Mandarin Oriental Mayfair – inside a marvel in marble
‘I think all architects and designers have a bit of marble fever,’ says Studio Indigo’s Olga Fox when we meet her in Mandarin oriental Mayfair’s Hanover Suite to discuss the design of the brand’s newest hotel in London. It’s a fitting start to our discussion, as marble is integral to the look of this new landmark.
It’s a choice of material directly associated with luxury, but also a decision that is intrinsically linked to the location of the hotel – overlooking the green of Hanover Square – but also the façade of the building itself, which was designed by architect Richard Rogers and displays his signature clean lines.
Walk into the reception area, and you are met by a jewel-box of striking mint green stone. This stone was selected by Tokyo-based architecture studio Curiosity, and has a quality that its president and design director Gwenael Nicolas describes as looking ‘almost like it is painted on the wall, with a vegetal quality that has depth, colour and energy’. Also used to create the spiralling sculptural staircase that sits at the core of the hotel and leads down to its restaurants (Akira Back and Korean chef’s table Dosa), as well as the darkly inviting ABar Lounge, the stone is paired with another spider-grey marble.
The selections, explains Nicolas, speak directly to the duality of the hotel itself. The mint green stone is a ‘connection to the Asian touch’, while the grey marble is the ‘more the British side; almost like a Savile Row suit’. In this hotel, marble is often used to tell a story.
Head up towards the rooms, and it is again utilised to create an emotional response. Studio Indigo’s Fox, who designed the suites and guest hallways, explains how her studio’s use of moody, black Potoro stone makes stepping into the hotel’s suites, feel like a breath of fresh air.
In the Hanover Suite where we meet her, Cipollino Ondulato Verde is used in the kitchen, paired with hand-painted wallpapers from DeGournay and woven fabrics and leathers that have a faint glimmer, to further accentuate the calm opulence. Different marble’s define the different suites, with the Mayfair Suite featuring Rosso Arabico, with its striking burgundy tones. As Fox explains, each stone has a palette built around it to ‘really bring the stone to life’.
‘I think both studios wanted to create a very holistic experience,’ continues Fox. It’s an approach Nicolas refers to as ‘memorable minimalism’. Certainly a stay here would be one to remember. mandarinoriental.com
