The Athenaeum is a family-owned five-star hotel overlooking

Green Park Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Marylebo ...

in Piccadilly,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

History

Hope House was built at 116 Piccadilly in 1849–1850 by Henry Pelham-Clinton, the 6th Duke of Newcastle. The name Athenaeum first appears around 1864 when the house was bought by the Junior Athenaeum Club. The house was redeveloped in the 1930s as an

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

apartment block, still called the Athenaeum. In 1971

The Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...

purchased the 1930s Athenaeum Court apartment block, opening it as The Athenaeum Hotel after a two-year refurbishment. Through Rank's direct links to Hollywood the hotel attracted guests including Steven Spielberg, Marlon Brando, Harrison Ford, Lauren Bacall, Liza Minnelli and

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

. Rank encouraged the stars of its films (including Elizabeth Taylor) to take up residence at the hotel whilst working on projects in England. ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' observed that there were more movie stars to be seen in London's Athenaeum than in the

Polo Lounge The Polo Lounge is located inside the Beverly Hills Hotel at 9641 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California. Description The lounge has been described as "done up in peachy pink (as you might expect), with deep carpets and dark green booths, ...

of the Beverly Hills Hotel. For over twenty years Sally Bulloch was the Executive Manager. The current General Manager Joanne Taylor Stagg took over in 2019 In 1992, the Athenaeum was purchased by Ralph Trustees Limited, a family-run business who also own The Grove in Hertfordshire and the Runnymede Hotel & Spa near Windsor. More recent celebrity guests include ,

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...

and Mel B.

Location

The Athenaeum's postcode is W1J 7BJ, right in the heart of Mayfair. The nearest

tube station The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Und ...

is .

Kid's Concierge

The Hotel has a dedicated Kid's Concierge service which takes care of children's needs and helps families to plan itineraries. The Athenaeum also provides age-appropriate toys to children upon arrival.

Awards

The hotel has 5 red stars and 2 red rosettes from the AA. The website travelandleisure.com put the Athenaeum in its list of the 500 best hotels in the world in 2008.

Afternoon Tea Tea (in reference to food, rather than the drink) has long been used as an umbrella term for several different meals. English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes meals of va ...

at the Athenaeum has received an Award of Excellence from the UK Tea Guild for Top London Afternoon Tea 2008.

References

Footnotes Citations

External links

The Athenaeum website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athenaeum Hotel Hotels in the City of Westminster Hotels established in 1973 Buildings and structures on Piccadilly 1973 establishments in England