One Hyde Park plays hide-and-seek with service fees

The wraps are off One Hyde Park, the long-awaited flats development designed by the Candy brothers in central London and due to be completed later this year – but mystery surrounds exactly how much buyers must pay for its service charges. The scheme's publicists claim over 50 per cent of the 86 apartments have been sold, some as long ago as April 2009, and pre-sales total over £765m.

The scheme, scheduled for completion in October – over four and a half years after getting planning consent – is located next to the Mandarin Oriental and the publicity makes much of links between the two. "One Hyde Park will be the first residential building in London to fuse the services of a top hotel with luxury residential living spaces, adopting and delivering a concept that is long overdue" gushes Stephan Miles-Brown of estate agency Knight Frank which, along with Savills, is selling the units.

"Apartment owners in London will be offered an extension to luxury experiences provided to guests at our hotels. We will create bespoke services and amenities to complement their lifestyles," boasts Mandarin Oriental's Sebastian Moritz.

Yet although some units were purchased a year ago, and despite the PR emphasis on the links with the hotel next door, the service charges are not being revealed and enquiries have fallen on deaf ears.

Having a fanfare for one part of a scheme and refusing to talk about another part is a recipe for property industry controversy. Little wonder tongues are wagging about the scheme in London and online.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.