“There is some corner of a foreign field that is forever England,” wrote Rupert Brooke, the First World War English poet, in his most famous sonnet, “The Soldier.” He wasn”™t off on some colonialist trip in the poem. Rather, he was reflecting on love for one”™s country and the very real pain of homesickness, from which he himself suffered acutely.
You don”™t have to suffer from homesickness to appreciate Grosvenor Square, in the heart of London”™s upscale, very central Mayfair district, but it is “a corner of a foreign field” ”“ one which has long been associated with America. John Adams, the first United States minister to the Court of St. James”™s (and the second president of the United States,) lived in the square from 1785 to 1788, and four subsequent ministers occupied the same house, which still stands today. The United States Chancery was established in the square, at No. 1, in 1938, and in 1960, the now iconic, new embassy building, with its vast bronze eagle, was opened, taking up the huge square”™s entire west side.
In the square, too, is a statue of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, who set up his military headquarters during World War II at No. 20, as well as one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and yet another of President Ronald Reagan, while the United Kingdom”™s 9/11 Memorial is situated within the small garden on the east side of the square. If those aren”™t sufficient “foreign field” credentials, I don”™t know what are.
It”™s entirely fitting, therefore, that the former Millennium Mayfair hotel, which actually started life cheerleading for Americans in London as an InterContinental, should once again be American-run, this time as The Biltmore, an LXR Hotels & Resorts luxury property from Hilton.
Situated right on the square, The Biltmore occupies as prime a London address as you can get. Bond Street is a hop, skip and short jump away and the Bond Street Tube, on the comfortable Jubilee Line, is five minutes”™ walk. Hyde Park? A mere saunter across Park Lane, while Selfridge”™s, London”™s great department store ”“ founded by an American, naturally ”“ is only a couple of minutes further on, heading north across the square.
Opt for a Grosvenor Square view if you can run to it. I know the argument very well that there”™s little point in paying for a view if you are out of your room during the day, but there”™s something about this view of the square ”“ which comprises six acres of open garden and the houses around it ”“ which puts you remarkably in touch with the city. You can spend hours peering out of these windows, at Londoners walking their dogs, office workers catching a few rays (yes ”“ the sun does shine in London), cyclists doing perpetual battle with the cars and tourists gawping and consulting their maps and phones. In other words, you will experience the thrum of the city, which feels every bit as real high-up as it does at street level.
And while I have some minor quibbles, like luggage left all day on a cart near the main entrance, an obviously finished-with coffee cup and discarded newspaper not removed from a table in the main lobby for over an hour, and some eccentric behavior from one of the elevators which traveled only between the third and fourth floors, forsaking all others, The Biltmore has far too much going for it to concern myself overly with the faff. (Besides which, I”™m sure these were teething troubles, probably already ironed out.)
From the bowler-hatted doorman with his “cheeky chappy” smile, who welcomes you at the entrance, to the sweet young lady in charge of the restaurant who welcomed me at breakfast each morning, asking if I”™d had a good night”™s sleep, staff are obliging and invested in your stay.
That restaurant, the Café Biltmore, by the way, with its Covid-busting, year-round indoor-outdoor terrace, is good indeed. And it serves all the way from breakfast until late at night ”“ terrific oysters, Loch Duart Scottish salmon, Dorset crab on toast, buttermilk fried chicken, confit duck leg with fried egg and kimchi, to name just a few dishes from the long and well-conceived menu.
In the guest rooms, beautiful, handmade cabinetry sits on original herringbone parquet floors, while that wonderful smell of freshness, which seems to belong exclusively to new hotels, invades the senses. This also, at least subliminally, suggests meticulous cleaning, which in turn imparts confidence to guests. And in the squeaky, white tile and chrome bathrooms, you”™ll scrub-up delightfully with premium Floris bath products. Their opulent showroom is a pleasant 15-minute walk away on Jermyn Street, parallel to Piccadilly.
As for the U.S. embassy, though, that is one landmark you”™ll no longer see on the square, no matter how premium your room or suite. Turned into a virtual fortress following 9/11, its security requirements could no longer be accommodated where it was, situated right in the heart of the city, and in 2017 it finally moved to a new location south of the River Thames. Now, a Rosewood hotel, The Chancery ”“ a sister to New York”™s Carlyle ”“ is rising up on the old embassy site, slated to open in 2024.
But for now, and perhaps long into the future, The Biltmore Mayfair, should be your go-to address for some Yankee-Doodle cheer in the British capital.
For more, visit lxrhotels3.hilton.com.
