MARYLEBONE perhaps wouldn’t be the first place you might look for a quiet escape but you’d be surprised when walking through the townhouse doors at the Zetter Townhouse here to find a cosy world of stylish Victoriana waiting for you. It is small (24 rooms), but then it’s a boutique hotel and that – among other things – were the main attractions it had for us. It’s not just a boutique hotel, it’s one of the best but we’re using the “boutique” word here with hesitancy as over the years as it has been brandished a little too freely to describe places that are small, yes, but lack that key marker – luxury.
Type boutique hotel in Google, no wait, I’ll do it for you and it returns with “a stylish small hotel”. More small hotels should pay attention to the Zetter Townhouse, both in fact as they set the benchmark in our eyes. Before we digress further, let’s get back to our restful journey and walk through the main doors of the Zetter Marylebone where Seymour’s Palace with its more than agreeable sumptuous interior greets guests.
The Reception Lounge at Seymour’s Palace. Photograph: Darren Chung
The name pretty much gives it away but this hotel is the younger sister or uncle accordingly to the owner’s family tree (Aunt Wilhelmina the owner of the original Zetter Townhouse Clerkenwell) and this by Uncle Seymour (ZT Marylebone), both fictional, of course, but gives reason to an interesting theme and interior design. Think of the Sir John Soane museum mixed with deep velvets and plump cushions, all seen before we have even been shown to our room.
An eclectic mix of antique furniture is united together by Russell Sage’s clear vision and interpretation of the hotel through Wicked Uncle Seymour’s eyes. Rooms are all individually designed, our Superior King was garnished with a statement claiming Holy Holy Holy what could only ever have been an altar and now re-purposed into a headboard. Bathrooms are marble clad and ours with a collage of old ads. It’s elegant, luxurious but with a tongue-in-cheek nod.
The Four Poster Superior room at the Zetter Townhouse Marylebone. Photograph: Darren Chung
It doesn’t take long before Seymour’s Palace draws you back downstairs. The cocktail menu made in collaboration with Tony Conigliaro – the renowned mixologist behind 69 Colebrooke Row, Islington, as well as the wonderful Bar Termini in Soho – doesn’t deviate far from modern twists on classics and rightly so. Drinks, long and short, take you through a Victorian vision of opulent travel and adventure; our favourites were the Kubla Khan (Beefeater Gin, Martini Bianco and Sydenham Laudanum syrup) and Le Sphinx (Orange Neroli, Ambrette Bitter and Champagne).
To describe what followed as small bites would be a disservice – we feasted on the smoked fish board, an array of salmon, mackerel, and pineapple chutney and completed by a delicious smoked haddock Scotch egg.
Seymour’s Parlour at ZTH Marylebone. Photograph: Andreas von Einsiedel
If Sunday evenings are made for anything it’s cocktails and nibbles here slouched amongst the cushions. Good news for guests and visitors alike, Seymour’s Palace is welcome to all for all its delights. Breakfast is served here until late – although we opted to luxuriate a little bit longer and had it in bed – and the light bites thereafter. It’s a Palace indeed and a jewel to this Marylebone bolthole’s crown.
Just like its older sister hotel in Clerkenwell, the bar and lounge has a clout of a reputation of its own, combined together with the rooms and you have the perfect mix. What more could we ask for.
Glass can’t wait the next busy spell because afterwards you’ll find us in a dark corner of the cocktail lounge on a leather Chesterfield with our heels propped up on a velvet footrest, sipping a gin delight.
By Stephanie Clair
The Zetter Townhouse Marylebone is available to book online here with rooms from £258 (inc. VAT).
Zetter Townhouse Marylebone, 28-30 Seymour Street, London W1H 7JB. Nearest Underground Stations: Marble Arch,
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