Life’s Been Good To Me So Far. The view from my hotel room at The Metropolitan London. (Hipstamatic, Loftus lens, color pumped up in Camera+)
Of all of London’s hotels, it’s The Metropolitan that feels most like home to me. Perhaps because we sort of came of age together. When it opened it’s doors in 1997, the urban zen vibe of the Met changed the game in the city by embracing London contemporary design over the chintz-heavy hotels of yore, and quickly became a favorite property of stylish travelers and bold face celebrities.
Met Exterior on Old Park Lane. One of Mayfair’s , FujiX100
Old Park Lane Sign. Mobile photography
Exterior of The Met at night
The modern, sleek and sexy lobby of The Metropolitan London is hip without being intimidatingly cool.
The Bed in my Met room 914
View from Met room, over looking the nearby Four Seasons London at Park Lane and InterContinental London Park Lane. You can do a high end pub crawl of hotel bars without going far.
Breakfast at The Met, London. Hipstamatic (Loftus lens)
While the chic contemporary Como hotels property can no longer claim the Met Bar is the hottest spot scene in town, the hotel bar has been a key part of the scene for long enough that it now is eligible for hall of fame status. The Metropolitan boasts an in-house Nobu which remains one of the world’s best restaurants, and has the best exotic fruit plate I’ve ever had, despite being not evenly remotely tropical. The infamous Boris Becker broom closet tryst happened on site… and led to his high profile paternity case with interesting DNA evidence.
Champagne at the Met Bar
Sushi and sake at Nobu London. (Hipstamatic, Loftus lens)
The scene at the Met has mellowed a bit, as has the strict “members only” policy at the Met Bar. It’s friendlier and brighter now and how has bay windows brightening the space that used to be behind the velvet rope. You can still get a great cocktail, but you can also meet your friends for a cup of tea here, and more importantly, have a conversation.
The hotel has matured nicely into a contemporary classic and cult favorite and still attracts the same sort of guests who favored it in the first place. It’s still cool, but with a warmer, family-friendly vibe. You could still bump into a rock star here, or more likely, a rock star with a Bugaboo Stroller in tow.
Everything you need is on site, including the posh COMO Shambala Urban Escape Spa. The menu of treatments have a strong holistic bent, proving this Como Hotels & Resorts property knows the taste of the below-the-radar bold face names who still bunk here. The gym facilities have been upgraded are the largest and brightest in the neighborhood. Always on the cutting edge, the Metropolitan now offers it’s early arriving and late to depart guests the high end pod hotel experience, The Met Pod.
London’s Metropolitan no longer needs to prove itself as a hotel as destination in itself, and remains a top low key pick for guests want to take advantage of it’s prime Mayfair location (close the Hyde Park Corner and Green Park tube stations), facilities, and food while enjoying the best of what London has to offer.
Como Shambala SPA.