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COMO Hotels and Resorts Discover the Meaning of Stylish Escapism
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COMO Hotels and Resorts Discover the Meaning of Stylish EscapismCOMO Hotels And Resorts体验远离繁嚣、自成一格的生活
文/Story：万山
In February 1997, COMO Hotels and Resorts – also
behind private island resorts like Parrot Cay in the Turks and
Caicos, as well as rural retreats, like Uma Ubud in Bali – opened
Metropolitan London. It is the company’s original Metropolitan
property (the second opened in Bangkok in
2003).
Metropolitan London is located
on one of the most significant thoroughfares in London – Park
Lane, where it joins Hyde Park Corner. Mayfair lies east of the
hotel, Hyde Park to its west. Both are in view, while Knightsbridge
and Piccadilly are five-minute walks. Heathrow airport is a
45-minute car journey, or 15 minutes by train. Gatwick operates
from nearby Victoria station.
Accommodation, spread out over
eight floors, includes 53 park-facing rooms (where the 10 suites
are located, as well as doubles) and 97 city-facing rooms that look
towards Mayfair's rooftops. Park Suites have separate sitting
rooms. City Studios are large, open-plan and flanked with
banquettes. King Park rooms are also popular – a little smaller
than Studio Rooms, at 33sq metres, but with direct views of Hyde
Park.
King
City rooms, with Mayfair views, are popular with business
clients (desk space is generous). Note that all rooms feature voice
mail, UK and US modem points, dual line direct dial telephones, a
private fax machine with designated number. C omplimentary
broadband and WIFI are available throughout the hotel. Printers and
mobile phones are available on
request.
The 29sq metre Queen rooms are
the hotel’s smallest – well priced and ideal for single
travellers.
The hotel also features one-,
two- and three-bedroom suites, some wrapped in floor-to-ceiling
windows, all with Hyde Park views. The Deluxe Suite on the Ninth
Floor suite has a separate living area, which includes a dining
table (seating four people comfortably) and guest cloakroom.
Further details include a Bang & Olufsen CD-player, iPod
docking station and VCR. The sleek yet serene design is
complemented with selected pieces of antique Asian furniture
introducing soft, Eastern accents.
The 110sq metre Penthouse is
among London’s most desirable rooms – high above Park Lane’s
traffic and that sweeping vista of green (a view also enjoyed from
the freestanding bathtub and the expansive shower). There is a
balcony with a Japanese rock garden.
For long stay guests (minimum
three months), the 19 Metropolitan Apartments are ideal for those
wanting a temporary base in London. They are located behind the
hotel, just off Park Lane. 22 Hertford Street is a converted
townhouse with eight two-bedroom apartments and one three-bedroom
penthouse; next door, at 23 Hertford Street, is a two-bedroom
apartment. Brick Street is a purpose built building with
10
two-bedroom apartments. Each
apartment covers a minimum of 1100sq ft.
The apartments share many of
the hotel’s amenities, including room service, access to COMO
Shambhala Urban Escape (charges may apply) and interactive
entertainment systems. Interiors feature contemporary lounges,
sleek pine and black granite kitchens, two large double bedrooms
and two bathrooms. Complimentary broadband and WIFI are also
available.
Metropolitan London was among
the capital’s first hotels to embrace contemporary design.
However, the interiors are also timeless, a subtle balance achieved
with a simple philosophy in mind: to strip back the non-essential
elements of a traditional English hotel to create something cool
yet accessible, sophisticated and
warm.
It is a style for which Keith
Hobbs of United Designers is known (the London-based design house
also worked on The Clarence Hotel in Dublin, as well as various
international fashion stores).
Colours are fresh and muted:
white, peppermint, honey and cream. Decorative elements are
minimal, replaced with a deep respect for texture. Natural
hardwood, like pear, is used for furniture. Bathrooms feature
marble and frosted glass. Leather and suede covered chairs. Beds
are plump with goosedown and Italian cotton. If ornamentation makes
an appearance, it creates emphasis – such as the abstract Helen
Yardley carpet in the hotel lobby.
But it is not just design that
has secured the Metropolitan London’s iconic status. Service is
energetic, with consistent attention to detail. It has flair, its
Concierge imparting a level of local knowledge that allows each
guest to feel like a London insider. Guest services are
comprehensive, from 24-hour room service to a Business Centre with
secretarial facilities. A film and CD library is also available,
and a hotel boutique selling magazines, gifts and
essentials.
As with all COMO Hotels and
Resorts, cuisine is a key element of the experience. At
Metropolitan London, Executive Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa heads up one
of the most exciting kitchens in the capital, ‘Nobu,’ serving an
original mix of Peruvian-Japanese cuisine (both countries use raw
fish; in Peru, however, the marinade includes different chillies,
types of citrus, garlic and coriander). The combination has become
known as ‘New Style Japanese.’
Matsuhisa now has an
international string of restaurants carrying the Nobu name, from
New York to Tokyo. London, his first European venture, remains a
headline success – open lunch and dinner, awarded and retaining
one Michelin star, located on the first floor of the hotel with
views of Hyde Park. Specialities include black cod with Miso, the
fish marinated for two to three days, sashimi salad with Matsuhisa
soy sauce dressing, Hamachi sashimi with jalapenos, and squid
‘pasta’ with light garlic sauce.
For breakfast, hotel guests
make use of ‘The White Room,’ a bright, airy space for a quiet,
healthful breakfast, also popular for private dining. The 24-hour
room service menu includes Nobu specialities as well as late-night
comfort options, like burgers and club sandwiches.
There is also the Met Bar – a
members bar, open to hotel guests, considered to be among the
capital’s most dynamic night time haunts (it also serves light
salads, sandwiches and canapés from lunch until evening).
Interiors feature deep club chairs and wine-dark walls with
acid-etched glass and an abstract mural designed by British artist
Jonathan Huxley. Lighting is soft and moody. Bar staff, called
'mixologists' at the Met, create some 26 varieties of Martinis,
such as the Pineapple Martini. Music is provided by international
DJs.
To provide a counterpoint to
this urban energy, Metropolitan London has a substantial 207sq
metre COMO Shambhala Urban Escape designed for guests seeking
greater health through yoga and related treatments. There is a
fully equipped gym, two treatments rooms and separate male and
female steam.
Guests can also take advantage
of COMO Shambhala’s Asian-based therapies. These range from
specific body treatments to facials and massages delivered by
experienced practitioners who customise treatments according to
individual needs. Many of the therapies employ COMO Shambhala
products, formulated with pure organic essential oils and
herbs.
For those in London on
business, the hotel’s location puts it among the top venues for
events, from cocktail parties to private lunches, press days, TV
screenings, fashion shows and interviews. The five state-of-the-art
rooms accommodate up to 80 people. A Room Service Event
Co-ordinator is supplied to ensure fuss-free
proceedings.
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