Review of COMO Metropolitan London

Ideally located in Mayfair, opposite Hyde Park, the hotel is within easy walking distance to Piccadilly - for Fortnum & Mason’s, Burlington Arcade and the Royal Academy - and the shopping enclave of Bond Street in one direction and to the luxury department stores of Harrods and Harvey Nichols in the other. Attractions such as Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster are around 20 – 30 minutes’ walk away.

London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport are around a 45 – 90-minute limousine ride away from the hotel depending on traffic with many choosing to take the Heathrow Express to London Paddington Railway Station option instead, picking up a taxi for the final hop to the hotel. For those flying into London Gatwick Airport, the Gatwick Express to London Victoria Station has a similar journey time of around 45 minutes with a shorter taxi ride thereafter to the property. London City Airport is closer – 45 minutes by car. For private air travel, there is a heliport at Battersea and private flights at Biggin Hill, Farnborough Airport and London Stansted Airport.

For local drivers, the hotel offers valet parking.

COMO Metropolitan is all about comfort and design - with large picture windows in the 144 urban-chic rooms and suites, allowing the light to flood in and the views of Hyde Park to become part of the interior. Designed with flair by Linzi Coppick of Forme UK, each room is pared back to the essentials, simple but sophisticated in its taste with warm woods of walnut and sycamore combining with neutral tones of grey, beige and bright whites, complemented by flashes to intense yellow in contrast to the public areas which showcase shades of nature with green and red berry.

Room features include bespoke king-sized beds; 400 thread count Egyptian cotton linens; interactive televisions with a great selection of channels/paid-for movies; private bars and Nespresso machines; touchscreen controls; remote-controlled curtains and blinds with controllable lighting and climate control. Bathrooms offer COMO Shambhala amenities with rainfall showers and hairdryers. 

The guest rooms range from the 29 square metre Deluxe City Rooms to the 33 square metre Metropolitan City Rooms to the equally sized top category – the Metropolitan Park Rooms. Tranquil and serene in ambiance, all the guest rooms have remote controlled blinds and silk curtains to keep London at bay whilst many of the Park Rooms have balconies to enjoy that green Hyde Park View. When it comes to the suites, most have floor to ceiling windows flooding the rooms with light with the entry level Junior Park Suite offering 35 square metres of living space moving up to 44 square metres for the Junior City Suite with views over Mayfair and the capital’s attractions. The City Suites are of a similar size and feel more like a residential pied à terre with a living and dining area apart from the master suite. Slightly larger at 47 square metres, the Park Suites are effectively one-bedroomed suites surrounded by that Hyde Park view. 

The premium accommodation includes the Metropolitan Suite on the ninth floor at 53 square metres of prime living space with a luxury apartment feel complete with a dining table for four. The Penthouse Suite at 77 square metres has expansive windows that open out onto a balcony overlooking the park. This tenth-floor space can be expanded by interconnecting with a Junior Park Suite and/or a Metropolitan City Room. The COMO Suite at 110 square metres is the über suite with a bank of windows opening out onto that Royal Park view with a dining space for up to six people served by a fully equipped pantry and custom furnishings including bespoke rugs by Kappa Lambda and Hampton sofas by Morgan.

For families and long-term stays, when increased living space is required, COMO Metropolitan comes into its own with two sets of residences close by. The one-bedroom Brick Street Residences, ranging in size from 98 square metres to 104 square metres offer a London townhouse feel with a cool, calm and collected modern interior, dining spaces for up to six people, a fully equipped kitchen and an elegant, landscaped courtyard for some al fresco living whilst residents benefit from all the services offered by the hotel next door. There is also the option to interconnect with a Junior Park Suite and / or a Metropolitan City Room to increase the space still further to two- and three-bedroom accommodation.

The “Hertford Street Residences” (Number 22 Hertford Street) have been newly renovated by Linzi Coppick once more collaborating this time with Mark Pinney Associates who specialises in adapting historically sensitive refurbishments. They offer an elegant, contemporary open plan space behind a traditional Mayfair Georgian townhouse façade leaving no doubt that these are aligned with “The Met” and equally as stylish. There are two duplexes (148 – 160 square metres) offering generous living areas, private terraces, fully equipped kitchens – even washer dryers – the design lending the comforting feel of a private home away from home. The Penthouse Apartment – 8 – on the top floor offers four bedrooms which include two master suites, a twin and a single guest room. In total, offering 195 square metres of living area, there is a generous living room, as well as a kitchen for nighttime snacking.  

Numbers 6 and 7 are more classic in feel with around 104 square metres of space offering two en suite bedrooms, a separate kitchen with spacious living and dining areas. Two of the classic residences – 2 and 3 – can be combined to offer extra legroom. 

Every residence enjoys 24-hour concierge, COMO Shambhala in room treatments and priority booking or room service from COMO Metropolitan’s Nobu restaurant. Each offers a COMO tablet, also used by hotel guests, with access to the hotel’s services; 127-to-190.5-centimetre televisions with Chromecast and Bose sound systems with playlists devised by the hotel’s Music Concierge.

Hotel and Residence guests may also take advantage of IT Butler for solving tech issues and even a personal shopping assistant. 

For relaxation, the serene environment of COMO Shambhala Urban Escape offers a range of Asian-inspired holistic treatments and services including the signature COMO.

Shambhala Massage, shiatsu, reiki, reflexology, acupuncture and facials using Dr Hauschka and Guinot products. Other facilities include six treatment rooms including two couples’ suites, male and female steam rooms and a fully equipped gym open 24/7. Complementing the spa’s ethos is the brand’s signature COMO Shambhala Cuisine, healthy nutrition-driven menus which are available in the Lobby Lounge.

For amateur mixologists, enjoy some Mixology Masterclasses every Saturday with the hotel’s expert bartenders sharing their secrets over some drinks and a light bites menu.

COMO Metropolitan London Eye has always been known for its design style. When the property first opened, it was the coolest venue in town and if you visited, you put on your glad rags as the staff were all dressed up to the nines in designer duds and you felt you had to up your game to be on a par with them. Keith Hobbs and Linzi Coppick were the original style creators of the property in 1997 with Linzi undertaking a soft refurbishment in 2006 with a fuller-scale restoration in 2015. She also gave the Residences the once over too. The fusion of Asian simplicity with the minimalist vision of Europe gives the property its leading edge, always curated design, always savvy and achingly sophisticated with every touch of luxury you can think of. The Residences in particular have taken on the form of a luxury minimalist apartment or town house – sunlit with acres of windows, neutral tones highlighted with flashes of colour, bespoke artworks by Marta Suarez and natural wood floors – all combining to bring a sense of luxury home living with outdoor landscaped space so you can draw in a breath.

Using the same designer across the years to re-imagine the hotel and the subsequent expansion to the Residences was an inspired choice as it is fair to say, this hotel and its component living spaces are still among the most stylish in town – a vision which may be flatteringly copied but which can never be equalled or bettered.

When hunger calls in the morning, turn to The White Room for breakfast whilst for lunch and dinner, there is the distinctive Japanese-Peruvian cuisine at Nobu which took London by storm when it first opened its doors. This award-wining brand probably needs no introduction to most global travellers as the restaurant has blazed a path across many capital cities with menu items such as black miso cod, Hamachi sashimi with jalapenos and squid pasta with a light garlic sauce. 

For more casual dining, head to the ground floor lobby for lighter seasonal fare, innovative cocktails and the healthy option COMO Shambhala Cuisine.

Throughout 2022 under the toque of Executive Chef Ruben Briones and his team, the hotel has devised something a little special for COMO Metropolitan guests by introducing a dining pop-up “A Taste of COMO” for a gastronomic tour around the world. To give a brief example, “a taste of the ocean” showcases Basque cuisine and can be paired with Taittinger Champagne or “a taste of Le Bistro”, offers hearty dishes perfect for winter warmth. 

Sustainability and community investment is embedded in the DNA of COMO Hotels and Resorts. They see themselves as custodians rather than managers of each of their properties and are cognisant of their corresponding community responsibilities to showcase local culture, support the domestic economy and minimise their impact on the environment.

COMO Metropolitan London holds the bronze award for Environmental Effort from the Green Tourism Business Scheme and initiatives include sustainable sourcing of ingredients for their restaurants. They work closely with partner organisations such as The Felix Project which redistributes surplus food to help those in need.