Dorchester Hotel

The Front of the building is wonderful, renovations were very good, service was spot on as you would expect. HOWEVER!! we had to move 3 times to get a non smoking room, the smell of old cigarettes was everywhere. After our final move, we woke up on Sunday morning to the smell of cigarette smoke, which was coming under the adjoining bedroom door. Took an hour to check out as they did not take down the correct security number from the credit card.

Central location, splendid building (after the recent renovations, although I prefered the old Grill and the bar is too modern for my taste) and very luxurious rooms. Dinner at the grill was good but not memorable, and the quality of the service has dropped. Service at the bar was not great, but the waiting staff was especially bad at breakfast in the Promenade. Breakfast itself is also of a lesser quality than in the past (especially the bread) and is now a neglected meal (like at so many hotels). The spa (ok but not a destination in itself) did not look clean (used towels and empty water bottles everywhere). I reported this several times to the reception but it had no effect. The hardware (public areas and rooms) is certainly back where it should be, but there is a problem with the software (poorly trained young waiting staff having replaced the older and distinguished staff).

My partner and I had a two night stay at The Dorchester at the end of August. We were impressed with the checking in service which included the receptionist showing us around the facilities and to our room. Our room was on the second floor. The room was exceptionally spacious and the bed was huge. The bathroom was a decent size with a deep bathtub. (If you had a mobility problem you may not be able to lift your leg high enough to get in) A little disappointingly, our room overlooked the aircon units/kitchen? however, my view is that I do not go to London to spend my time looking out of the window. The new bar was very beautifully done although the prices are definitely London/5* prices! The Promenade is gorgeous and a delight to have either breakfast/ afternoon tea or a late afternoon drink. Our stay inThe Dorchester was very good. We stayed in both The Lanesborough and The Ritz last year and The Dorchester is faring execptionally well in 'our places to stay test'!

A large group of us went for afternoon tea on a Sunday at the Dorchester. On arrival at the hotel I was very impressed with the surroundings and decor. We were warmly welcomed and shown to our tables, which looked beautiful- the china was the finest and daintiest I have seen! The choice of teas were quite bewildering but I finally decided on the Dorchester Blend and was not disappointed. We were firstly served sandwiches, as much as we could eat. I tried most varieties and they were all fantastic! Next came a peach and Vanilla desert- which was followed by warm scones- delicious! We had a selection of pastries which were quickly refilled as I had to try most of them- they were all very tasty! We offered more of everything, although after my second cake I was rather full. The ambience is lovely, a piano playing throughout and even the ladies restrooms were impressive! 10/10 I enjoyed myself immensely as well as the rest of my party- I would love to go again!!!

June, my wife and I went to the Dorchester for Afternoon Tea. Sandwiches were good, desserts were just average and the whole affair was overpriced. Service was slow, our server disappeared and we ended up with someone else. Beautiful setting,,, but as I was about the only man with a necktie, I wondered why I carried it 4000 miles for this... Will go elsewhere next time:

I wanted to take my parents to London for the day as a treat. They are comfortably off and are used to some of the nicer things in life, but I'm not - so the budget was important to me. However, I wanted to take them to see Buckingham Palace and then for a smart tea afterwards. I used Tripadvisor and read all the reviews of lots of nice London Hotels which do tea and eventually settled on the Dorchester, mainly because of the reviews which said the staff at the Ritz were condescending to guests. I wanted to my parents to feel special, not unworthy! The best bit was flagging down a taxi and announcing 'the Dorchester' to the driver - my parents were so surprised; they had never been before. We were dropped off outside and the doorman helped us in. The staff inside were courteous and discreet - not snobbish, disinterested or over-the-top. We sat down (the tea area is right inside in the lobby area) and it is beautifully decorated with huge comfortable banquettes or big old-fashioned chairs. A cake stand, silver plate cutlery and tea-strainers, linen cloths and napkins and Limoges crockery were on the table when we arrived. Immediately a waitress came to see if we were ok and said she'd give us a while (which she did twice as we weren't ready.) The only thing which threw me was that another waitress immediately offered champagne, which my parents accepted happily, thinking it was part of the deal - but I hadn't chosen the champagne tea as it was another six pounds each and I'd bought some for later. Anyway, the tea was fantastic. They bought little sandwiches with the crusts cut off - five kinds - and then brought more and more. Unfortunately I ate too many as the pear and stilton one which had sounded so revolting was so nice and I had several. So, by the time the warm scones (plain or with raisins) arrived wrapped in a napkin, I was feeling a little full. The cakes arrived then too, and were a real treat. Some had gold leaf on and all were beautifully presented and tasted lovely. They offered more, and to my eternal and horrified regret I had to decline. A waiter in tails kept topping up the tea, which we thought was great but we realised at the fourth top up that he was just adding boiling water and it was getting weaker and weaker. I had Bangkok tea and it was fabulous! The service was very good and we were surprised to find we'd been there two hours. As we left, I thought we'd go and have a look at the other end of the room just to see what was up there (let's face it, I don't go there every day) and the cocktail bar caught my Dad's eye... he knows I love a cocktail and offered me one. So there we all were having cocktails beautifully prepared by the barman in the Dorchester. It was fantastic and felt so special. As we were leaving, a lady behind the bar offered us a top-up. My mum's always one for a joke and asked if it was free. Yes, she said...so we had another, and it was free, and it was excellent! By the time we left we felt we'd had such a lovely day and the surroundings, decor, ambience (everyone else looked crashingly wealthy and as though having tea at the Dorchester was sooo tedious dahlink) were perfect. I'm really glad I chose this hotel and (if only there weren't so many other places in the world to see!) would be back in a flash. Just fantastic

.As a regular at The Dorchester i must comment on the superb service that they provide time after time.On our latest visit, to celebrate a friends birthday,we were informed on arrival that we had been upgraded,we were shown to our room which turned out to be a beautiful park suite.To make sure we made the most of it we invited our friends to join us for lunch in the suite.The six of us had a wonderful lunch over looking Hyde Park before going to an afternoon matinee at the theatre.The staff are always extremely polite and attentive,we have stayed at three or four of the other top hotels in London but for the past few years The Dorchester has been our firm favourite and we highly recommend it.

A 4 night stay with the wife (left the kids in Chicago with Grandma!) on vacation- exec king set us back $3500 (room, tax, service only). Full breakfast included, thanks to American Express FH&R program. Reasonably spacious room toward the back (read: quiet) of the hotel- two closets in the entry foyer- spacious bathroom with his/her sinks, separate bath and shower. There was also a bidet that provided us with at least several minutes of amusement. The Dorch is on the east end of hyde park, across Park Lane. It is a brisk 5 minute walk to HP since you can't directly cross Park Lane (unless you have a death wish) unless you walk south to the pedestrian underpass. Green Park and Hyde Park tube stops are closest, both about 5 min walk from hotel. Otherwise, there is not much immediately around the dorch- 5 min walk to Shepard's market (a small, socioeconomically normal enclave in the middle of an otherwise outrageously posh Mayfair neighborhood) or Oxford St and a hideously barricaded US Embassy (don't get me started). Kensington (Harrods, etc) is a good 12-15 min walk- but at least you can cut through Hyde Park and the lovely flower gardens along the southeast edge. Had tea at the Dorch- $135/two people. It is unbelievable to me that the English, who readily voice their disdain for loud, tactless Americans, allow constantly ringing cellphones during tea! Shockingly inappropriate, if you ask this ugly american. Meals in general at the D are ridiculously expensive, especially given the overall mediocre quality. We did not eat in The Grill or China Tang- unbelievably pricey. Given the multitude of superb restaurants in London, we pretty much limited ourselves to breakfast. The clientele are an interesting mixture of arabs, tourists, and englishmen wearing tophats (Royal Ascot horse races were happening). We were low-key Americans doing the usual tourist thing in jeans and casual clothing- we definitely stuck out but I didn't feel particularly ostracized. No one ever hassled us, except when we tried to unsuccesfully cut through the back door of the hotel as a "shortcut." My bad. Service is fine- not outstanding though. Calls to the concierge desk in the middle of the day went unanswered a few times. Maid service was excellent- discrete, fast, and thorough. Check in and check out went fine- they got the bill right on the first try pretty much. Overall, service is comparable to Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, but not as good as Peninsula. Summary: Although the location is considered great, I would suggest that the Dorch is actually a little bit off the beaten path, particularly if you like being able to easily walk (within 5-7 minutes) to restaurants, lounges, shopping, etc. It is outrageously expensive but I am hard-pressed to say it was really worth spending so much for what we hoped would be the quintessential English experience, especially with the constantly ringing cellphones during breakfast and tea. I would stay elsewhere if we went back. P.S. Selfridges is far superior to Harrods- less tourists and WAAAAAYYY less emphasis on their own brand. For example, if you want to buy tea at Harrods, you can really only buy Harrods brand. If you go to Selfridges though, you'll have a ton of choices, only one of which is the Selfridges brand. Selfridges' foodhall is just as impressive as Harrods. Similarly, Selfridges also has an amazing array of clothing, electronics, books, etc. Skip Harrods- Selfridges is a much more entertaining and productive shopping experience with way fewer people to push through.

I stayed at the Dorchester last week and it really is beautifully appointed. The room however, was not what I expected for a top hotel, as it was quite small. The linens were beautiful, the bed comfortable, but the size of the room and the lack of any view was disappointing. All I had to look at really was the ugly top of the roof. The tub, was very deep and the bathroom was fairly large and everything seemed fresh and clean. They are not very generous with toilet paper and fruit plates and at these prices, you should be able to expect more. I never ate at the hotel as the prices were astronomical after the conversion to USD. The lounge area seemed a bit stuffy but the staff for the most part, especially the front desk personnel were very friendly and helpful. I might consider staying there again, but be careful where they put you - you'll either be delighted or disappointed. And of course, there was a celebrity sighting- Lionel Ritchie in the lobby.

The Dorchester is a seriously good, genuine 5-red-star London hotel. It has lovely, immaculately applied rooms, faultless service, and superb ambience. The whole place has a warm and friendly almosphere. Afternoon tea in the Promenade was a delight, with food as good as you will find anywhere, including the Ritz. The room service breakfast was as excellent, as is the location, with Hyde park across the road, Oxford Street ten minutes walk away, and theatreland just a short cab ride. Anyone looking for a superb, traditional, top-rate London hotel need look no further than the Dorchester.