-to-tail traffic will not entice the well-heeled travellers this premium hotel brand hopes to lure.
But Peninsula owner Sir Michael Kadoorie has executed a masterstroke in positioning the hotel at Hyde Park Corner (and shown that patience really is a virtue).
He searched for 35 years for the perfect address for his first hotel on British soil and decided that 1 Grosvenor Place, amid the finery of Belgravia, was it.
The upshot? The Peninsula London can afford guests jaw-dropping views of the London skyline, Buckingham Palace, and Wellington Arch, which the Household Cavalry passes through during the Changing of the Guard.
Ted Thornhill checked in to The Peninsula London, the UK capital’s first billion-pound hotel. Above is the Lobby
Pictured above is the hotel’s ‘stunning’ subterranean 25m pool, which is lined with intricate mosaics
Peninsula owner Sir Michael Kadoorie searched for 35 years for the perfect address for his first hotel on British soil and decided that 1 Grosvenor Place, amid the finery of Belgravia, was it
Plus, 350-acre Hyde Park is on the doorstep, while Knightsbridge and its glittering shops, from Harvey Nichols to Harrods, is a 10-minute walk away.
And the roundabout – with its migrating herds of buses, black cabs and posh cars – actually helps create an energy around the property that’s quite thrilling.
Noise? Guests are insulated from it by glass seemingly thick enough to withstand re-entry into Earth’s orbit.
There are two entrances. The most gracious is via the zen-esque inner courtyard, which contains two 120-year-old Japanese maple trees and, during the weekend I’m at the hotel with my partner and seven-year-old daughter, several jaw-dropping supercars, including two Bugatti Veyrons and a £2.8million Pagani Huayra, which tells you how rich some of the hotel’s guests are (i.e extremely).
Both entrances feature lofty revolving doors guarded by a brace of stone lions. But the creatures are bigger and grander at the roundabout entrance I use when I arrive, standing proudly by the 190-room hotel’s Portland-stone facade.
There’s no friendly greeting for me by the doorman, though, who merely tracks me with a slight air of suspicion as I walk in. Perhaps he’s spotted the tailoring – a mid-range M&S work suit – and thinks I’ve got the wrong address.
Inside though and across our weekend stay, the staff, at every step and in every department, treat me as if I’m Sir Michael himself.
And the property? It’s London’s first billion-pound hotel and looks and feels suitably lavish from top to the bottom basement level (where there’s a stunning 25m pool), with Sir Michael’s love of aviation and automobiles overtly referenced in places.
Brooklands Bar – ‘an exquisite homage design-wise to racing and aviation, with sumptuous leather banquettes, a bar that echoes the curves of a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost and lighting embellished by a dazzling crystal chandelier representing the turbines of a Rolls-Royce jet engine’
Claude Bosi’s two-Michelin-star restaurant, which is located on the eighth floor, opposite the bar
Sir Michael’s love of aviation and automobiles is overtly referenced in various spots. Above is the restaurant lobby
The lift to Brooklands Bar and the two-star restaurant emulates a hot-air balloon (complete with wicker walls and burner sound effects)
For example, the bar (our first port of call) and Claude Bosi’s two-Michelin-star restaurant on the top (eighth) floor are named Brooklands after the renowned Surrey race circuit, and in the lift lobby two actual Concorde cockpit seats are on display, along with a vintage car (it changes every so often, but it was a vintage Alvis FWD during my visit).
The lift to the top, meanwhile, emulates a hot air balloon – it has sides lined with wicker made by a hot-air balloon company and burner sound effects – and Brooklands Bar is an exquisite homage design-wise to racing and aviation, with sumptuous leather banquettes, a bar that echoes the curves of a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost and lighting embellished by a dazzling crystal chandelier representing the turbines of a Rolls-Royce jet engine.
Arguably, however, the view caps it all. It’s breathtaking, with London’s most iconic buildings arranged neatly in a row on the horizon as if summoned, from Big Ben to St Paul’s Cathedral, and bargoers able to peer into Buckingham Palace’s gardens.
After a brace of lovely Chablis there we head to our fifth-floor room, a gold-and-ivory-hued Grand Premier Suite that’s another breath drainer. It’s just ridiculous. A haven where technology and luxurious furniture and decor have been blended with astonishing attention to detail and convenience, resulting in a suite I could happily live out the rest of my days in.
During the build phase of the hotel, full-size replica model rooms were erected to allow the design teams to test their ideas – their dedication to achieving the highest standards has paid off.
There are hand-tufted carpets by Tai Ping Carpets, which has supplied rugs to Buckingham Palace and the White House; a mahogany-panelled dressing room big enough for a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost; a bed so wide it defies categorisation (hyper-king?); and a dreamy Instagram-igniting bathroom smothered in honeyed Turkish onyx.
On the tech side, there are Japanese smart loos, pull-out bedside charging trays, and movie-watching is a joy thanks to TVs in the bedroom and living room with superb cinematic speaker systems meshed into the ceilings (and complaint-defying sound-proofing, we’re told).
Ted’s fifth-floor room, ‘a gold-and-ivory-hued Grand Premier Suite’ with a bed so wide it ‘defies categorisation’
![The ensuite is 'a dreamy Instagram-igniting [room] smothered in honeyed Turkish onyx'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/08/14/93871071-14262771-image-a-50_1736348268489.jpg)
The ensuite is ‘a dreamy Instagram-igniting [room] smothered in honeyed Turkish onyx’
The Grand Premier Suite living room. Ted is impressed with the way that the suite meshes luxury with technology
Multiple wall panels and tablets control both the TVs and the lighting and curtains, so it’s a cinch to create a homely vibe.
And The Peninsula understands the frustrations we all have operating coffee machines – ours comes complete with a screen that plays a tutorial video.
An honourable mention, too, for the valet box for laundry that staff can access without coming into the room.
Visit The Peninsula London and you simply must try the room service – which is about as spectacular as room service gets.
Our post-bar order of curries and fish and chips is presented in eye-catching fashion with flourishes fit for Claude’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant above us – the table is decorated with flowers, condiments are arranged on a silver platter, three ovals of butter are placed on their own bone china plates, and thick napkins are stacked on fine crockery. We’ve ordered two wines by the glass – these are poured from bottles opened before us and we’re even offered a taste first before committing.
Maybe the staff really do think I’m a Kadoorie family member.
The most ‘gracious’ entrance is ‘via the zen-esque inner courtyard, which contains two 120-year-old Japanese maple trees’
Wellington Arch, which the Household Cavalry passes through during the Changing of the Guard, forms part of the view from the hotel
Peninsula London’s ‘perfect’ breakfast pastries
The following day, it’s breakfast in the lobby – a space that’s filled with light thanks to triple-height windows, with fluted columns lending an air of magnificence.
We devour croissants my French partner describes as ‘perfect’ while watching the staff in their chic Jenny Packham-designed uniforms (claret dresses for the ladies, dark suits for the gents) serve food and drink and reset tables with an unflappable ease I’m almost tempted to applaud.
Were that the done thing.
Service standards are impeccable again during our return to the Lobby for afternoon tea (£95), a sophisticated experience that is quintessentially ‘Peninsula’.
When The Peninsula Hong Kong, the first Peninsula hotel, opened its doors on December 11, 1928, its lobby was a quiet tea lounge, with the introduction there of Hong Kong’s first proper afternoon tea brewing up a trend since adopted by hotels and restaurants throughout the city and now a popular feature of all 12 Peninsula properties around the world.
Guests are insulated from traffic noise ‘by glass seemingly thick enough to withstand re-entry into Earth’s orbit’
The hotel’s ‘glorious private cinema’, where Ted and his family enjoyed a screening of Elf
Grand: Both entrances are guarded by enormous stone lions and feature huge revolving doors
Beneath a Hyde-Park-Kensington-Gardens-inspired mural by de Gournay we enjoy exquisite sandwiches, scones (try the lemon curd with them) and indulgent, finely crafted desserts.
In the evening, it’s a £195 Christmas tasting menu in the Lobby – complete with bonus courses of smoked salmon and Oscietra caviar amuse-bouche, foie gras terrine with mulled wine jelly and lobster tortellini.
We feast in a happy stupor but in a slightly muted atmosphere, amid bored-looking guests staring at their phones.
From my limited experience of it, the Lobby isn’t the place to be for those keen on a buzzy vibe.
The fine dining is interspersed with dips in the pool – one of the best in the capital with an intricate mosaic lining the walls – watching Elf in the glorious private cinema (with Champagne, ice cream and popcorn), braving the crowds in Harrods and a saunter through Hyde Park.
Globally famous attractions, but this epic hotel is an attraction all by itself – and worth a 35-year wait.
Bravo, Sir Michael, and your world-class team.
