Katherine MacAlister tries out a new concept in 5* hotel living

Entering the Grosvenor House Apartments by Jumeirah Living was like entering some sort of futuristic utopia or James Bond style lair. I expected parrots to come swooping down across the atrium or Bond girls to emerge and sweep through the tasteful foyer. Discretion, elegance and class are the name of the game here with a hefty dose of the wow factor.

And I was an immediate convert as soon as I stepped into its subtle reception, enclosing you in a world of calm, immediately snatching you from the bustle of Park Lane outside where flash cars and gilded shops amuse and seduce you in equal measure.

Welcome to the future of the hotel world, where you get to choose the level of interaction you require, being able to opt for a private containable space looks set to be as popular as your standard hotel room scenario.

It meant that instead of travelling up to London and booking into an upmarket hotel, we had been assigned an apartment, not something I was familiar with at the start, or even that comfortable about.

What about room service and amenities, the hotel bar, the staff?

Wouldn’t staying in an apartment be more of a staycation, a home-from home. What about escapism, the need to be transported, being waited on hand and foot, getting away from it all properly. Wouldn’t all that be lost in an apartment?

And yet within minutes of arriving at the Grosvenor House Apartments (not to be confused with the hotel up the road from whom it is totally separate) I knew we had entered a whole different world.

This wasn’t just a notch above being at home, it was one of the most impressive places I have ever stayed, with years of travel reviewing under my belt.

Designed and opened a few years ago to accommodate the increasing number of clients requesting somewhere more private and discreet than your average five-star hotel, the Grosvenor House Apartments were born.

Its clients often stay for months on end, the penthouse including a full dining room, kids’ rooms, snugs, hubs, private lifts, and corridors that stretched the length of the building. And while luxurious, they are also practical and comfortable, a base as much as a retreat, and a brilliant balance between a serviced apartment and a hotel room.

The communal hotel lobby downstairs for example is quite breath-taking, the atrium a brilliant vision of exotic foliage and contemporary design.

For its inhabitants however, nothing is too much trouble, the staff can’t do enough for you. In short it’s all there for the taking without the hustle and bustle of a standard hotel, and we absolutely loved it.

Utterly charmed by the staff and the understated opulence of the apartments, our actual suite was as liberating. Complete with its own kitchen, dining room table and separate bedroom, so that you can spend as much or as little time there as possible.

Being inherently central meant that our weekend featured an engagement party, followed by a whirlwind tour of London’s eateries and hotspots, made possible by the oasis of calm which embraced us whenever we got off the merry-go-round and returned to the Grosvenor House Apartments and its 24-hour service.

We returned late, had a guilt-free lie-in, ate breakfast from an imaginatively global menu, and refreshed and relaxed checked out, feeling like a million dollars.

So timeless and seamless is the experience here that you can imagine staying for weeks on end.

But if your budget doesn’t quite extend to that, there are some interesting weekend packages available. If this is the way forward, it will be hard to do it any other way.

THE FACTS
Grosvenor House Apartments is a unique proposition of luxury serviced apartments, offering a home away from home for anyone staying in the capital. 
With a central location on Park Lane in the heart of Mayfair, Grosvenor House Apartments also offers the perfect destination for a family holiday. Combining the refined services of a luxury hotel with the privacy, comfort and generous living space of a contemporary Mayfair residence, for both short and extended stays. Prices start from £495.  jumeirah.com/gha