First opened in 1899, the Landmark London was the last of the great Victorian Railway Hotels, along with Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras, the Great Western Royal Hotel at Paddington, the Great Eastern at Liverpool Street, The Victoria Hotel at Victoria, The Charing Cross Hotel, and The Great Northern at Kings Cross.
Designed by Robert William Ellis, well known for his Gothic revival style, the hotel stands imposingly alongside Marylebone Road, just seconds from the station. The original design allowed for guests to be dropped into a wonderful, vast central courtyard, away from the bustle of the main roads, which became a dancefloor in the 1920s, and today has become the stunning Winter Garden restaurant.
The Winter Garden
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With the growth in travel by motor car, the Landmark fell out of favour with travellers and therefore out of use, and was requisitioned during both world wars. More recently, this historic hotel has been reborn as one of the best luxury hotels in the capital: The Landmark London.
With 300 rooms, this large-scale hotel still manages, through a combination of impeccable service and old-fashioned charm, to feel like an intimate place to stay. The 51 new luxury suites are perfectly formed and peaceful, with palatial bathrooms and ihome systems, Nespresso machines and flat screen televisions, and wonderfully comfortable beds – you can easily forget you’re sleeping beside one of the capital’s busiest roads.
The spa treatments are another way to escape city life – down in the lower ground floor, the spa is a cocoon of peace and quiet. Treatments use VOYA’s organic ingredients and the body wraps and exfoliations are a great way to relax after a journey by rail or by car. The treatments are complimented by the pool, Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna, and the Relaxation Room carries herbal teas and decent magazines to read as you prepare to ascend back into the real world.
The highlight of my stay, though, was supper in The Winter Garden. The bar TwoTwentyTwo was a great place for a glass of wine to start; then back upstairs to the airy Winter Garden, which constitutes an uplifting, glamorous place for supper, the soaring ceilings conveying a wonderful sense of space. Service was faultless and friendly, and the food, from the lobster ravioli to the perfect steak and the fantastic lamb, was mouthwatering; there are plenty of good wines to compliment the menu and the timing of each course was impeccable: as we all know, food arriving too early breeds suspicion, too late it engenders grumpiness.
Breakfast offers a huge variety, and is taken looking down onto the now-light filled Winter Garden which becomes so much more like a gigantic, elegant conservatory by day.
The new luxury suites start at £750 per suite per night; The Landmark London also has some new Christmas offers for couples and families:
Christmas in the Capital
Wake up on Christmas morning in the sumptuous surroundings of The Landmark London.
Package includes:
* Welcome mulled wine & mince pies
* Overnight accommodation in a spacious guest room
* Traditional English breakfast in the Winter Garden
From £264 for two adults. Package available from 2nd December 2011 – 8th January 2012
All I Want For Christmas
Treat the family to a magical Christmas in the magnificent The Landmark London.
Package includes:
* Overnight accommodation in a spacious family guest room
* Traditional English breakfast in the Winter Garden
* Christmas stockings from The Landmark London for each child
The Landmark Hotel
222 Marylebone Road
London NW1 6JQ
020 7631 8000
reservations@thelandmark.co.uk
www.landmarklondon.co.uk
