The Connaught is a five-star

luxury hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, located on the corner of Carlos Place and Mount Street in Mayfair,

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 ...

.Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince, ''London 2010'',

Frommer's Frommer's is a travel guide book series created by Arthur Frommer in 1957. Frommer's has since expanded to include more than 350 guidebooks in 14 series, as well as other media including an eponymous radio show and a website. In 2017, the compan ...

, New York City: John Wiley & Sons, 2011, p. 14

/ref> The hotel is owned and managed by

Maybourne Hotel Group Maybourne Hotel Group is a Qatari-owned British luxury hotel operator, which owns and manages The Berkeley, Claridge's and The Connaught hotels in London. History and Background The Maybourne Hotel Group, formerly The Savoy Hotel Group has been ...

History

The hotel first opened in 1815 as the Prince of Saxe Coburg Hotel, an offshoot of a hotel opened by Alexander Grillon in

Albemarle Street Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. It has historic associations with Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray was based here, and Oscar Wilde, a member of the Albemarle Club, where an insult he recei ...

, Mayfair, and was originally a pair of

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

houses in Charles Street, near Grosvenor Square. The 1st Duke of Westminster decided to redevelop the area, and the street was changed, becoming Carlos Place. In 1892 Scorrier, the owner, applied to rebuild the hotel, although work did not start until two years later, when the original houses were demolished. In 1897, the Coburg Hotel was reopened. In 1917, during the First World War, the decision was made to change the name to the less-German "Connaught". The name chosen was taken from the title of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

's third son, Prince Arthur, the first

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

. In 1935, Rudolph Richard, a young Swiss hotelier, became general manager of The Connaught and ran the hotel almost as an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

private house, with the highest standards of comfort and service. In 1956, The Connaught was acquired by the Savoy Group, owners of

Claridge's Claridge's is a 5-star hotel 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". Claridge's Hot ...

The Berkeley The Berkeley is a five-star deluxe hotel, located in Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, London. The hotel is owned and managed by Maybourne Hotel Group, which also owns Claridge's and The Connaught in Mayfair, London. History 1800s and early 1900s ...

and the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August ...

in London. In 2005, the Savoy Group, including The Connaught, was sold to a group of Irish investors, which sold off the Savoy Hotel and

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...

and renamed the group

Restoration

In March 2007, The Connaught closed for a £70 million restoration programme, described as a "contemporary interpretation". Guy Oliver was the lead designer of the restoration, refurbishment and redecoration of the old hotel, completing a total of 88 rooms and suites (including The Prince's Lodge, The Eagles Lodge and The Sutherland and Somerset Suites) as well as the restoration and redecoration of the main staircase, new lifts, concierge and public areas, L'Espelette Restaurant and The Georgian and Regency Rooms. Immediately after this work was completed he designed a further 31 rooms and suites in the new addition to the hotel, a terrace penthouse, and all of the public spaces and function rooms, including the Ballroom, Maple Oak and Silver Rooms. The Maybourne Hotel Group stated that they intended to preserve the traditional values for which the hotel is known. Chef

Angela Hartnett Angela Maria Hartnett (born September 1968) is an English Michelin-starred chef. A protégée of Gordon Ramsay who became well known by her appearances on British television, she was Chef-Patron at Angela Hartnett at The Connaught in London. Cu ...

was replaced by French chef

Hélène Darroze Hélène Darroze (born 23 February 1967) is a French chef. She has 6 Michelin stars and three restaurants, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught in London with 3 stars, Marsan par Hélène Darroze in Paris with 2 stars and Hélène Darroze à Villa La ...

. The hotel reopened in December 2007 with fewer rooms than usually available; development continued throughout 2008 when The Connaught Bar, designed by David Collins, opened. The hotel also has a swimming pool and Asian-inspired spa managed in conjunction with

Aman Resorts Aman Resorts is the trading entity of Aman Group Sarl, a Swiss-headquartered multinational hospitality company. Founded by Indonesian hotelier Adrian Zecha in 1988, the company operates 34 properties in 20 countries. Vladislav Doronin is the chi ...

. Other changes include a new Espelette Restaurant, with a covered terrace, and the Coburg Bar, managed by Andreas Cortes. The Connaught Bar is run by mixologist Agostino Perrone, which has received several international awards including World's Best Cocktail Bar at the coveted Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in both 2012 and 2016, the only bar in the world to have won it twice.

Notable guests

The Connaught has hosted guests such as

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

, Charles de Gaulle, U.S. Admiral Alan G. Kirk,

Princess Grace of Monaco Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the t ...

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

, Lauren Bacall, Eric Clapton,

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

and Ralph Lauren. The hotel was a particular favourite of actor Sir Alec Guinness, who from the 1970s until shortly before his death in 2000 would often stay at the Connaught when working in London. A suite was always at his disposal and he would often entertain friends in the Grill or in a private dining room.Read, Piers Paul. (2003). ''Alec Guinness: The Authorised Biography''. Simon & Schuster UK Ltd. Pp. 423-424 The connaught hotel london exterior entrance

The connaught hotel london exterior entrance

References

External links

The Connaught website

Architect's summary of recent work

A history of The Connaught by cosmopolis.ch

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connaught, The Hotel buildings completed in 1815 Hotel buildings completed in 1897 Hotels in the City of Westminster Hotels established in 1837 Mayfair