Why stay at The Arts Club London hotel

For a former long-time London resident, there’s something almost mischievous about running across Mayfair’s Dover Street in the early morning: hotel slippers on, the weak sun waking up the largely empty lane. It’s a daily ritual I thoroughly enjoy during our stay: zipping from the warm 18th-century townhouse of 40 Dover Street to the Lanserhof clinic across the street to start the day with Pilates and cryotherapy before popping back for full English in the Club’s Brasserie. For your stay at The Arts Club, you feel like a resident of this salubrious address, becoming an honorary member for your stay as you flit between the Club and your upstairs pied-à-terre.

It’s no secret The Arts Club is a London institution; its name precedes it across the world. Established in 1863, it’s one of the city’s oldest institutions, founded as a safe space for creatives by figures including Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope and Lord Leighton. Today, it’s a five-storey hideaway of elegant, artistic spaces for co-working, power lunches, networking, cultural immersion and relaxed afternoons. At night, it’s drinks and dancing into the small hours – all the preserve of its illustrious members and their guests, of course.

The brand’s name made its way across Europe to the Gulf in December 2020 when it opened its first international outpost in Dubai at ICD Brookfield Place. The Arts Club Dubai has since become the members’ only address in the city. In the UK capital, this chic space is home to what could also be the smallest and most exclusive luxury hotel in central London – open to members and non-members for an experience that feels more like residing in an art collector’s Mayfair residence than a hotel.

The rooms and suites

Located on the upper two floors of the Club, The Arts Club’s rooms and suites invite guests into its exclusive world, and for their stay, they become honourary members of the Club and Lanserhof at The Arts Club – a stroll across Dover Street at number 18. Staying allows guests to become members of this elite and beautiful little world, creating more than just a hotel but the feeling of a select London community. Adding privacy and a chance to skip the strict dress code as you sneak in and out, The Arts Club London’s hotel rooms are accessed by a separate door to the main Club entrance, under a fluttering white flag with an impeccably dressed doorman.

Rooms double as stylish apartments and everything you’d expect of a Mayfair hideaway, while suites have art deco bathrooms, stand-alone roll- top baths, huge beds with crisp white linen and a separate living area – with glossy walnut furniture piled high with great coffee tables and fresh flowers.

There are just four room categories, adding to the simplicity and exclusivity of the experience – all the same in impeccable taste and service but different in design. Deluxe King Rooms are perfectly appointed and ideal for solo travellers and those on the go, with cast iron tubs and Guy Bourdin and John Baldessari artworks, while junior and suites have outdoor balconies – looking out onto the leafy courtyard and across the rafters of Mayfair. The Penthouse is one of Mayfair’s most elite keys – with a separate kitchen and dining room, a bedroom equipped with the finest Beltrami silk linen, and artworks by some of the most influential contemporary artists today, including Jessica Craig-Martin and Stefanie Schneider. And a rooftop terrace – where butlers can put on an impromptu get- together for friends or even an intimate event.

Food and drink

Overnight stays come with 24-hour butler service – ours, called by a discreet button on our writing desk – and daily breakfast, enjoyed in the bright and beautiful Brasserie. Experiencing the mercurial London weather, we hide away in the charming garden under the foliage one morning, enjoying scrambled eggs, pots of coffee and freshly baked pastries. The next, it’s tucked in the corner of the Brasserie watching the rain – as art deco wall sconces create a warming and comforting glow. It can also be enjoyed in bed, served under silver cloches as you prop up in your plump feather pillows. Lunch at The Arts Club is an institution where both power lunches and languid affairs take from 12 to gone 3pm. It’s a must-do of the stay, with chopped salads, fresh pasta, and sharing plates. Elsewhere in the townhouse, there’s Japanese Kyubi, Italian Ofelia Members’ Lounge (Ofelia is now also open in Dubai), tobacconist Oscuro and late-night cocktail bar Leo’s. In the colourful public spaces, we order a coffee and take in Daffodils Baptized In Butter*, its latest exhibition featuring works by more than 36 artists. Exploring the countless symbolic, mystical and art historical meanings of flowers, it’s curated by Amelie von Wedel and Pernilla Holmes and on

Spa and facilities

Hotel guests also become members of Lanserhof at The Arts Club – an offshoot of the famed German wellness known for its effective clinics that blend scientific and holistic health in Tyrol, Tegernsee and Sylt. Guests receive a voucher for a complimentary cryotherapy session or a £150 towards one of its personalised infusion therapies – targeted treatments for jetlag, immunity and more and an invigorating to wake for a day in London. There’s also the gym – a brilliant white space with Technogym equipment – and the studios, where classes like Reformer Pilates, yoga and HIIT offer an intimate and targeted experience. Rooms where cutting-edge scientific and medical treatments are conducted lie next to treatment spaces for massages and facials by fellow German wellness giant Augustinus Bader and a lounge for healthy lunches and nutrient-dense smoothies.

The Arts Club London offers a unique take on a hotel experience that is more residential, more cultured, more intimate, and exclusive – managing to extend its members’ club feeling to its rooms and create a true residential style in the heart of Mayfair.

For hotel reservation requests, visit theartsclub.co.uk. @the_arts_club

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