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Jet Set Go

The Zetter: Marylebone's Standout Neighbourhood Hotel

One of London’s USPs is its ability to give visitors that ‘small town’ feeling while being right in the middle of a nine-million-person metropolis. The Zetter in Marylebone achieves this well. 

You only need to step off the pavements of Piccadilly to be ensconced in the quiet, manicured streets of Mayfair, or abandon the bustle of Camden Market for the broad, residential streets of Primrose Hill. London can switch out traffic and tour groups for chirping birds and lawn mowers within minutes. The capital’s hospitality scene has been embracing its ability to offer guests the best of both worlds for a while (the Firmdale hotels are a popular example), and The Zetter is one of the latest brands to enter that space.



The Zetter in Marylebone is the second property in its growing portfolio (The Zetter Clerkenwell opened in 2011 and another is due in Bloomsbury in 2025) and the brand is positioning itself as a serious competitor in the boutique, British ‘home-away-from-home’ stakes. But is it succeeding? If this Marylebone offering is anything to go by, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. 


The Vibe

The decorous floral archway around The Zetter’s entrance functions as more than an aesthetic choice: you’d walk straight past the hotel if it weren’t there. Embracing its Georgian townhouse origins, the property otherwise announces itself with little fanfare – only a brass plaque set discreetly to the side of the front door belies its function.

© Darren Chung

On entering, guests are met by a deeply decorated lounge at odds with the hotel’s subdued exterior. It’s a statement space which immediately sets the mood for a stay here. Bedecked in Turkish-style rugs and rich Victorian furnishings, the sumptuous den is illuminated by low lamps shrouded in crooked lampshades. Furnishings are second-hand, with many sourced from old boys’ boarding schools and churches, and no one piece the same. Reception is a laptop perched on a table tucked out of sight. The vibe is intimate, inviting and just a little seductive. The desire to order a cocktail, slide onto a cushioned sofa and gossip the day away with a friend is strong. If Gatsby were to socialise in London in 2024, this ambiguously historical, distractingly furnished space might just be where he’d choose to do it.


The Rooms

The Zetter Studio Bedroom © Darren Chung

Twenty four rooms are made up of eight Deluxe Doubles, 11 Deluxe Kings, four Junior Suites and a penthouse (Lear’s Loft) split across five floors. We were housed in a Junior Suite on the first floor at the back of the property with a window overlooking Quebec Mews. The narrow, paved cul de sac flanked by Victorian buildings oozes quintessential British charm – if a horse and cart were to roll around the corner it wouldn’t have been out of place (even alongside the Ferraris). While not necessarily the view a visitor might hope for from a London hotel room, it provides a glimpse into local life and epitomised the ‘neighbourhood’ feel of the place.

Lear’s Loft Lounge

Our Junior Suite was as generously furnished as the downstairs lounge (known as The Parlour). An ornate four-poster bed sat on stylishly worn carpets flanked by antique furnishings and watched over by fish bowl mirrors. The bathroom was papered with old atlas maps of Bristol and Stroud (other rooms sport similar wallpaper depicting other locations) while transparent 19th-century projector disks made from hand-painted glass worked as miniature portals between the bedroom and the bathroom. The White Company products, BOSE speakers and a Nespresso coffee machine ensured amenities were modern.

Perhaps the room’s most impressive asset, however, was how astonishingly quiet it was. Forget worrying about external noise (Seymour Street is five times removed from the decibel levels of Oxford Street despite its close proximity), not a sound drifted in from anywhere else in the hotel – not even from The Parlour, which was fit to bursting each evening with the crème of the city’s social scene.


The Food + Drink

Refreshments are taken in The Parlour, an eclectically adorned lounge space whose crimson walls peak out between a mass of corbels on which Chinese teapots, Roman replicas and other paraphernalia totter. Any gaps see sepia photographs vie for space beside shelves of miniature booze bottles and ornate Asian plates. 

Breakfast is served between 8am and 10.30am – a late start by many other hotel’s standards but perfectly in keeping with The Zetter’s ‘late nights, late mornings’ vibe. A continental buffet sits primed on the bar, while a mini menu of classic breakfast dishes including Eggs Royale and Benedict – and a Full English – are available to order. Portions are generous and flavoursome.

With no real distinction between lunch and dinner, cocktails, small plates and a few larger dishes are available to order from noon until 9.45pm. Food is fresh, delicate and served briskly. The small plates are rich, so a couple of options are enough for two people. Highlights include the babaghanoush with Za’atar and the roast artichoke with truffle dip. Burgers, cheese boards and sweet treats round off a small but satisfying menu. 

In the early evening The Parlour transforms, with afternoon tea hangers-on and groups of gaggling friends filling the ground floor with chatter and life. Libations are pleasantly creative and expertly crafted by Brixton-based mixologist Ishmael, who not only presents perfectly balanced drinks but sports an impressive film knowledge. Favourite tipples included the spicy-marg-meets-pornstar-martini ‘aMAZEing’ and the Bar Code, a moscato and bitters-infused take on the French 75.  


The Little Extras

The Zetter’s kooky attitude is perhaps exemplified best by its cocktail menu, which comes as ‘The Gazetter’: an A5 ‘puzzle’ pamphlet outlining drink options via crosswords, word searches, mazes and sudokus. Should guests solve these puzzles in the course of an evening, they’re entitled to a buy-one-get-one-free cocktail (which are well worth the effort). Other touches accentuate the property’s homely vibe. A wool-wrapped hot water bottle awaits use within spacious wardrobes, as do generously fluffy bathrobes. Vintage Punch and Judy adverts cover lift interiors and, as if there weren’t enough actual antiques around, staircase walls are plastered with framed images of tables and chairs. Communal area artworks grab attention also; classic, scenic paintings covered with bright green ‘fire exit’ prints were made by the hotel’s Head of Maintenance, Dave.


The To-Do List

There’s not much London has to offer that isn’t accessible from The Zetter’s piece of prime real estate near Marble Arch. Shopping on Oxford Street, Bond Street and Carnaby Street are minutes away, while Buckingham Palace, The Ritz and Victoria Station are a short (under ten minute) bus hop away. The Royal Albert Hall is a beautiful half-hour stroll from one side of Hyde Park to the other, and the Wallace Collection (and various other art galleries) are also all within reach.

But for those seeking to embrace London’s less obvious side, head ten minutes north east to explore Marylebone High Street. Weekends see it buzzing with chatty, coffee-sipping locals, and its high-end collection of apothecaries, skincare outlets and boutique fashion shops epitomise London’s (albeit elevated) local vibe. Soak it up with a pint in The Prince Regent, or wander through Paddington Sculpture Gardens just behind the famous Daunt Books.


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