Pearls of sweat appeared on my forehead as summer heat began to sting. Bodies surrounded me, contorting in any available space in the midst of a swarm; I felt a buzz of anticipation as I edged closer to my destination, until finally we came to a halt.
Doors sprang open, and we bumbled off the Central line train, strangers unglued from strangers, pollination of awkwardness complete.
I emerged at Lancaster Gate, the drone of the London Underground now faded, opposite an entrance to Hyde Park. Perhaps two minutes around the corner, I reached the grand entrance to the Royal Lancaster London hotel – but what had brought me here wasn’t on street level.
The Royal Lancaster was the first hotel in London to install bee hives on its roof, back in 2009. Since then, it’s become somewhat of a trend: St Ermin’s, Ham Yard and The Ritz have all welcomed colonies. But here, more than a decade later, they’re firmly integrated into the fabric of the property.
Hive mind: The beehives on the roof— (Royal Lancaster London)
“Once guests clock that we have bees, it really connects with them and they start to see the honeycomb pattern everywhere,” said general manager Sally Beck. It’s true. Once I’d noticed one motif, I began to spy them in the shape of the lighting and the patterns on carpets. Even the stands brought to the table for afternoon tea are hexagonal.
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The relationship between insect and hotel goes deeper than the aesthetic. Sally told me that they “believe it’s important to protect these pollinators, who play a key role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems”. My visit coincides with the launch of the “Bee Our Guest” package, where £10 from every stay supports the partnership between the hotel and Bees Abroad, a charity that helps educate and mentor communities in best beekeeping practices, allowing bee farmers to get better prices for quality honey. The Royal Lancaster has twinned with a project on Kome Island, Tanzania, that is focused on empowering rural women.
From my room, I spotted the honey farm, 10 hives on a grass-topped flat roof; you’re guaranteed a view of them if you book the package, so if you bafflingly miss the thread running through the place – which extends in my suite to a vivid bee pillow and charge of in-house honey – you have an inescapable reminder.
Perhaps more impressive was the colossal panoramic view over Hyde Park (also guaranteed in the package; they know what people want). Facing south, the sky met a canvas of conifers and pines, with little more than hints of the Italian Gardens and a glimmer of the Long Water to interrupt the greenery. As the sun slipped away, I soaked its dregs on a velvet sofa while reading.
High life: A different view of Hyde Park— (Ben Parker)
In the bar downstairs, I met Jo Hemesley, who has led the beekeepers at the Royal Lancaster over the last 14 years. Her enthusiasm for these furry pollinators is obvious – they’re “endlessly fascinating”, she says – as well as infectious.
She first spent time beekeeping as a teenager during her Duke of Edinburgh Award and is now training a new team to look after the hives. She describes the work of Bees Abroad as “vital, local and empowering”, and loves how her work gives her “the chance to be outside and in nature.”
We chatted as she demonstrated how to make a candle using beeswax from the hotel’s hives, tightly rolling the honeycomb-pocked sheets around a wick, and incorporating wildflowers. I thought I’d done a stellar job; her effort was much better. I found what came more naturally to me was simply sipping the Royal Bumblebee, a heady mix of gin, citrus and hibiscus tea, and – of course – the honey farmed high above to give it a sweet note. It’s served in a beeswax tumbler, moulded from melted wax and cleaned, melted down and remade afterwards.
First impressions: The lobby of Royal Lancaster London— (Royal Lancaster London)
I’d be doing the hotel – where spaces are packed with marble and dark wood, plus Insta-friendly leather booths and brushed gold touches – a disservice to only focus on the bees. It’s not just a gimmick, nor is it shoved in your face. In fact, one of the most compelling reasons to visit isn’t permeated by the bees: the in-house restaurant, Nipa Thai. It’s an all-female, all-Thai kitchen under head chef Sanguan Parr, where the sublime is served within a teak-heavy dining room. The som tam roared with the salty-sweet-spicy-sour combination that defines Thailand’s finest dishes, while lamb chops gently eased off the bone into creamy massaman.
I fell asleep that night, sated by a dessert of mango sticky rice, with the blinds half-open; I woke early to savour the view, brooding over the day ahead. Breakfast came to the room, and the first thing I did was drizzle the very local honey over Greek yoghurt, a delightful sweet-tart pairing. The full English – an important baseline for judging any hotel – impressed. In fact, it’s now my favourite of any London hotel: thick, just-crisp slices of bacon, fat pork sausages, a creamy dollop of scrambled eggs, and a tomato half properly grilled rather than warmed.
After checking out, I descended to the Central line again, hotter than hell. I was expecting bees to occupy my mind, but they were swatted aside by thoughts of my breakfast. Until, that is, a further swarm of commuters boarded at the next stop, and I returned to feeling like a worker bee packed in his hive.
Travel essentials
The Royal Lancaster London’s Bee Our Guest package costs from £469 for two guests, B&B. It includes a guaranteed view of Hyde Park and the hotel’s honey farm from the room, a Royal Bumblebee cocktail each in the Park Lounge Bar, and a £10 donation to Bees Abroad.
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