Brown's Hotel
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Brown's Hotel is one of the top luxury 5-star hotels of London, England.
Sophistication and classic English style are the hallmarks of the legendary Brown's Hotel, which joined the Rocco Forte Hotels' collection of luxury hotels on 3rd July 2003.
Brown's has been restored to its rightful position as one of the most intimate and charming hotels in London. The interiors are contemporary and have a real sense of style, while retaining much of their original, quintessentially English elegance.
Set in the heart of Mayfair on Albemarle Street, Brown's is one of the most historic hotels in London. Within a short walk from exclusive Bond Street shopping, West End theatres and St James's, Brown's Hotel was founded in 1837 to provide 'genteel' accommodation for discerning people. Brown's has always had an air of exclusivity and refinement, which it has retained following its extensive refurbishment overseen by Rocco Forte Hotels' Director of Design, Olga Polizzi, Sir Rocco Forte's sister.
Composed of 11 Georgian town houses, all 117 bedrooms (including 19 luxurious suites) have been individually designed with a sophistication that has become the trademark of Rocco Forte hotels, as has the warm and personal service.
Rapidly reasserting itself as one of London's finest dining venues, Brown's Hotel offers The Grill which under the craftmanship of award-winning Exective Chef, Laurence Glayzer, serves a delicate balance of traditional English fare with a contemporary, continental twist. A long-held British institution, afternoon tea at Brown's still continues in the hotel's English Tea Room serving the best afternoon tea in London.
Set in the heart of Mayfair on Albemarle Street, Brown's is one of the most historic hotels in London. Within a short walk from exclusive Bond Street shopping, West End theatres and St James's, Brown's Hotel was founded in 1837 to provide 'genteel' accommodation for discerning people.
In 1859, Brown's was purchased by the Ford family. The innovative Henry Ford installed fixed baths, electric lighting and a lift (one of the first in Britain), whilst still maintaining the unique atmosphere. He also created the first public dining room in London - prior to this, hotel guests hired individual suites and dined privately.
In 1889, the Ford family purchased the St George's Hotel in Albemarle Street, which backed on to Brown's, and combined the two hotels, adding a fifth floor to both properties. On Albemarle Street, a new front of stucco and entrance portico were built, and two panels of blue and gold mosaic bearing the legend of Brown's and St George's were placed on the wall (both still exist today).
The hotel has witnessed some historical landmarks. Alexander Graham Bell went to stay in 1876 to demonstrate his new invention - the telephone - and the first successful call in Great Britain was made from Brown's. The Niagara Room commemorates the meeting held there in 1890 by the International Niagara Commission, which agreed on 'the adoption of electrical methods as the chief means of distributing Niagara power'; the inauguration of the alternating current system resulted and has subsequently been adopted throughout the world.
In 1886, Theodore Roosevelt stayed at Brown's prior to his second marriage. Royal guests have included Napoleon III and Princess Eugenie, Queen Elizabeth of the Belgians (who took refuge in the hotel during World War I), Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia and King George II of the Hellenes, who stayed at Brown's for nine years after his exile from Greece in 1924.
Celebrities and writers who have loved Brown's include Cecil Rhodes, founder of Rhodesia, Rudyard Kipling (who found the hotel conducive to writing and completed The Jungle Book here) and Agatha Christie, who based her thriller At Bertram's Hotel on Brown's.
Awards
1.Prix Villégiature Awards 2006 - Brown's Hotel was voted 'Best Hotel in Europe' at the prestigious Prix Villégiature Awards in Paris in October 2006
2.Time Out London Eating and Drinking Awards 2006 - Donovan Bar was one of the runners up for "Best Bar"
3.UKBG National Competition 2006 - Antonio Dandrea, Head Barman from The Donovan Bar at Brown's Hotel, has won the United Kingdom's Bartender's Guild National Competition 2006.
4.Condé Nast Traveller (USA) Hot List 2006 - Brown's Hotel is listed among an elite group of 130 of the newest hotels worldwide. The editors of Conde Nast Traveller felt that Brown's had that unique confluence of design, service and style Condé Nast Traveller (UK) Hot List 2006 - Listed among 60 of the "hottest, newest hotels" in the world
