Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London
As Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London embarks on an extensive renovation, the hotel is giving its fans an opportunity to take a piece of the property’s history.
From Oct. 24-27, Pro Auctions will be hosting a sale of 2,500 lots, including antique and reproduction furnishings from the more than a century old hotel. Giving consumers the ability to own part of the hotel's existing look may help assuage feelings of disappointment at seeing the familiar décor replaced.
New look
Mandarin Oriental London’s refurbishing kicked off on Sept. 19.
The building was originally constructed in 1902 as a gentleman’s club. The property was turned into a hotel in the 1920s and was purchased by Mandarin Oriental in 1996.
Once it was owned by Mandarin Oriental, the hotel group launched a £57 million, or $69 million at current exchange rate, renovation project, which made over each of the property’s 198 rooms and suites as well as its restaurants and bar.
Image courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London
The hotel is once again ready for a revamped look. The historic details that remain to this day include an official royal entrance and Louis XV and Louis XVI style fireplaces.
Announced on Oct. 14, construction firm Vinci has won the £60 million, or $73 million, contract for this renovation, which will cover all public areas of the property as well as its guest rooms. The project will be carried out in two nine-month phases, with the rooms in the Knightsbrige wing refurbished first and those overlooking Hyde Park remodeled second.
Part of the second phase includes building two penthouse suites as an extension of the roof on the ninth floor.
Other hotels have looked to offer guests a way to remember previous décor.
The Fairmont-managed Plaza Hotel in New York is offering guests an opportunity to wear a piece of the property’s history.
Hotels often commemorate a guest’s stay through keepsakes such as ornaments for the holidays, stuffed animals for children and other personalized tokens of gratitude expressed by the property. For The Plaza, this notion is reflected in taking items set to be discarded and repurposing them to be consumer facing (see story).