The Peninsula London, UK – a billion pounds and two Michelin stars at Hyde Park Corner

A billion pounds. That’s what it cost to build The Peninsula London – the first purpose-built new luxury hotel in London in over a century, and the city’s most expensive hotel project ever. They spent thirty years looking for the right site, finally planted it at Hyde Park Corner between Buckingham Palace and Wellington Arch, and then handed the interior to Peter Marino (the architect behind Cheval Blanc Paris) and the rooftop restaurant to two-Michelin-star chef Claude Bosi. The result is a hotel that opened in September 2023 and immediately reset expectations for what a new London luxury property could be.

What you’re looking at in this video is the Grand Premier Terrace Room at 72 sqm, the rooftop Brooklands by Claude Bosi in full, the subterranean 25-metre pool and spa, the Peninsula Boutique and Café, breakfast in the lobby, and the walks immediately outside: Buckingham Palace Garden, Hyde Park Corner, and the streets of Belgravia. Let me break down what makes each of these worth your time and money.

The building and location – why this site specifically

1 Grosvenor Place. If you know London’s postcodes and property values, that address alone tells you most of what you need to know. The hotel sits at Hyde Park Corner, the junction where Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Mayfair and Buckingham Palace all converge. Wellington Arch is literally next door. Hyde Park is across the road. Buckingham Palace is a 10-minute walk. Harrods is a 10-minute walk in the other direction. The Hyde Park Corner Tube station is a 3-minute walk on the Piccadilly Line – which goes directly to Heathrow in about 50 minutes for £5.60. This is as central as London gets.

Hopkins Architects designed the building to harmonise with the surrounding Grade I and II listed Regency architecture rather than impose a glass tower on a heritage streetscape. The entrance forecourt is cobbled, landscaped by Enzo Enea with cascading ivy, wisteria and two 120-year-old Japanese maple trees – the oldest of their kind in Europe, moved here specifically for the hotel. There are stone lions flanking both the lobby entrance and the central courtyard. They were blindfolded until opening day, following feng shui tradition – their power held in reserve to protect the hotel and its guests. That detail says something about how seriously The Peninsula takes every decision.

The hotel fleet includes four bespoke hybrid Bentley Bentaygas, an electrified 1960 vintage Austin taxi, and a restored vintage Rolls-Royce. If your destination is within two miles of the hotel, the house car service runs complimentary transfers. That’s most of central London covered for free.

The rooms – Peter Marino, 190 of them, all different

All 190 rooms and suites were designed by Peter Marino, the architect and designer who also did Cheval Blanc Paris and the Louis Vuitton flagship stores globally. They are not variations on a template – each room category has its own distinct character, and the attention to detail is the kind that only reveals itself over a multi-day stay when you start noticing the commissioned artwork, the bespoke furniture, the way the technology is integrated.

🛏️ Grand Premier Terrace Room – 72 sqm, the stay in this video

72 sqm for an entry category in a London hotel is genuinely extraordinary. The room features floor-to-ceiling windows, separate dressing room, marble bathroom with deep soaking tub and separate shower, and the terrace that gives the room its name. The terrace is a private outdoor space overlooking Belgravia – in a city where outdoor hotel space is almost nonexistent, this is a significant luxury. The in-room technology manages lighting, climate, drapes and services from a custom-made tablet. There is no conventional way to open the curtains; you use the tablet. This will either delight you or mildly frustrate you for the first 20 minutes until it becomes completely natural.

Room categories worth understanding:

• Deluxe Rooms – the entry point, still generous by London standards, floor-to-ceiling windows, marble bathrooms
• Grand Premier Rooms – larger, more elevated design, some with terraces
• Grand Premier Terrace Room – as in this video, 72 sqm, private terrace
• Superior and Deluxe Suites – separate living areas, significantly more space
• Grand Terrace Suite / Belgravia Suite – floors 6-7, sweeping private terraces, some of the best views in the building
• Peninsula Suite – 5,059 sq ft, private elevator, private gym, 13-seat screening room. Can be connected with up to six additional rooms to create a 16,000 sq ft private floor – currently the largest hotel suite in London. Price available on request, which tells you everything about the price

All rooms have commissioned artwork from over 40 artists associated with The Royal Drawing School, custom Jenny Packham textile work, and Timothy Han fragrance throughout the public spaces. This is not a hotel that buys its art from a catalog.

Brooklands by Claude Bosi – two Michelin stars on the rooftop

This is the headline and it earns it. Brooklands is on the 8th floor with panoramic views over Hyde Park, Hyde Park Corner and the London skyline. What makes it genuinely memorable as a restaurant experience rather than just a view is the concept: the entire space is an immersive tribute to the Brooklands racetrack in Surrey – the birthplace of British motorsport and aviation, the first purpose-built racing circuit in the world.

Walking to the restaurant involves a dedicated lift whose interior resembles the inside of an aircraft fuselage, complete with porthole windows. Then the dining room: a 46-foot aluminum scale replica of Concorde suspended from the ceiling across the entire space. Jet streams projected on white walls. Cloud-relief tablecloths. Concorde napkin holders. Racing car inlays in the carpet. On display: an actual 1933 Napier Railton – the vintage race car that set and still holds the Brooklands land speed record. Two private dining rooms named ‘Napier Railton’ and ‘Mach II’. The bar area has a latticed aluminum ceiling designed to evoke the inside of a whirring jet engine.

Claude Bosi earned his first two Michelin stars at Hibiscus in 2004. He then held two stars at Bibendum in Chelsea for years before opening Brooklands. Brooklands received two stars in its first year – an extraordinary result for a hotel restaurant in London, where that level of recognition typically takes significantly longer. The food is modern British through a classical French lens: the best of British ingredients (Cornish squid, Lake District lamb, Scottish razor clams, Exmoor caviar) prepared using Bosi’s classical French technique.

The seven-course tasting menu is the main event – expect three hours and spend accordingly. Three-course menu is £58 for a more accessible entry. Highlights that come up consistently: the Cornish squid with artichoke, the Lake District lamb prepared multiple ways, and the British apple dessert which is apparently the thing people talk about afterward. The Brooklands Bar on the same floor serves serious cocktails with the Hyde Park view – arriving early before dinner to position yourself at a window table for sunset over the park is a legitimate strategy.

One honest note: some reviewers feel the food doesn’t quite match the setting’s ambition. Others call it one of the best meals in London. Both perspectives have been expressed by people who’ve eaten at hundreds of Michelin-starred restaurants. Worth knowing before you arrive with maximum expectations.

The rest of the dining – three more reasons not to leave

🫖 The Lobby

The hotel lobby doubles as an all-day restaurant under soaring ceilings with live piano music from late afternoon. Breakfast is served here – a combination of continental, cooked British and Cantonese options, the last of which gets genuinely enthusiastic responses from guests with East Asian backgrounds who aren’t used to finding proper congee and dim sum at a London five-star breakfast. The Peninsula Afternoon Tea happens here and is one of the more graceful versions of the London afternoon tea experience.

🥢 Canton Blue and Little Blue

Canton Blue is The Peninsula’s fine dining Cantonese restaurant – described as one of the best Cantonese restaurants in Belgravia, which is a specific and credible claim given what else exists in that neighborhood. The moody, intimate interiors are a deliberate contrast to the grandeur of the lobby and Brooklands. Little Blue is the casual noodle bar option – quick noodles, beer, significantly lower price point, the Peninsula’s version of accessible. Both are unexpected surprises in a hotel that could have stopped at Brooklands and called it done.

🛍️ The Peninsula Boutique and Café

The video covers this and it warrants attention because it’s genuinely unusual for a hotel to get this right. The Boutique stocks Peninsula-branded products (the chocolates are specifically praised across reviews), luxury goods and collaborations. The adjacent café functions as a standalone neighborhood café for Belgravia residents as well as hotel guests – a Peninsula coffee and pastry as a grab-and-go option between the hotel’s grand dining rooms. It sits at the hotel’s street level, with its own entrance on Grosvenor Place. Asprey and Garrard jewelers also have outlets within the retail arcade.

The spa – subterranean, 25 metres, and properly done

The Peninsula Spa occupies two basement levels beneath the hotel. 25-metre heated swimming pool with underwater speakers. Wood-paneled treatment rooms. Sauna. Steam room. State-of-the-art gym. The pool is the element that consistently generates the most comment – it’s the kind of hotel pool that functions as a genuine swimming pool rather than a plunge pool for photographs, and the subterranean setting with atmospheric lighting turns it into something more than just a lap pool. It’s described in multiple accounts as one of the most comprehensive hotel wellness facilities in London, which is not a low bar given the competition.

Treatment menu covers massages, facials, body treatments, Ayurvedic aromatherapy and relaxation rituals. The gym is open 24 hours. The cigar concierge lounge is separately noted as among the finest hotel cigar environments in Europe – proper ventilation, serious selection, staff who know what they’re talking about.

What’s outside the front door

The video covers both Buckingham Palace Garden and Hyde Park Corner on foot and this is one of the genuine advantages of this location that a hotel’s marketing copy undersells. You’re not near these places. You’re adjacent to them.

Hyde Park Corner and Wellington Arch – literally next door. The arch itself (built 1826, now a museum managed by English Heritage) sits at the convergence point of five major roads and has the bronze Quadriga sculpture on top representing the Angel of Peace descending on the chariot of war. The views from the arch across Hyde Park and toward Buckingham Palace are free.

Buckingham Palace and Green Park – 10-minute walk. The Changing of the Guard happens at 11am (check current schedule as days vary by season). Green Park runs between the palace and Hyde Park Corner and is one of the quieter Royal Parks – long avenues of trees, no flower beds, just grass and trees and an unusual sense of calm given the location.

Hyde Park – across the road. 350 acres. The Serpentine galleries. The Diana Memorial Fountain. Year-round events. One of the great urban parks anywhere in the world and you can walk there from your room in four minutes.

Knightsbridge and Belgravia – Harrods is a 10-minute walk. Harvey Nichols is close. The side streets of Belgravia have boutique shops and independent cafes that visitors staying in more tourist-dense parts of London never discover. The video covers the walk through what’s described as “Fashion Street” – the Motcomb Street and Elizabeth Street area of Belgravia, which has genuinely excellent independent boutiques alongside the usual luxury brands.

What it costs and the loyalty situation

Grand Premier Rooms start around £800-1,200 per night depending on season. The Grand Premier Terrace Room as featured starts higher. Suites scale significantly above that. London luxury hotel pricing is what it is – this is not a cheap city for five-star stays.

The loyalty situation requires a specific mention: Peninsula does not have a major loyalty points program. Unlike Marriott, Hilton or Hyatt where points accumulate and can be redeemed for free nights, Peninsula operates largely outside the major loyalty ecosystems. You can earn hotel category spend with certain Amex cards but you won’t be redeeming Hilton points for a Peninsula night.

What Peninsula does offer instead is PenClub benefits through luxury travel advisors: flexible check-in from 6am and late checkout until 10pm, priority for room upgrades, and holding rooms if your reserved accommodation isn’t ready. The flexible check-in specifically is one of the most practical benefits for anyone arriving on an overnight flight from Asia or the US.

Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts – included in this program, meaning daily breakfast, $100 food and beverage credit, room upgrade and late checkout. Given the breakfast quality at The Lobby, the F&B credit covers meaningful ground. This is the best way to book for guests with Amex Platinum.

Frequently asked questions

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