Where we went: The Emory, London

When we went: August 2025

Who went: My wife and I

Room Booked: 4 nights in a courtyard studio on a Virtuoso pay 3, stay 4 rate. Room 4008

Method of booking: I booked with our fabulous mod u/alex_travels

Tldr: Outstanding hotel. Hard product and service are excellent! This will be my first look when I book our next stay in London.
*Design and aesthetic aren't traditional at all*

Service: 10

Service is excellent all over the place. There aren't that many rooms, and by day 2 I was on a first name basis with a bunch of folks. Check in was fast and friendly. There's a small glass office steps from the valet area. We were the only ones there and it was all done in a few minutes. 

You're assigned an Emory assistant that meets you and escorts you to your room. We lucked out and got Carlos, Steffi, and Brenda. They were all awesome! Special shout out to Carlos!

You're given a card with a QR code. The code takes you to The Emory WhatsApp channel. You can also use the phone to make calls if you want. The assistants rotate shifts but someone will be assigned to your room and can be reached 24 hours a day. Typical response times were 1-3 minutes. Occasionally 5-10 minutes happened and only once was a response over 15 minutes. I never messaged before 7am or after 11 pm. Your Emory assistant can set up whatever you'd like from dinner reservations, reservations at the rooftop bar with priority, reservations at other Maybourne bars/ restaurants with an in versus just showing up. They can make spa treatments, pack/unpack, press/launder garments, set up transfers, tours, experiences, etc...

We had breakfast at ABC Cafe each day that we were there. Most days we were greeted by Mary. She's quick with a smile and a greeting. We'd discuss the day's plans while a table was getting ready for us. I saw her many times a day and each interaction was very pleasant.

Wait staff at ABC were always friendly and professional. Things came out hot and we're promptly cleared when done. Refills were on point and they always checked if we needed anything else. One morning I was running late so I took a plate with a croissant and cappuccino from the restaurant up to the room. As I walked out with my hands full 3 different people offered to help me take them upstairs, or to put them in to go containers for me. The whole process of walking to the elevator from the table took like 20 seconds.

I had 2 linen blazers pressed. Carlos told me I could pretty much tell them whenever I needed them to be ready and they'd get it done. From pickup to delivery it was 2 hours and it could have been less if I needed.

Alain at the rooftop bar was super friendly and helpful. The rooftop bar is pretty slammed every night. I went by twice late at night while staying at The Berkeley, and each time it was packed. Since I was in house adjacent they were cool if I wanted to come in but I just looked around for a minute. The music was bumping and it felt very club like. The crowd was having a great time and just wasn't my vibe since I had stuff early in the morning. I went by just before they opened one day while staying at The Emory and the barman talked to me about how busy they've been, and we talked about their whiskey menu, it's huge for a hotel. He told me to look around and take my time. He offered to walk me through the cigar lounge but I don't smoke so I declined, but I appreciated his hospitality.

The bellmen and house car drivers are fantastic. I tried to use the house car 5 times. I used the house car 5 times. Kevin and Vis were always great to talk to. Kevin has got some stories. As the stay went on I'd see them in the morning and just tell them where I was going later, and the car would be ready. Times when I was just taking a stroll to the ATM or Waitrose they asked if I wanted the car. The chauffeurs were a blast too. They had good stories and always inquired about our various activities.

Housekeeping and turn down we're excellent. If the do not disturb was one they'd slide a card under the door to contact your assistant for whatever services I needed. We utilized the service at all different hours and they were super nice!

In room dining was on point. They were nice and professional. Everything came quickly and was correct. 

Checkout was fast and efficient. Louie was nice and professional. He was fun to chat with and checkout took just a few minutes. I was the only one checking out at the time.

The spa team was awesome. The guys in the cafe by the pool were super helpful and were always quick to greet you. I had a 60 minute massage which was bomb. It got all the knots out of of my shoulders. Intake was smooth and easy. A member of management gave me a tour of all of the spa facilities the first time I wandered down there. She was excellent and had a bunch of info about the Tracy Anderson studio and the various face/skin treatments that they offer. That stuff is more up my Wife's alley. She totally understood and kept showing me around.


Property: 10* 

(*it felt more like a residence versus a hotel. Things are more personal which could be a plus or a minus*).

Since the Emory and The Berkeley share the same space you basically get the best of 2 great hotels. The Emory has 60 rooms over 9 floors and is billed as an all suite hotel. Entry level rooms are around 560 square feet so they make for a proper London suite.

The property has 24 hour concierge services, 2 restaurants, 2 bars, a cigar lounge, a full service spa, a gym, an underground pool, paid fitness classes, a rooftop pool, house car service, 24 hour in room dining, a discreet alley entrance, and easy access to cabs. 

The gym was well equipped. I went by twice and it was empty both times. I went swimming everyday and there were generally 1 or 2 other people there. The pool space is really nice and relaxing. There are single chairs and cabanas with drapes that are first come, first served. The loungers and beds were comfy and the towels were nice and thick. They had robes and slippers in the locker room. They pump relaxing music into the area. There's also an infrared sauna, a steam room, and a snow shower, which was really fun. The rooftop bar has outstanding 360 views.

If you're driving a Lambo you can park it by the hotel entrance. It's close to the tube and has an excellent Central location that is not overly busy, while being close to so much. The hotel has good soundproofing and everything is very clean. The design and aesthetic are super modern which would be a deal breaker for those that want something traditionally British.




Room: 9.5

The room was well appointed and a nice size. It had a long hallway from the entrance and once you turned you entered the main part of the room. This meant the bathroom was close to the hallway while the bed was further away. 

They had a loveseat and a chaise on opposite sides of the room. Having a place for 2 people to lay down is something that I really enjoy and wish more hotels had.

The bed was comfy, The pillows lost shape quickly but extra pillows worked well. The sheets were nice. The comforter a little warm. AC and thermostat both worked great.

Closet space was nice with plenty of hangers. They also had a garment bag and tote bag. There was a scarf in another closet. They had a whole bunch of Dyson hair devices and a nice steamer.

The bathroom was excellent. The double vanity is always a plus. There was a huge tub, a fancy motion sensor Toto toilet, and a large shower. There water from the rainfall stayed in the shower so there wasn't a need to put a few towels by the door. I love the smell of the bath amenities. I was tempted to buy plastic bottles so that I could pour the shampoo, conditioner, soap, and lotion into them to take home. The shower had a rainfall and a wand. Temperature was excellent. Pressure on the rainfall was great and a little lackluster on the wand. They had a seated towel rack. 

The room had 2 TVs which you could sync. There was also a desk, a small table and chairs, 2 nightstands with various outlets. The headboard and reading lights were nice. There were curtains and blinds there were controlled by a few wall switches. Various wall switches controlled the room lights.

The room comes with a complimentary mini bar. They stock it with gum, mints, chips, gummies, chocolate, coffee, tea, coffee Maker, and an electric tea kettle. The fridge had a bunch of waters, sodas, juices, milk, and airplane bottles of liquor. You can customize what you'd like in there. They also have something that they call "suite delights."
With this you can select a bottle from a wine/champagne list once per day for the duration of your stay. If you didn't want wine/champagne you were given the choice to choose a 100 ml pour of a list of various spirits instead. The whiskey list here is good so if you like whisky/ bourbon than you're in good hands.

Food: 9.5 (limited dining on site)

As far as food goes we basically only had breakfast here. Besides breakfast I had a room service Burger and fries which I try and do at every hotel. This was a truffle burger and fries and was really good. It was cooked to a fantastic medium rare. The bun was very nice too. It's the best hotel burger that I've had this year. 

We had breakfast at ABC Kitchen each morning. The eggs Benedict is a stand out. It's outstanding. The sauce is rich and flavorful, while not being too heavy. The eggs have a perfect jelly consistency. It's a banger!

Everything was really good. The omelettes are cooked very well. The fruit plate has a great variety and good portion size. The different granola/healthier options were very good. They make bacon more like you'd get in the USA. It's crispyish and not super thick, I find it to be excellent UK hotel bacon for my American palate. The juices and coffees were very nice. The breakfast sandwich had an awesome bun and ate more like a breakfast burger.  The breakfast benefit was quite generous. I didn't ask if it had a limit, and menu prices are expensive. We ordered £120-150 a day and were always presented a £0 bill and asked if we wanted to take anything with us.



We got in kinda late every night, so I opted for in room drink services as part of the all inclusive mini bar, versus the rooftop bar. Pours were good and came timely. 


Memorable experience outside of the hotel:

Dinner at Hunan. Hunan is a fine dining restaurant about a 20 minute walk to the south in Belgravia. They have been there since 1982 and serve a blind tasting menu with flavors from Taiwan, Hunan, and Sechaun. They do lunch and dinner. We went for dinner. The staff and the food are excellent. They'll ask your preferences, or things that you don't want and then they'll start bringing you courses until you give in. We'd walked around all do and were hungry so we did 18 courses. You can pre order supplements if you want. Cocktails were great and Tsingtao beer worked well too. They also have a good wine list. The Peking duck was awesome. They got the skin very crispy. The first course was a soup made with chicken and pork broth. It was the best dish that I had all week. The best table in the house for 2 is " the window table." That's the table we had, and the one I would request for a future visit.


This is a lot of text. Thank you for reading and happy chubby travels to all!!

Review: The Emory, London