Hotel Café Royal

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

HOTEL DETAILS

HOTEL CAFÉ ROYAL

+44 20 7406 3333‎

www.hotelcaferoyal.com

Hotel Café Royal is a luxury 5-star hotel in the heart of central London. With elegant Mayfair to the west, and creative Soho to the east, it is perfectly positioned within walking distance of London’s finest shopping destinations, culinary highlights, and cultural attractions. Paying homage to the history of the building, grand historic areas have been sensitively restored and a selection of restaurants, bars, and events spaces stand tribute to the rich heritage of excellent hospitality and dining. In its reincarnation this iconic London landmark now features 160 contemporary guestrooms; including 54 suites and seven signature suites.

A guest room at Hotel Café Royal

What was the design inspiration for Hotel Café Royal?

The idea behind the hotel was to compose something beautiful. The old heritage building is marked by its Portland Stone, and located on the iconic Regent Street; one of the few grand alleys in London. The sheer grandeur of the building was our inspiration. Through the use of the most precious materials we modernised the interior of the building, while carefully maintaining the heritage of the building. It is tension of old and new, modernity and heritage, opulence and minimalism that defines this beautiful hotel.

What is unique about your property?

We are a modern Grand Hotel. You find old school elements but executed in a fresh way. Our approach to design is unique, as illustrated by our restaurants and bars throughout the hotel. We also have a unique belief in wellbeing, which you will find at our Spa and Wellbeing centre, ‘Akasha’. We also hope that you find our people and service unique. We genuinely strive to make our guests feel better, which can be done in many ways; a small gesture, a great meal, an interesting drink, inspiration through our design proposition or current art exhibition in our private member’s club, or perhaps a holistic experience at Akasha.

What was important about having Frette in your property?

We have a strong passion for quality, tradition, and design. These are beliefs that are deeply embedded within the hotel, and as such, Frette was an obvious choice when looking for a partner for our bedlinen and towels. Frette portrays values in its world that we look to portray in ours.

Hotel Café Royal exterior and salon

Frette adds beauty to our rooms through its look, its feel, and the quality of the linen. Those little details are ever so important and make a world of difference.

How does the Frette product add to the design of the hotel?

Frette adds beauty to our rooms through its look, its feel, and the quality of the linen. Those little details are ever so important and make a world of difference. We feel we are aligned with Frette.

What are the most important decorative elements in your home?

It took us over a year to restore our house and we paid great attention in order to respect the Victorian period that it's from; from the floors, to the fireplaces to the fabrics and the shape of the furniture. It's all very personal. I love our custom made rosewood dining table as we helped design it. I also very much enjoy putting art together. I firmly believe that it doesn't always have to be the most expensive thing that makes a home beautiful: everyone should have confidence in their own tastes and instincts.

If you only have 72 hours in London, what would you recommend doing or seeing?

Check into the Hotel Café Royal. Now you have the three most interesting neighbourhoods of London at your fingertips; Mayfair, Soho, and St James.
Start with Mayfair on day one during the day. Explore Savile Row, enjoy the variety of Bond Street. Walk through all the little side streets via Berkeley square up to Mount Street and discover Mayfair village. Go to Thomas Goode on South Audley Street and lunch at Scott's. The afternoon is for art galleries, they are all there - Gagosian, Philips to name the big ones but explore the smaller ones all over Mayfair as well.
Then come back to the hotel for a treatment in Akasha.
The evening should be reserved for Soho. Enjoy one of the new contemporary restaurants, like Palomar, or the Soho Classics like QUO Vadis, Gauthier, L'Escargot, there are so many... just walk through Soho and allow it to take you away.
Day 2
St James; the ladies can discover Fortnum and Mason, the gentlemen can treat themselves to a shave at Trumpers. Pick up some shoes at John Lobb. Visit the London library at St James square, followed by lunch at 45 Jermyn Street, or treat yourself to oysters and Dover sole at Wilton's.
The afternoon I would look at Dover Street Market for some creative inspiration and visit the Royal Academy of Arts. Maybe a cup of tea, Viennoiseries, and a glass of bubbly at the Wolseley.
Back to the hotel, a swim and work out in Akasha.
One night has to be a very London night, so either one of these exclusive restaurants and trendy places like the Chiltern firehouse, Arts Club, Zuma or one with a great view like Hutong, or Oblix at the Shard.
Day 3
I would recommend venturing east a bit; discover Borough Market, walk along the Southbank, visit the Tate Modern, walk over the Millennium bridge, and see St. Paul's. Go further east into Shoreditch, eat some street food, see and smell Brick Lane. It all depends on your taste, but the east is vast so there is generally something for everyone. Dinner in the evening at the Clove Club.
So there are 72 hours in London, and we have only scratched the surface...