Million Air Summer 2024

The Connaught THE KING’S LODGE

the commission, a portion of proceeds from each King’s Lodge and Prince’s Lodge booking will be donated to Turquoise Mountain. By Kim Ayling From $2,495 per night. Contact reservations@ the-connaught.co.uk, +44 207 107 8843, the-connaught.co.uk

panel — so large the hotel’s elevator barely accommodated it — was created by carvers from Makrana, India, considered some of the fi nest stonemasons in the world. Each element of this singular suite has been commissioned speci fi cally as part of this project, with the work of over 100 artisans employed to bring it together. In addition to the fi nancial merits of

As part of the Maybourne group (which also operates Claridge’s, The Berkeley and most recently The Emory in London, as well as The Maybourne Riviera in the south of France and The Maybourne Beverly Hills) The Connaught has old-school luxury, with a focus on discretion, running deep in its veins. Dating to the late 19th century, the Mayfair hotel is a mainstay in any list of London’s best. But despite its time-honored reputation, the hotel still keeps its eyes fi rmly open to modern-day concerns and causes — a trait perhaps best exempli fi ed in its ongoing partnership with Turqouise Mountain, a UK-based charity dedicated to championing, uplifting and preserving heritage crafts and craftspeople, particularly incon fl ict-a ff ected regions. The relationship between hotel and charity is a long-standing one: Turquoise Mountain’s volunteer creative director Guy Oliver was appointed as the lead designer for The Connaught’s 2007 refurbishment, when he neatly united the two — a stroke of genius that birthed The Prince’s Lodge suite. This year, The Connaught revealed the product of its second collaborative relationship with Turquoise Mountain: The King’s Lodge. Tucked away up in the eaves of the hotel’s fi fth fl oor neighboring the existing Prince’s Lodge, the King’s Lodge is an enveloping space, rich with the singular crafts of some of the world’s most creatively abundant countries. Its one bedroom is dominated by a one-of-a-kind, four-poster bed, crafted by hand in walnut by Syrian artisans. Dividing the sleeping quarters from the sumptuous living area are intricate wooden screens — examples of walnut jali fretwork, an Afghan craft that delicately connects pieces of wood. On the fl oors, handwoven carpets from Afghanistan; in the bathroom, a showstopping marble