Everyone’s Talking About This New Hotel in London—Here’s Why

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The Afar take

The Maybourne hotel group has been an archetype of luxury hospitality in London since it opened the Prince of Saxe Coburge Hotel in 1815. (It was renamed a century later as the much revered Connaught.) The collection includes the circa-1898 Claridge’s (redone in 2022); the Berkeley, built in 1972; and two glorious retreats outside the United Kingdom (the former Montage Beverly Hills in Los Angeles and the former Hotel Vista Palace in the French Riviera). For the first time in more than a half-century, the group now has a new-construction property in London that not only further elevates the brand but also introduces a very 21st-century take on the aristocratic retreat. Enter: the Emory.

Courtesy of the Emory

London’s first all-suite hotel, which opened in April 2024 next to leafy Hyde Park, has just 61 suites and is neither flashy nor old-school. Architect Richard Rogers, of Centre Pompidou fame, created as his last project this glass-and-steel tower with exposed trusses and cables. What’s not on view: The entrance. Despite an enviable address in Knightsbridge along the park, the hotel welcomes guests who arrive by town car (included in the lofty room rate) to a back alley for optimal discretion. There’s no gilded lobby, but rather a cadre of personal assistants awaiting guests to grant them a quick tour of this boutique hotel with all the amenities of a resort and many A-list collaborators, from chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten to designers Alexandra Champalimaud and Patricia Urquiola.

According to general manager Knut Wylde, “It’s flexible and relaxed, not boring or formal.” And it may set a new bar for quiet-luxury hotels the world over.

Who’s it for?

Rooms start at $2,590, so think of this as a respite for business travelers who want to add a little leisure into their work trips. (They’d best arrive near a weekend to take full advantage of the Hyde Park location and all the food, drinks, and wellness diversions on property.) Discretion is key here, but that doesn’t come at the expense of choice. Guests are given a day pass to the hotel’s membership-only wellness retreat, Surrenne, which takes up four floors underneath the building and 20 feet above the London Underground’s Piccadilly line. They also have access to the guests-only Bar 33 by Rémi Tessier, where London is laid out in every direction to the horizon, and the private cigar bar, with a circular lighting fixture that doubles as a ventilation system. The latter two are stylish spaces awash in amber and require a visit, even if you don’t smoke or drink.

Otherwise, the prime target is couples on a weekend d’amour, local wellness junkies devoted to the Tracy Anderson Method and next-level spa treatments, and anyone who plans to hole up in their suite and enjoy daily-restocked minibar treats and luxurious soaks in womb-like tubs.

Courtesy of the Emory

The location

A better address you will not find in London, even though plenty of other brands have laid claim to this prime SW1 neighborhood. Across the street from Hyde Park, the Emory is next to sister property the Berkeley, and every suite has a balcony, even if teensy. Because the Underground is so close to the building’s foundation, engineers built atop vibration bearings, so you’ll never feel so much as a rumble.

Within walking distance are the grand Victorian homes that make Knightsbridge a holdout of the .1 percent, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrod’s, Harvey Nichols, a Bonhams, and not one but two Prada stores.

The rooms

Each of the five interior designers selected to create two floors of suites (or a penthouse) appeals to a different style of guest. André Fu brings a minimalist’s aesthetic with some tropical modernism flourishes (like wooden screens that serve only visual purposes). Alexandria Champalimaud gives “residential” in her suites, all with a signature oversize pair of glasses worked into the design. Pierre-Yves Rochon offers Parisian glam, while Patricia Urquiola makes ample use of slatted wood and an earth-tone button motif. Rigby & Rigby designed the penthouse, which takes up the entire top floor and defines understated luxury.

All the rooms incorporate earth tones and natural materials—perfect for affluent travelers who don’t need signifiers of wealth screaming at them from every wall. Some rooms have no art at all. Bathroom amenities are branded by the hotel’s Surrenne spa.

The food and drink

Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s wildly popular ABC restaurants in NYC—seasonal ingredient–focused ABC Kitchen, Latin-inspired ABC Cocina, and plant-based AbcV—have arrived in London as a mashup of the three concepts. Although the Manhattan mainstay is hardly a bastion of affluence, at the Emory, where the restaurant is open to the public and sits at street level against Hyde Park greenery, the plant-forward menu coupled with the open kitchen and white-on-white decor by Rémi Tessier gives the space an almost indulgent comfort. You still want to wear a nice dress or a button-down for an heirloom beet carpaccio or pappardelle with mushroom walnut Bolognese. (Worry not; there are plenty of meat options, including pork confit tacos and crackling fried chicken.) Daily breakfast is included in the rate, either in-room or at ABC Kitchens.

Courtesy of the Emory

Guests of the Emory also have access to the Berkeley’s dining options and the spa menu in the Surrenne, but the real stunner is on the roof, at Tessier’s cognac-hued Bar 33. The wizard-like bartenders will make whatever your poison—there is no signature cocktail menu. Love what they concocted? They’ll mark it in their little black book beside your name for future visits.

Staff and service

Though you’ll be called by your honorific and last name, this is not a stuffy, formal destination. Staff will introduce themselves by their first names, and their roles are clearly defined by the color and shape of their (quite chic) uniforms. When a problem arises—you can’t find the discreet hotel entrance or the TV won’t connect with your device—just send a WhatsApp to the concierge and a helper magically appears in moments, either virtually or in person.

A house car is on standby to take guests to and from the airport or whatever their next destination is. (This service is included in the rate.) The quiet luxury of the Emory extends to the way the staff interacts with guests: nothing fussy, always precise.

Accessibility

For those in wheelchairs or in need of walkers or canes, very few places on property are off limits, and any suite will suffice. There are ramps and wide elevators and doorways throughout the hotel, plus lipless entry into bathrooms and some showers.

Courtesy of the Emory

Urban wellness

The Emory excels by any metric, but the Surrenne membership concept reinvents the urban spa. Accepting only 100 members, it covers four subterranean floors of the Emory and includes a lap pool and cabanas, locker rooms, a fully equipped gym, a sauna/steam experience with a shower that “snows,” seven treatment rooms, a fitness studio, a café, and 24-hour access only for guests of the Emory and the Berkeley.

Surrenne was created in collaboration with a scientific advisory board that includes Dr. Shauna Shapiro, Dr. David Sinclair, and the (sometimes controversial) neuroscientist and popular podcaster Andrew Huberman. The spa also has a Tracy Anderson Studio for the workout method’s loyal following of celebrities and jet-setters.

This Zen space, courtesy of Tessier, is such a cossetting cocoon of holistic well-being that we’ll take Surrenne for what it delivers: a high-tech, fully inclusive approach to longevity and wellness. From $2,590