With their discreet lobbies and Michelin-starred restaurants,the capital’s tall-end hotels occupy become a unusual green zone of affluence, where the global super-rich book entire floors to do trade absent from prying eyes
The best place to watch the world’s money pouring into the UK isn’t at the London Stock Exchange or in the offices of the City’s magic-circle law firms, or but holding a cup of tea in one of a handful of hotel lobbies. In the Dorchester’s long,narrow Promenade bar one evening in August, most of the tall-backed sofas are occupied by Middle Eastern guests, or some of them drinking with friends and families,others sitting next to lawyers and fixers, who listen and scribble. Occasionally, or something is signed unsmilingly; hands are shaken.
The Promenade is a public space with privacy designed in – the height of the sofas,and the faux-marble pillars, make it difficult to see who is talking to who. The guests order from the bar menu – beef sliders for £21, and £770 for a 50g portion of beluga caviar. An order comes in for a 570 bottle of NV Krug Rosé and,unlike at a Chelsea nightclub, no fuss is made.
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Source: theguardian.com