October 20, 2026 |
London is a city that rarely slows down, but tucked away on Newman Street in Fitzrovia sits a hotel determined to do things differently. The Mandrake harnesses a bold approach to design inside its Fitzrovia townhouse, making it a space full of personality, rooted in a distinctive kind of luxury.
We were shown up to our Luxury Terrace Room, which immediately transported us to a place far removed from London’s usual chaos. The terrace was draped in a hanging garden of suspended jasmine and passionflower. It was tranquil and private – the kind of room that made us in no rush to start the day. Breakfast the next morning only confirmed this feeling, with an extensive choice that catered for every appetite and made it hard to settle on just one thing.
We later dined at Yopo Zaytoun, the hotel’s restaurant, where the menu draws on the flavours of the eastern Mediterranean and is designed for sharing. We began with taramasalata, flatbread, tzatziki, yellowtail crudo and burrata, a generous spread of starters that set the tone for the evening. For mains we chose the rib eye steak and the sea bass, which made for a properly indulgent dinner. We finished with the chocolate mousse with olive oil ice cream, a fitting end given that Zaytoun means olive, and a cheese board to round things off. It was a relaxed, memorable meal, and one we would happily repeat.
The true discovery of our stay, however, came the next morning at Damu, the hotel’s spa. We began with The Origin Pool Experience, a multi-sensory pool that combines sound, light and low-frequency vibration to encourage deep relaxation and improve sleep. From there we made our way into the Mud Caves, a restorative ritual inspired by ancient healing traditions. The space itself sets the tone before the experience even begins, dimly lit, with stone arches overhead and a warm palette that feels like you’ve stepped into an ancient cave. It was hands-on and immersive. We began in the sauna to open our pores ahead of the ritual, before exfoliating and lathering on a purifying face mask and a detoxifying body mask, mixing in antioxidants along the way for an added boost. Tropical showers between each step rinsed everything away, and we finished by rehydrating our skin with algae mud, leaving us feeling completely renewed.
It was a unique experience, and certainly not a conventional spa day, but that’s precisely what made it so memorable. Damu introduces a new take on the term ‘spa’ altogether, more immersive, more interactive and far more unexpected than the usual spa day. Pairing it with dinner at Yopo Zaytoun and a night in a Luxury Terrace Room made for a stay that felt complete, with everything we needed under one roof. And just like that, it was over. Our departing thoughts? The Mandrake manages to balance indulgence with slight rebelliousness, a hotel that knows exactly what it is and has no interest in playing it safe. It’s a space defined as much by its atmosphere as by its willingness to turn the ordinary on its head and we loved it for that very reason. The Mandrake is a London escape done differently.
Photography courtesy of The Mandrake.
