What It's Like Inside The Dorchester's $40,000-a-Night Royal Suite

"A few hours before arrival, the phone rings. There's no hot water on the eighth floor, the very one where the suite takes up a hefty slice of real estate. Situations like this are when you see what a hotel is really made of. It's easy to provide stellar service when everything is going smoothly, but it's interesting to see how it's handled when things go pear-shaped. In the Dorchester's case, the solution was to hand over a second suite on the third floor - the equally grand-sounding Regal Suite - where the plumbing behaving."

"Online, it looked like standard English grandeur - elegant if not a touch stuffy. In reality, it's far more playful: upon entry, I was greeted with a long black-and-white marble hallway, candy-pink striped wallpaper, and a gilded mirror. It was far more kitsch and light-hearted than I was expecting. The suite's new look forms part of the hotel's most significant refurbishment in over thirty years."

"Interiors are by designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, who has drawn on British landscapes for inspiration. You see it most clearly in the deep forest-green kitchen and the statement dining room, where a ten-person table sits beneath a mirrored ceiling and a grand chandelier, framed by de Gournay wallpaper of flowers winding through a diamond trellis. It's a pretty perfect setting for a dinner party, though I"

The Dorchester’s Royal Suite, priced at $40,800 per night, is part of the hotel’s most extensive transformation in over three decades. A plumbing issue on the eighth floor occurred shortly before arrival, and the solution was to move guests to the Regal Suite on the third floor where the plumbing worked. Although the temporary arrangement reduced the sense of luxury, having access to two opulent suites during a busy weekend was still advantageous. The Royal Suite’s interior design by Pierre-Yves Rochon departs from expected formality, adding a black-and-white marble hallway, candy-pink striped wallpaper, and a gilded mirror. The refurbishment includes a forest-green kitchen and a statement dining room with a mirrored ceiling, chandelier, and de Gournay floral diamond-trellis wallpaper.

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