I went to the newly opened check out of the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair yesterday. A friend was staying so I went through his room and all his possessions, all in the name of research. We then did a tour and I had lunch in their one and only restaurant.

It feels to me like it's going to be a business hotel. There's something somewhat impersonal, serious and claustrophobic about it - the corridors, the entrance, the narrowness, the proximity to the neighbouring buildings. It doesn't feel like an inviting space. The restaurant and bar are downstairs and are beautifully decorated, with the restaurant brightened up with light colours and natural light from the glass ceilings, but the bar is surrounded in darkness and is more for an evening drink than a lounge area. The restaurant is serving Japanese food which I thought was superb; I would certainly eat there again.

If you've been on the website, then you've seen all there is to see about the rooms; I went in feeling like I'd already been there. They're not spacious and feel like a seen-it-all-before style. With all the furniture it felt further cramped as there is little space to move around. The views were down onto a courtyard, or windows opposite that starred back at you.

The underground spa area was decent, but not in comparison to the newly opened Raffles and Peninsula. I would put it a step ahead of The Emory, though. It has a 25m long pool, which they proudly told us was the "longest in Mayfair", which is a well-chosen stat to be proud of, ignoring all the other hotels 10 minutes drive away. It's also the best Mandarin Oriental in Mayfair too - just not the best one in London. At the pool are three hydrotherapy pools, a sauna and a steam room. They have a gym, which for a hotel with only 52 rooms was perfectly sufficient, until they reminded me that everything is shared with the residences so that could get interesting.

Claridge's is right around the corner and it makes a world of difference to the feel of the area.

I will only stay here in the coming months because I want to review it. Otherwise, I've seen enough to know not to bother.