Since it opened in 1856, Claridge’s has held a special place in the nation’s heart and famous figures from Queen Victoria to Kate Moss and Bono have fallen in love with the place. But it doesn’t matter if you are a rock-god regular, bona-fide royalty or everyday citizen — you will be greeted with the same charm and friendly service. Its much-photographed art deco public areas are impossibly glamorous, but the ambience is surprisingly laid-back and there’s no strict dress code. Its glittering centre of gravity is the Foyer & Reading Room restaurant, which buzzes all day, starting with power breakfasts then playing host to ladies who lunch, families treating granny to afternoon tea and couples booking celebratory dinners. If the walls of celebrity magnet the Fumoir and Claridge’s Bar could talk, they’d be slapped with a superinjunction.
Overall score 9/10
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Rooms and suites
Score 9/10
The design for the new bedrooms hasn’t strayed too far from the original timeless DNA. And why would it? The Claridge’s look has worked its magic for the likes of Winston Churchill and Cary Grant and still gets the thumbs up from countless celebrities. Rooms are restrained cocoons in restful shades of sun-bleached pastels, with covetable art deco dressers, velvet butterfly chairs and stealth-wealth grey and white marble bathrooms. Ask about the artwork in your room. Many pieces have been specially commissioned and include discreet references to past guests, including the late Queen. You won’t feel short-changed in the cheapest Superior rooms, which are spacious and have elaborate gilded cornicing, fresh flowers and bathtubs.
Food and drink
Score 8/10
The signature lobster wellington on the Foyer’s menu will never disappoint — handy, given the hotel still hasn’t figured out what to do with its flagship fine-dining room since closing it and parting ways with chef Daniel Humm. For something lighter, the three bars serve everything from crudités to burgers. Leave room and plenty of time for breakfast in the Foyer, where the choice runs from classic fry-ups to acai bowls.
What else is there?
Score 9/10
The spa is a triumph where decompression starts as soon as you don one of the exquisite peach kimonos to get into the oriental mindset for massages and facials in its seven treatment rooms. There is also an eight-metre pool and a small gym. Chefs also offer cookery and chocolate classes in L’Epicerie and Claridge’s ArtSpace holds exhibitions from leading artists.
Where is it?
Score 9/10
Brook Street is Mayfair’s main artery and is lined with ornate 18th-century townhouses. Window-shop in the district’s designer stores or head to nearby Oxford Street, Carnaby Street and Soho for a retail reality check as well as endless restaurant options. Hyde Park and Speakers’ Corner are at the end of the street for some London box-ticking.
Price room-only doubles from £750
Restaurant mains from £34
Family-friendly Y
Dog-friendly Y
Accessible Y
