Claridge's

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For other hotels with a similar name, see Claridge Hotel.
Claridge's London

Claridge's in 2002
General information
Location Mayfair, London, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°30′45″N 0°08′51.36″W / 51.51250°N 0.1476000°W / 51.51250; -0.1476000Coordinates: 51°30′45″N 0°08′51.36″W / 51.51250°N 0.1476000°W / 51.51250; -0.1476000
Opening 1812
Owner Maybourne Group
Design and construction
Architect Edward James Ferrel
Other information
Number of rooms 203
Number of suites 11

Claridge's is a 5-star hotel located at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair London. It has long-standing connections with royalty that have led to it sometimes being referred to as an "annexe to Buckingham Palace".

History

Claridge's was founded in 1812 as Mivart's Hotel,[1] located in a conventional London terraced house, and grew by expanding into neighbouring houses. In 1854, the founder (the father of biologist St. George Jackson Mivart) sold the hotel to a Mr and Mrs Claridge, who owned a smaller hotel next door. They combined the two operations, and after trading for a time as "Mivart's at Claridge's", they settled on the current name. The reputation of the hotel was confirmed in 1860 when Empress Eugenie made an extended visit and entertained Queen Victoria at the hotel.

Drawing of the current version of Claridge's was published in 1897, the year before the reopening.

Richard D'Oyly Carte, the theatrical impresario and founder of the rival Savoy Hotel, purchased Claridge's in 1894, as part of The Savoy Group, and shortly afterwards demolished the old buildings and replaced them with the present ones. This was prompted by the need to install modern facilities such as lifts and en suite bathrooms. The new Claridge's, built by George Trollope & Sons, opened in 1898.[2] It is a Grade II listed building.[3] The hotel currently has 203 rooms and suites.

After the First World War, Claridge's flourished due to demand from aristocrats who no longer maintained a London house, and under the leadership of Carte's son, Rupert D'Oyly Carte, a new extension was built in the 1920s. During the Second World War, it was the base of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's forces in exile and home of Peter II of Yugoslavia. Peter II of Yugoslavia and his wife spent much of the Second World War in exile at Claridge's, and suite 212 was ceded by the United Kingdom to Yugoslavia for a single day (17 July 1945) to allow their heir, Crown Prince Alexander, to be born on Yugoslav soil.[4] In December 1951 West German chancellor Konrad Adenauer secretly met with World Jewish Congress president Nahum Goldmann at Claridge's to begin negotiations on German reparations to Jewish survivors of the Holocaust.

Well-known actors, directors and entertainers who have used Claridge's include Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, regular visitor Alfred Hitchcock, Brad Pitt, Mick Jagger, U2 and Mariah Carey. The hotel lobby and several guestrooms appear in the 2001 Stephen Poliakoff BBC television drama Perfect Strangers. Claridge's is known for hosting visiting royalty and guests of the Royal Family. The late King Hassan of Morocco was known to travel with his own mattress, but, at the hotel, he used a Savoy Mattress. Impressed by the quality, he ordered 24 identical mattresses from the Savoy for his Palace.[5]

Over the years, Claridge's has become famed for its Christmas tree display over the festive season. Past trees have been designed by John Galliano (Dior) and Kally Ellis (McQueens).[6]

In 2005, The Savoy Group, including Claridge's, was sold to Quinlan Private, which sold off the Savoy Hotel and Savoy Theatre and renamed the group Maybourne Hotel Group.[7] In 2007 Claridge's gained worldwide media coverage by introducing a Water Menu containing various bottled waters sourced globally and from the United Kingdom such as Malmberg and Iskilde.[8]

As of 2013, Claridge's is owned and managed by the Maybourne Group, which also includes two other five-star luxury hotels in London, The Berkeley and The Connaught.

Suites

Claridge's offers the finest designer rooms, suites and penthouses. The Mayfair Suite is furnished in an art deco style.

Facilities

Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's

For 12 years the Fine dining main restaurant has currently been run by Gordon Ramsay, with head chef Steve Allen who replaced Mark Sargeant. Michelin starred Northern Irish chef Michael Deane also started his career at the restaurant. Claridge's offers afternoon tea and has been endorsed by the Tea Guild. Claridge's has two ground floor bars: a main bar and a former cigar bar known as The Fumoir; the smoking ban in England has caused The Fumoir to stop selling cigars.

From 28 July to 6 August 2012, the hotel hosted a 10-day pop-up restaurant by two Michelin starred New Nordic Cuisine Noma, while the restaurant in Copenhagen was closed from 22 July to 13 August for refurbishment. Owner and founder René Redzepi with head chef Matt Orlanda, and together with staff from the restaurant served up a GB£195-per-head nine-course menu that included their take on scone and clotted cream, Lancashire hotpot with British ingredients, as well as live ants foraged in Denmark and flown to London.[9][10][11]

Christmas tree

Most years Claridge's Christmas tree is designed and decorated by someone notable in the fashion industry. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are set to decorate a lavish 22ft Christmas tree, which will be displayed in the hotel lobby for 2013.[12]

In 2012 the tree was created by Kally Ellis, founder of British floral designers McQueens. In 2011 the tree featured a family of puppets in a Christmas scene and was decorated by Lanvin.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Claridges: An opulent hotel where every polished corner tells a story". independent.co.uk. The Independent. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012. 
  2. ↑ Trollope & Colls at the National Archives
  3. ↑ Details from listed building database (208860) - Grade II. Images of England. English Heritage.
  4. ↑ Christopher Long (25 October 1991). "A Regal Bid Too Far?". Retrieved 15 December 2006. "I was born on Yugoslav territory at Claridge's Hotel in London, 1945, on 17 June, and this was done in agreement with the British Government." 
  5. ↑ Jones, Ronald F (1997). Inside the Best Hotels: Grand Hotelier. Jones & Jones. p. 248. ISBN 0953273709. 
  6. ↑ "Claridge's unveil their Christmas Tree". The Handbook. 3 December 2011. 
  7. ↑ Walsh, Dominic. "Savoy Group changes name after deal", The Times, 25 January 2005.
  8. ↑ 's-sells-luxury-water-at-andpound50-per-litre.html Telegraph online news, 15 October 2007.
  9. ↑ O' Ceallaigh, John (24 April 2012). "The 'world's best restaurant' comes to London: Copenhagen’s Noma restaurant will decamp to Claridge’s hotel this summer". Telegraph. Retrieved 19 December 2012. 
  10. ↑ Lisa, Markwell (1 August 2012). "World's best restaurant comes to town... and it's serving ants". The Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2012. 
  11. ↑ Bazalgette, Peter (13 July 2012). "A nomadic Noma: The Copenhagen restaurant is hosting a 10-day London pop-up at Claridge’s. Its crew will bring their own red seaweed oil, but many ingredients will be British". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 December 2012. 
  12. ↑ Winter, Katy (23 October 2013). "The Christmas Tree". Daily Mail. Retrieved 23 October 2013. 

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