Top facilities: 24-hour health middle, Italian marble bogs, curated artwork
Not to be outdone by arrivistes thudding onto the top-end scene, the Dorch has been shaking her tail feathers since 2023, when it unveiled its largest refurb in three many years: public areas supercharged, and two flooring of recent rooms and suites revealed. The resort the place Elizabeth Taylor signed her (*14*) contract in the bathtub stays out-and-out fabulous—however with a Pierre-Yves Rochon uplift. The Artists’ Bar sparkles with a mirrored ceiling, Lalique crystal pillars girdling the bar, and Liberace’s mirrorball-clad child grand. This is the spot for caviar, native oysters, and Petal Head cocktails (Stoli Elit vodka, kumquat, Aperol, and keenness fruit) served from a trolley.
Martin Brudnizki’s Vesper Bar invitations intimacy with its smoked glass and scalloped armchairs, and the spa (greatest for Dr. Uliana Gout’s medical-grade facials) is a pink girly haven. The Grill by Tom Booton, a enjoyable slice of British culinary theater, has a contemporary menu; don’t miss the squid bolognese à la Koffmann, given the tick of approval by Pierre Koffmann himself. The suites have the palettes of an English backyard, in leaf inexperienced, rose, and heather. If Hôtel Plaza Athénée is the American fantasy of Paris, then this Park Lane dame’s rooms are the American fantasy of Britishness—one we’re comfortable to purchase into. —L.B.
Address: 53 Park Ln, London W1K 1QA
Closest tube station: Marble Arch