Catch coronation fever in London’s affluent Mayfair ‘hood

London’s coronation fever for King Charles III this Saturday is already catchy, especially at grand hotels like the Dorchester.

Visitors may want to check out this stately stay in the heart of posh Mayfair, which has turned back the clock by recreating the look of its historic 1953 facade honoring Queen Elizabeth’s own coronation. 

Today’s updated version honors theater designer Oliver Messel’s original decor for the Queen 70 years ago by making the hotel’s facade resemble the interior of a theater as seen from the stage. 

And while the property’s renovation is ongoing — its first in more than 30 years — the rooftop overlooking Hyde Park will be open for a Coronation Day lunch with first-class seats to watch a celebratory flyover by the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team comprised of helicopters and historic Spitfires. A coronation-themed tea will also be on offer in the newly renovated Promenade from Friday, May 5 to Monday, May 8. 

The Princess of Park Lane, otherwise known as “the Dorch,” was part of London’s high society where Marlene Dietrich stayed, Noel Coward performed on piano and General Eisenhower established his wartime base. It’s also where Elizabeth Taylor signed her contract for “Cleopatra” while in the hotel’s Harlequin Suite bath and where the King’s father held his bachelor party.

These days, the hotel’s Promenade boasts the Vesper Bar, with über-chic interiors by Martin Brudnizki, who was inspired by the 1930s. The Vesper Bar also references the James Bond novel, “Casino Royale,” and the Vesper martini, which uses both gin and vodka instead of dry vermouth, and a lemon peel instead of an olive. (It was reportedly Bond creator Ian Fleming’s favorite drink.) 

King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort.

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A close-up of the Dorchester’s celebratory facade.

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A coronation-themed tea in the Dorchester.

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Philip Hamond, designer florist at the hotel, working alongside a display showing a coronation-themed cake and floral arrangements.

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The property doesn’t shy from otherwise chic interiors.

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Another highly designed space inside.

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The Promenade also boasts the Artists’ Bar, with its circular Lalique crystal bar and Liberace’s mirrored piano as its centerpiece.

Less-pricey options in the district include the Mayfair Townhouse, which also has a literary reference as it sits on Half Moon Street behind townhouse mansions, including the fictional home of Algernon Moncrieff in Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.” 

While in the ‘hood and still hungering for literary inspiration, walk over to Piccadilly Circus for lunch on the fourth floor of Waterstones, billed as Europe’s largest bookstore, or head for a coronation-themed high tea or a G&T at the nearby and ever-royal Fortnum & Mason.  

It may not be your own coronation — but with this trip, you can certainly feel royal.

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