Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane

This hotel is a true luxury hotel in the heart of London, and I had a lovely stay - it also has the price tag to match! While parts of the hotel aren't the most modern in the design choices (for example, the lobby and the bathrooms in room), overall the hotel is kept to top notch standards, with meticulous upkeep and no signs of wear or tear that we could see. There was also excellent service in the attached bar and restaurants. There were a few notable differences in our experience at this Four Seasons vs. other properties that felt like misses, but didn't really detract from the 5-star experience. The room was incredibly comfortable, and surprisingly spacious for a hotel in central London. We opted for a Park View, which made waking up and spending time in the room lovely, with a great view of the skyline and park. The bed and pillows in the room are the best, the signature Four Seasons sleep experience. The room decor was comfortable, sophisticated and incredibly thoughtful to settle into. The closet area was spacious to unpack and keep luggage. The bathroom is spacious, and although it felt a bit dated with its aesthetics, it was very functional and had lovely toiletries on offer. The room was quiet, too! The location is wonderful. The hotel is nestled between Hyde Park and Green Park, and a quick walk to Knightsbridge and Mayfair shopping, and close to a tube station for other sightseeing excursions. My only complaint was that it wasn't super close to one of the ubiquitous grab-and-go food options in London like a Pret, M&S Food, etc for a quick and affordable snack, or your Diet Coke fix if you don't want to spend 7 pounds for one at the hotel. The service at the hotel was always friendly and welcoming, though there were a few missed opportunities for a hotel of this caliber. First, the things that delighted us - the staff at the bar and restaurant were excellent. The food and drink were all delicious, and everyone from the hostess to the servers to the bartender made us feel like VIPs. The highlight of our stay was having afternoon tea - pricey but very worth it. The staff was kind enough to accommodate us with a table in the restaurant area to make it easier for my elderly in-laws to sit and enjoy the service more easily rather than sitting at a low table in the lounge area. Also, the housekeeping staff was top notch. The room was perfect every day top to bottom. One day, when the housekeeping team checked in and I mentioned that I was spending the day in the room fighting a cold, they offered to have herbal tea with fresh ginger and lemon sent to the room, which really made me feel looked after. Also, the hotel lobby and toiletries all smell amazing! We were a bit surprised that the hotel's signature scents weren't available for purchase on-site when we asked about them. There were a few surprising missed opportunities with the service, I thought. They weren't deal breakers - but for a hotel at this price point and compared to the surprise-and-delight service I'd received at other Four Seasons properties, felt a bit unexpected. One example was when I asked the concierge team for help figuring out how to best arrange train travel for my family and I for our onward journey in England - the concierge seemed confused that I was asking her about this, and only after I kept asking questions did she somewhat bemusedly offer to print out a train schedule for me. As a point of comparison, at the Four Seasons Seoul, when we asked about the same thing, the team immediately explained everything to us about what trains to take, and also offered to book our tickets for us and simply add it to our room bill. Another example of a missed opportunity was that our luggage had been delayed by British Airlines for the first several days of our stay - understandably the hotel can't fix this as they aren't the airline, but after we discussed it with the concierge team at check in, gave them the details of the situation and the missing luggage case, and we were clearly frazzled and unsure what to do or how to proceed, it felt like we just got nods and smiles - it was polite, but offering a complimentary drink to settle us into our stay and offer some inside knowledge or assistance of what to do would have been exceptional. Overall, I'm glad I got to check this property off of my Four Seasons wishlist, and would recommend it if you're looking for a luxury hotel in London!