A Season to Savour: The Art of Celebration at Montcalm Mayfair
In Mayfair, where London wears its elegance lightly, the festive season has found a new muse. The recently unveiled Montcalm Mayfair isn’t just a hotel — it’s a hushed, scented world where celebration is reimagined as an art form. Behind its Georgian façade, a sense of calm indulgence takes hold — not the glittery chaos of December, but something softer, slower, and infinitely more stylish.
Opening this summer after a two-year restoration, Montcalm Mayfair moves to a rhythm entirely its own. Its philosophy? That luxury should be quiet, sensory, and rooted in a deeper sense of presence. This winter, that idea comes to life through a curated collection of experiences under the theme 'A Season to Savour ' — a series of immersive gatherings shaped by culinary artistry, exquisite design, and a reverence for nature’s winter stillness.
The Grand Ballroom sets the tone: a space of frosted florals, antique mirrors, and flickering candlelight, where guests arrive on a green carpet before entering a world that feels more dreamlike than a venue. A menu by Michelin-starred Akira Back draws on his Korean heritage and British ingredients — think daikon, truffle, and umami in elegant layers — while sommelier-paired wines and a live DJ carry the night forward with effortless grace.
Elsewhere, intimacy reigns. The Library — a jewel box of curated art, literature, and velvet hush — hosts chic gatherings where a dedicated mixologist stirs seasonal cocktails beneath golden lamplight. In Bloom, a serene dining room softened with natural textures and winter-garden inspiration, private dinners unfold like slow rituals: four beautiful courses, flickers of conversation, time suspended in amber.
Lilli by Akira Back, the hotel’s signature restaurant, offers something more theatrical. Bold, moody, and unmistakably contemporary, it blends East and West in a menu that surprises at every turn. It’s the kind of place where the architecture becomes part of the story — a chandelier catching the last light, the table’s edge framing a perfect bite.
And then, the rooms — 151 of them, all designed for a kind of sensual refuge. Frette linens, Penhaligon’s fragrances, layered textures in a palette that soothes. For those seeking total seclusion, the Botanical Suite offers London’s only fully private hotel suite, complete with its entrance and an artist-in-residence experience curated by Camille Rousseau. A few steps away, the Montcalm Marble Arch Townhouse provides exclusive use of a 13-room Georgian hideaway that feels like being handed the keys to your own Mayfair residence.
There is, in all of this, a quiet conviction that celebration doesn’t need to shout. At Montcalm Mayfair, winter is not just endured — it’s cherished. Whether you’re dancing beneath chandeliers in the Grand Ballroom, sipping botanical cocktails in a velvet-lined library, or gathering close with friends over a beautifully plated meal, the season is transformed into something rare and remarkable.
