Mandarin Oriental

This hotel is steeped in history and has many stories to tell!  The building was commissioned in the late 1880s but there was a delay to the commencement of the works as there was a fear that the height of the building would cast a shadow over the Serpentine.  Finally, in 1889 it opened as a block of apartments for successful bachelors, then in 1902 it opened as a hotel with its own private Royal Entrance.  

Many famous guests have graced this hotel and after the Second World War, it became the headquarters of the SAS.  The ballroom was used by Madame Vacani to teach Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret to dance as well as it being used for many glamorous parties.  The hotel even had Sir Winston Churchill as a resident for a while and the story is that he would offer room service waiters two cigars if they delivered him an early breakfast!

In June 2018 there was a fire at the hotel and thankfully no staff or guests were harmed but this meant that the hotel was temporarily closed for six months.

The hotel managed to be able to reopen the public areas including their bars and restaurants in time for Christmas 2018 and then in April 2019 it fully reopened and was ready to use and enjoy once more.