The May Fair
What We Love
- Quiet location in exclusive Mayfair, within walking distance of Green Park, Hyde Park and Bond Street
- Home to a buzzy bar and a destination restaurant
- Classy rooms with plush fabrics and creature comforts
- Free WiFi
- The bar has just been refurbished
What To Know
- Deluxe rooms and above include a $23 daily credit for food and drink (excluding breakfast and room service breakfast)
- The 24-hour gym is free, but there's a $25 charge to use the spa facilities (the fee is waived if you purchase a spa treatment)
- READ MORE: How to see London for free
Amenities
- Bar
- Casino
- Free WiFi
- Gym
- Handicap-accessible
- Parking On Site
- Restaurant
- Room Service
- Spa
Overview
The Look
On a tree-lined street in one of London’s poshest neighborhoods, the May Fair Hotel is a ritzy retreat with regal connections. Opened in 1927 by King George V, this five-star haute hotel sits on a site that was once the location of the Duke of Devonshire’s London home. It’s decked out with designer furnishings from floor (Fendi sofas) to ceiling (Baccarat chandeliers) and attracts stars from fashion and film.
Bed and Bath
The hotel feels far more intimate than 404 guestrooms would imply. Spread across nine floors, room categories range from Superior (323 square feet) to palatial Signature Suites (2,142 square feet). Color combos vary, from spearmint-green and taupe to mustard-yellow and lilac, and they’re all dressed with tactile furnishings, Catalan furniture and Sicilian marble in the bathrooms. Samsung smart TVs with 400 channels, international power outlets, free WiFi and tea- and coffeemaking facilities come standard, and mini Smeg fridges emblazoned with the Union Jack feature in the Suites. Signature Suites are equipped with grandiose gadgets like Japanese toilets, color-changing bathtubs and even talking showers in some bathrooms.
Beyond
With a destination restaurant, two bars, an Asian-inspired spa, a private cinema (with Ferrari leather-trimmed seats) and a casino, the May Fair feels more like an urban resort than a hotel. Start with a cocktail at the May Fair Bar, where waiters often shimmy through with free canapés. Follow up with a meal at May Fair Kitchen, which evokes an ambience to recreate the culinary delights of the Mediterranean, showcasing an exquisite selection of Spanish and Italian small plates, and finish at the May Fair Terrace a stylish semi-alfresco lounge in the heart of the hotel. The basement gym is open 24 hours and sits next to the spa, which has an aromatic steam room, experience showers and a candlelit relaxation room.
In the Area
You’re a short walk from Green Park, which backs onto Buckingham Palace Gardens, and Hyde Park, where you can boat on the lake, ride along ancient horse trails or swim in the Serpentine Lido. Stroll Mayfair’s boutique-lined streets and pop into Dover Street Market, a multilevel hipster store adored by fashion editors, or head to Fortnum & Mason to gawk at the food hall. Shopping thoroughfares Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street are all within walking distance, and for a spot of culture, walk along Piccadilly to the Royal Academy for blockbuster art shows.
How to Get There
Reviews
The hotel is amazing and the staff is way above 5-star.
Special thanks to George who made my stay so special, always making eye contact and conversation when he saw me passing by.
George is an asset for this hotel and a true professional hospitality memory maker.
The staff needs lot of training and need to learn to respect clients. The reception desk lack hospitality and dont know how to welcome guest especially the one who are repeat. I will never come back to this hotel - bye bye!!!
The rooms were spacious and the staff lovely. We had room service in the evenings and food was excellent! Easy walk to transportation, shopping, and Buckingham. Perfect place for my sons first visit to London.
We booked 4 rooms (3 doubles and 1 single) through a website (because they offered breakfast, as opposed to the public rate directly from the hotel) and 2 other rooms through a travel agent.
Upon check in, we were charged the total amount of our stay (never happened this before in ANY hotel in which I stayed) without even telling us they were going to charge the credit card. If they would have explained, I COULD HAVE DECIDED which credit card to give, as the one I was giving, I only use it for guarantees.
We asked for 2 single beds (described as possible in our category room) and they were not available. We were told also, that if we would have reserved directly through the hotel, we would be guaranteed of this.Later when spoken with a customer relations specialist, Zeynep, she couldn't even believe this and said she was really sorry about it, that this has not been handled correctly.
We overheard next to us, that the Hotel is now a part of the Radisson hotels, and they were offering the other guest to be part of the club. They never offered this to us, so we asked how we could join. They gave us a club card, mentioned we were going to receive an email confirmation. Nothing happened, so when contacted the hotel to clarify the wrong charges we had on our credit card, I asked for the points to be properly put into my new account.
We got into our room, 45 minutes later because the different 4 sets of keys they gave us never worked) and the smell in our room was impossible. It not only happened in our room, on 2 of the other rooms in our reservations happened the same. They changed 1 of those rooms, and offered to upgrade upon a payable fee on the next day and we accepted.
I reported all this to the website through which I made the original reservations and they contacted the hotel. They offered to lower the amount of the upgrade by £50 per night and we accepted.
Again, they used our credit card information, without letting us know, and went on with the total amount for the upgrade int the middle of our stay. It's really creepy to think they are charging you card because they do have the information and they are not letting you know about those charges.
3 out of 4 nights we had to contact the reception because the AC turns off by itself and the room was extremely hot and the AC didn't turn back on. 2 different engineers had to come and check it out. They did reset it from the main computer down, and it still went off by itself. We were left a note apologizing and 4 macaroons on our room on one of those visits...but unfortunately the room was very hot and the macaroon didn't made it cooler.
This was my 3rd stay at the hotel, and I was really exited to come back. I was so exited, that I went there as a group (4 rooms through a website, and 2 extra rooms through another travel agent). We all had a terrible experience.
I will definitely never come back again, although I think it has a great location.
I think that for this high price tag, you have a lot of options nearby far better that The May Fair Hotel.The hotel need to be updated (bathrooms are modern but furniture and rugs are really worn out). The service is very bad, with the exception of 2 employees (Zeynep and Antonio) that were the only one showing their faces for the rest of the employees that were not the standard of a hotel like this and with these room prices.
Popped in here just on a whim last friday,the place was absolutey buzzing,great atmosphere and good crowd of people all looking nice,dressed up and out for a good time,we ending up staying till late and the cocktails are fantastic,good location and the staff are very welcoming,we will visit again.