Behind The Scenes: A Peek At The Landmark’s Latest £1.3m Renovation

Sat squarely on Marylebone Road – one of London’s great thoroughfares – The Landmark, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, certainly lives up to its name. The Gothic behemoth of a building, home to some 300 rooms, has long been a key ‘signpost’ for Londoners – an integral part of our cityscape. In fact, this is one of London’s oldest railway hotels, having opened some 120 years ago and born in the romantic era of train travel.

While those days have long gone, The Landmark’s air of grandeur remains – its eight-storey-high glass atrium, for example, is still as impressive as it must have been when the hotel opened all those years ago. Yet, while the hotel oozes a sense of timelessness about it, it has nonetheless kept pace with the times. A case in point is its recent £1.3 million renovation across the property’s culinary destinations.

First up is the new Champagne Bar, found on the previous Garden Terrace, and overlooking the famous Winter Garden restaurant. Designed by Alex Kravetz Design, the newly opened-up space has been reimagined as a destination bar. Rich fabrics and jewel tones – such as peacock and gold – add a feel of opulence. Guests can take a seat at the golden raised bar under the glasshouse or on the terrace, which features plush sofas and cosy armchairs, and where you can enjoy drinks, nibbles and afternoon tea. Come evening, a range of small plates is served, accompanied by classic tunes from the resident pianist ascending from the Winter Garden below.

Talking of which, the Winter Garden – where all the hotel’s meals are served – is one of London’s most famous and celebrated hotel spaces. Like stepping back to the Victorian times, when glasshouses and orangeries filled with exotic plants were de rigour, its latest renovation has seen new palms being added to its famous towering palm tree collection – some stretch skyward rising above many storeys of the hotel. The gigantic space is impressive and is constantly full of movement – of staff doing their expert ‘dance’ around the tables, families celebrating special occasions and the arrival and departure of a. spinning wheel of guests for breafasts, lunches and suppers.

Last year, saw the opening of the Great Central Pub by Matt Fletcher, the hotel’s riff on a modern British gastropub, with comforting pub classics given a modern twist. There’s also locally-sourced beers and a burgeoning wine list. Dishes are designed to be enjoyed in the pub’s warm ambience, intended to evoke long conversations on the sofas by the open fireplace, in a cosy corner, or over dinner on the high tables.

Echoing the heritage of the hotel, the bedrooms, meanwhile, are spacious and elegant in décor – marble bathrooms, with fluffy towels and Molton Brown toiletries, feel classic in style, while in the rooms, the large beds dressed in fine linens, plush carpets and a refined colour palette (think: duck egg blue, cream and pale gold) keep things on the modern side of traditional.

Indeed, The Landmark may be one of London’s finest grand dame hotels, but the Leading Hotels of the World property keeps abreast of what a modern visitor wants, whether it is an epic Sunday brunch (a must if you are here on the weekend, but book in advance) or the top-tier Germaine de Capuccini facials offered in the spa, Its location also puts you in reach of Marylebone, one of London’s most charming quarters. Ask the hotel’s expert concierge team to help with bookings in the area – from a table at Chiltern Firehouse or tickets for Madam Tussauds. It’s a model version of what a hotel should be.