Set the scene
A cravat’s-throw off Sloane Street, footsteps from Harrods and eyeballing the private, pristine 14,000ft Cadogan Gardens directly opposite—which guests have access fobs to—The Carlton Tower Jumeirah is in one of the most prestigious locations in London. Its clientele, therefore, reflects the city’s eclectic elite, with exquisitely dressed Indian wedding parties (one of which set off brilliant orange flares outside the entrance during our stay) rubbing shoulders with Mediterranean football managers (José Mourinho was at the next table with his grown-up children during our Friday-night supper); business people talking shop over Americanos at breakfast and well-to-do octogenarians sipping afternoon tea alongside deliciously fragranced Middle Eastern twenty somethings. Fans of supercars will want to loiter outside with the exceptionally smart and friendly doormen.
The backstory
Originally managed by Hotel Corporation of America, The Carlton Tower switched hands and brands several times before the UAE’s super-player Jumeirah Group took it over in 2001. Part of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's personal corporate portfolio, the hospitality heavy-weight’s roster includes the lion’s share of the country’s top hotels and restaurants, including the iconic ‘seven-star’ Burj Al Arab, as well as hotels everywhere from Shanghai to Bali, the Maldives to Mallorca. In 2019, The Carlton Tower Jumeirah then closed for a £100 million renovation, the most substantial in its history, from which it fully re-opened in August 2021. While its Sixties tower-block exterior hasn’t altered, pretty much everything inside has been gutted and overhauled, from the Mahogany-heavy decor to the removal of the central pillar that previously took the entire building’s weight. Today, a striking chandelier made up of shards of crystal hangs over a woodland-style sculpture in the same spot. The hotel's new, pared-back but stylish look is refreshing—and couldn’t be better timed with the boom in London staycations. (Not quite done with the renovation yet, however—it still plans to renovate its main bar.)
The rooms
Elegant and sophisticated, abstract, marble-like paintings in colorful, complimentary tones hang throughout the hotel, holding everything together like a chic Bottega Veneta belt. Actual marble then sits atop the tables and throughout the bathrooms (rainforest showers are noticeably huge), while king-size beds are high and deep, with dark green leather panelled headboards and bluetooth speakers that look like retro radios at the bedside. There are whizzy Dyson hairdryers and a pillow menu, and clothes pressing is included. The overall feel is as though a smart but friendly Parisian couple has moved in and seriously fired up the hotel’s style and sex-appeal levels, injecting Chanel rugs, doorstop art tomes and dark but light-handed colors that are far removed from its previous ever-so-slightly bland five-star feel.
Alternatively, you can believe it’s now actually your apartment, thanks to the off-the-charts personal touches prepared for each guest, and the lengths that are gone to for you to feel at home. Not only do your slippers, leather room keys and child’s fluffy bath towel come embossed with your initials or name, but a framed photo from your wedding is placed next to the bed (I imagine, only if you have public social accounts—and have had a wedding). All rooms have mini Central Park-style views over Cadogan Gardens—similar to those from the formerly Jumeirah-run Essex House in New York. Go for a balcony suite or ideally luxury balcony suites with interconnecting rooms if you’re really pushing the superyacht out.
Food and drink
Flagship restaurant Al Mare is somewhere you’d visit whether you were staying at the hotel or not. Sumptuous interiors are all Art Deco pendant lights, parquet wooden flooring, dusty pink booths and dark, deep velvet chairs; service is funny and affable without being overbearing, and the relatively concise menu from Italian executive chef Marco Calenzo (fresh from London’s Zuma) includes fresh takes on seafood, meat and pasta: the black truffle rigatoni, king crab and veal chops are stand-outs, best followed by the Tiramisu or Greek yogurt with ice cream. The kitchen is also happy to cater to your appetite, serving smaller portions should you want to try an additional dish between you. Don’t miss the chef’s crackling fresh pastries come morning – or the personalized message in the froth of your flat white (or initials imprinted in the hefty ice cube in your cocktail the night before).
Neighboring ground-floor venue, The Chinoiserie, serves possibly the prettiest afternoon tea we’ve come across: a rainbow of crustless finger sandwiches served on pastel floral china plates in the 18th-century style suggested by the restaurant’s name. The tea is served right up until 5.45pm; later than you’d find in most London hotels, and it’s surprisingly buzzing in the early evening. A herbal tea collaboration with Kew Gardens is set to be launched soon.
The spa
For those familiar with it, the stand-out feature of the hotel is the naturally lit second-floor swimming pool with double-height glass ceiling, peering out over the city’s architectural mishmash, lined by cabana beds and set off with a raised Jacuzzi. While we found the pool a touch cool (82.4°F), there was an impressive range of toiletries in the changing rooms—and it made for an excuse to have a steaming hot shower back in the room afterwards. One of Dubai’s finest spas, the London branch of Talise has five remarkably large treatment rooms, with Aromatherapy Associates sessions, 11Skin massages and Omorovicza facials on the menu.
All rooms include access to The Peak Fitness Club as well as the pool, sauna, steam room and spa. Up on the eighth and ninth floors, the former lives up to its name with phenomenal views ideal for looking out onto as you spin through those miles. The members' club lounge area, with its mighty high curved glass wall of windows, panelling and pendant lights is like a wonderful London secret—one of the most refined spots to read the paper and sip an espresso high above the noise below.
The neighborhood
Quite possibly one of the smartest neighborhoods in the world, Knightsbridge is best known for its supreme department stores (Harrods, Harvey Nichols), boutiques and stream of black cabs and expensive cars. Thankfully, Cadogan Gardens muffles the din of all that, and the view from The Carlton Tower Jumeirah’s balconies can be surprisingly serene, especially in the early mornings. There is a more intimate vibe to the area too, footsteps from the hotel: turn into Kinnerton Street for a fairylit modern-day, fake-grass covered piazza complete with bewildering animal sculptures; walk on for ancient little pubs and al-fresco dining down cobbled mews. There’s also Hyde Park to explore just above the hotel, Chelsea just below, and Green Park and the little-known Buckingham Palace over to the East.
The service
Service here is at once the height of white-gloved, etiquette-led tradition yet also charming, fun and eager to please. Given the levels of personalization noted above (under ‘The rooms’) and experienced throughout our stay, it should come as little surprise that all staff members knew our names. The uniforms are also worth a special mention—women wear silky, show-stopping, full-skirted dresses; one design during the evenings, one for the day—the kind that will make you want to go back upstairs and put on something more special for the fun of it.
For families
The service doesn’t disappoint, either, when it comes to families—children are made a great fuss of from the moment they arrive; greeted by their first name and asked whether they would prefer a cuddly George the royal guard or Carlton the cat. They can also have their Polaroid taken for a sweet little passport which they are then encouraged to ferry around to the various corners of the hotel to be stamped and returned to reception for a further (nicely absorbing) little gift. Renowned queen of weaning and kid’s food whisperer Annabel Karmel has designed the children’s menu, which means that it includes numerous healthy dishes that should get eaten (the spaghetti bolognese served with pasta ‘wheels’ in a car-shaped plastic plate went down particularly well). The restaurants have smiles, pencils and coloring books at the ready at all times, and the suite included a high-quality white wooden cot as well as a welcome caterpillar made of fruit and a hamper filled with treats to take home: the aforementioned hooded towel with their name embroidered on it, mini Child’s Farm bottles, another super soft cuddly toy. There’s also a set splashy time at the pool so you can all get in without worrying about getting anyone else’s hair wet.
Eco effort
Natural, non-toxic products by Grown Alchemist are provided in bathrooms, in refillable bottles.
Accessibility for those with mobility impairments
Both restaurants and bars are on the ground floor, every level is accessible by lift, and there are two dedicated step-free hotel rooms.
Anything left to mention?
Forgotten your swim shorts? The spa reception can offer you disposable ones in small, medium or large sizes, in a fetching blue-and-white Hawaiian print. Also, hotel guests are welcome to join all gym classes—including one outrageously fun-looking one that involves dancing to power ballads by the likes of Whitney Houston at full volume.
1 Cadogan Pl, London, SW1X 9PY
United Kingdom
https://www.jumeirah.com/en/stay/london/the-carlton-tower-jumeirah