I just spent a night on a business trips in Brown's a hotel by the Rocco Forte Hotels.

This is a classic London Hotel in a great Mayfair location, so great for business and luxury shopping.

The rooms are huge and well equipped, although I would have liked a separate shower, and the lack of Wi-Fi connection is an issue at this price range in my opinion.

Staff are helpful and efficient.

The two small issues are: they have refurbished the hotel recently and I beleive the new furniture added does not match the period features of the hotel, it is neither modern and minimal nor classic- it is just not classy in my opinion. The another-the breakfast: I ordered an English breakfast and thankfully arrived fairly early, because it arrived 25 minutes after my order. I think that is unacceptable at a hotel this cathegory.

Having stayed at several great 5* hotels in London it was with some hesitation that I took my secretary's advice and booked my first stay at Brown's. I had a very good week as a guest at the hotel.

Location: smack in the middle of Mayfair with Bond St around the corner. St James's just down the road, Piccadilly and Soho very near. In other words a very central location.

Room: Fresh and modern without being arty minimalist. Wooden floors, white walls. Large bathroom. Views will never be great as it is on a Mayfair street and all houses incl hotel are low rise (5-6 floors I think). Bathroom is spacious and comfortable. Good shower pressure.

The feeling of the hotel is quite unique for London I think. I find hotels like Lanesborough and Claridges be old and stuffy - one can feel a bit 'dusty' staying at those places. At the same time I do not like the modern pretensiousness of hotels like the Metropolitan. Brown's has achieved a very healthy balance between being a very dignified historic hotel that is at the same time modern and fresh. With personal no fuss service.

Conclusion: the "thinking man's" 5* in London. The class of hotel and guests is confirmed and secure - hence both does not have to make a song and dance about their status.
Delightfully free of the bridge-and-tunnel crowd that plagues claridges et al. Also free of mass tourists and flash bling bling arabs.

my family and i stayed there for 9 days and it was overall very nice. The concierge was very helpful and friendly but not always correct. the rooms were nice but certain amentidies altough were requested before our stay were not met until mid-week. the tea-room is very nice and the staff was so polite and understanding. it was a cozy hotel and very comfortable. i, being a "child" was not repremanded about being in the hallways at 1:00 am in the morning even though a staff member saw me. that was very undeerstanding of him. the room service for breakfeast was quite nice. i would recommend the resturaunt in the hotel. All the staff down to even the doorman was very curtious. i also loved the bathrooms. perfect for taking a bath! Great place to stay!!!!

We dined in the restaurant at Browns in the week before Christmas and enjoyed a superb evening. To begin, we sampled some cocktails in the bar before going through to eat. The maitre d' (David) welcomed us warmly and ensured that we had excellent service. The staff were charming and utterly professional, with that rare combination of being attentive without being intrusive. I had the scallops which were delicious, and the treacle tart with clotted cream was to die for. The ambience in the restaurant was just right: elegant, buzzy (but not noisy) and with a sense that you were at the heart of things. For us it was a perfect mix of great food and great atmosphere and we would certainly recommend.