Review: The Twenty Two

Why book?

Because you want a beautiful place to crash in Mayfair, but don’t necessarily want to be weighed down by the heritage of nearby stalwarts like Claridge’s and The Connaught. Because you want energy as well as blue plaques, and service worthy of Le Caprice without being called “Sir” or “Madam.”

Set the scene

A vision of white Portland stone and intimidating grandeur on the northeastern edge of Grosvenor Square, where the gardens give way to the faint buzz of North Audley Street. The doorman is wearing a camel-colored cape and is laughing with colleagues. In a marble-floored lobby that smells of churchy frankincense, a row of staff in Charlie Casely-Hayford suits greet us like old friends. The chattiest of them leads us up to our suggestively wallpapered room, which could be the setting for a decadent Freudian dream. A pervasive friendliness cuts through the velveteen quality of a place that feels more like a louche Parisian hideaway than most smart new London hotels, which tend to fit into Hoxton or Heritage pigeonholes.

The backstory

This previously residential Edwardian manor house has been turned into a 31-room hotel and member’s club by former Blakes owner Navid Mirtorabi, with the help of business partner Jamie Reuben, a scion of a family that owns swathes of Mayfair. They hired interior designer Natalia Miyar, known for residential projects (but no hotels), to give the place a sensual makeover, heavy on blues and reds—with chapeau-tips to 18th-century France, but a prevailing sense of tactile modern luxury. To bring new life to one of London’s less-hurried quarters, Mirtorabi and Reuben brought in managing director Darius Namdar, an alum of Chiltern Firehouse, Mark’s Club, and Annabel’s, who has clearly learned a thing or two from his old bosses Chris Corbin and Jeremy King. When we meet in the basement club, he emphasizes the personal service from the cool multicultural staff and the fact that the team didn’t want to “over-egg” the concepts. There’s crisp confidence here that’s rare in somewhere so new; and a sense that the posh Mayfair thing can actually evolve, without a black-and-white photo of Mick Jagger in sight.

The rooms

Most rooms are understatedly plush, painted an elegant blue that’s on the sensual side of Edwardian, with bathrooms tiled in crisp black-and-white. There are Pierre Frey fabrics, black rotary dial phones, and some of the most enticing minibars in town (2014 Napa Valley Mt Brave, Diplomatico rum, You + I kombucha, Charbonnel et Walker truffles). Gowns and slippers come with smart blue trims and the curving serif font of The Twenty Two’s quietly cool branding. Things are dialed up in various suites, like a Terrace Suite with a red and black scheme that nods to Napoleonic uniforms and Christian Dior’s Parisian apartment. We stayed in the cocooning Art Studio, with its elongated bedroom entirely covered in a Mughal-inspired reddish wallpaper that’s as libidinously floral as anything Georgia O’Keeffe ever imagined. With nude pencil drawings, and everything smelling fabulously expensive, it’s hard to think of a sexier room in London.

Food and drink

Former Arbutus chef Alan Christie hits the key modern British notes in the blue mod-Edwardian dining room: from langoustines in seaweed butter to classic Dover sole and a grass-fed steak that’s almost like foie gras on the nose. The food’s excellent in an unobtrusive sort of way, but what was most notable on our mid-May visit, on a Friday night soon after opening, was how full and well-staffed the place was (what staffing crisis?). Also, how the diners felt a few shades more bohemian than most Mayfair crowds. The vibe is similar in the low-lit member’s cocktail bar on the other side of the lobby (try the Serendip Champagne cocktail), with female staff in halter-neck jumpsuits. Things get clubbier in the basement Music Room, all louche red velvet with an indoor-outdoor bar for smokers and a model-esque DJ playing pumping house on our visit.

The neighborhood

Grosvenor Square is one of the country’s most expensive addresses for a reason. There’s the genteel loveliness of the oval gardens and just enough of a buffer between here and Oxford Street. If more quintessential heritage hedonism is required, some of London’s great institutions are unobtrusively dotted around the place—Scott’s, Le Gavroche, Annabel’s, and the rest.

The service

Probably the most impressive thing about The Twenty Two. Everyone seems to be in possession of easy charm and the right sort of CV, with GM Darius Namdar poaching an eclectic bunch from Chiltern Firehouse especially. Take Darvin, one of the doormen, who has worked at Dukes, The Beaumont, and the Mandarin Oriental, but likes the intimacy here, and has never before been consulted on whether he’d rather wear a beanie or a flat cap at work (he went with flat cap). Like everyone here, he clearly gets that good service needn’t mean stifling formality. Little touches are on point and smartly straddle generational divides—like being offered a broadsheet at breakfast, Vienna-style, but then being served a Melbourne-standard flat white.

Who comes here?

In the restaurant, there were a few tables of fabulous luvvies, and a couple of what looked like art dealers in conspiratorial chats. Heading for the member’s area, we spied a new sort of young monied set: way more global than the Sloanes, and with more MBAs. Also, the sort of shimmery, sequinned types you might find at Chiltern Firehouse. Some hard-to-discern relationships. Excellent people-watching, in other words.

For families

God, no. This is a place to escape the family; quite literally a grown-up’s club.

Eco effort

We couldn’t spy many single-use plastics—but, like a lot here, it’s suggested rather than shouted about.

Accessibility for those with mobility impairments

This still has the bones of the original building, with narrow doorways (and heavy doors), narrow corridors, and plush carpets. The staff are surely good enough to find workarounds, but it's not ideal.  

Is it worth it?

Some of the prices are shiver-inducing, but then this is Mayfair, and The Twenty Two is offering something different—something sexier and more fun, which might just be a marker point for the area’s future. So if you can afford it, it’s probably worth it.