Review: Four Seasons Park Lane for parents

Even as a casual pedestrian, a walk down Park Lane is glamorous. On one side, Hyde Park spreads out like a green velvet ocean. On the other are the dazzling showrooms of Aston Martin and BMW, and several of the most illustrious hotels in London. At the tip end, just up from Green Park sits Four Seasons Park Lane, which had a £12 million makeover last year by Pierre Yves Rochon.

We checked in for a quick overnight stay – our daughter was at an overnight camp, my stepson at his mother’s – that we used to have before parenthood intervened. Walking into the dramatic black-and-red lobby, we were immediately transported to our younger, hipper selves, the kind who used to argue over the best new bands and compare reading lists (what those?). We were quickly ushered up to a stunning corner room on the seventh floor.

As with any face-lift worth having, this makeover has started with great bones (stunning location, Four Seasons legacy), taken away some things (dated décor of the swirly carpet variety), adding in others (fireplaces in all of the 45 suites, a dramatic lobby frieze) for gorgeous results.

Walking to your room sets the tone. It’s a journey past practically life size vintage Vogue covers. The rooms have stylish touches like tartan curtains and Chinese screens that complement the neutral, sumptuous fabrics and palette. It’s not predictable, yet neither is it too try-hard. It’s pleasurable, too, to go to a hotel where the standard rooms aren’t so small as to be an insult palmed off as some kind of evidence of hipness. All level of rooms we saw had space for a well-placed reading chair alongside the walnut cabinetry. Even the smallest bathrooms afforded comfortable elbow room – as well as mirrors featuring integrated televisions.

The little touches in the rooms demonstrated that the hotel has given some thought to how people actually use a room – a desk with easily accessible electric outlets and several adapters for different country plugs, lights that turn off when you’re not in the room but still leave the plugs working. (I once lost a whole day of picture-taking on an anniversary trip to Italy after discovering at the end of the day that the plug I’d left the digital SLR attached to turned off along with the lights whenever we left the room.)

In our corner room, the windows above the desk and sofa framed traffic flowing silently up Park Lane. The windows in the bedroom let out onto a small balcony overlooking nearby buildings and Hyde Park to the right. We were tempted to snuggle down on the sofas and light the fire, but our stomachs led us down to Amaranto, the Italian-inspired restaurant in the lobby.

The Four Seasons hires its staff based more on attitude – good attitude – than past experience. That explains why the handsome bartenders who served us pre-dinner drinks didn’t act like resting model/actors. Instead, they enthusiastically chatted about the different cocktails and drinks popular in various regions in their native Italy. We mentioned that we once had done an interesting tequila tasting and barely made it to our table without having to sample every reposado on the shelf.

Italian menus often leave me lukewarm. Too esoteric and I’m left longing for my favourite pasta dishes. Too predictable and I wonder why we’re not eating at home. This menu has a light and elegant approach: pasta with a small toupee of truffles, homemade fusilli with Isle of Wight asparagus and red mullet, scallops three ways. The restaurant chef is Davide Degiovanni, previously of Locando Locatelli, Michelin-starred Semplice, Casta Diva in Moscow and Cipriani Hotel in Venice and his passion for bringing a different kind of Italian to diners is evident. (I chatted with Davide after we ate – watch for the video soon.)

We had a thoroughly grown-up evening. The restaurant feels lush, done up in crimson with zebra stripe accents, alligator print chairs, and marble floors. We were seated in the conservatory, but I would have preferred the main dining area, lined with bottles and glassware in dramatically lit cubby holes. For breakfast, the conservatory is ideal. Pale sunlight streamed in, the handsome waiter (is there a theme here?) brought us perfectly cooked full Englishes with fresh bread and there was even a little stand for my newspaper beside the table.

Despite its grown-up appeal, this hotel caters for kids in the Four Seasons tradition. Mini robes, baby supplies, babysitting are perks for tiny guests. For older children, the concierge can arrange for horse riding in the park and also put together itineraries to sample the nearby attractions, including Oxford Street shopping and West End shows.

The next morning I had a massage at the hotel spa – it’s literally a crowning glory, perched on the rooftop with views over Hyde Park. On the other side of the 10th floor, a lounge affords views of the London Eye and the West End. (If you arrive before your room is ready or want to hang out after checkout, you can relax here, shower, have a soft drink or spy on people in other buildings with the terrace telescopes.)

Everything about the spa feels airy and organic. The dressing rooms are flooded with natural light. One side of my treatment room was a curved wall of glass. For my massage, the therapist turned it into a cocoon by drawing drapes along the length. Pushing them back after being squished, rubbed and pummeled, I regarded the historic edifices along Park Lane and watched the cars trickle by under a pale sun. I basked in the beauty of London and felt – despite having only been away a little more than 18 hours – that we’d taken a long holiday to the best part of the city.

Four Seasons Park Lane, Hamilton Place, Park Lane, W1J 7DR London 020 7499-0888 www.fourseasons.com/london