Princess Kate Stayed Here! Inside the Royals' Favorite Hotel in London
I’ll admit it…I’m fascinated with Duchess Kate.
Luckily, I’m not alone — hundreds of millions of people watched her wedding to Prince William in April 2011. Each outfit worn by one of her children is immediately placed on back order. Every decision she makes, from hairstyle to vacation spot, is highly scrutinized.
If you’re The Goring Hotel, where Duchess Kate got her last non-regal zzz’s the night before she went from commoner to HRH, you’re also bound to get your fair share of royally-obsessed scrutiny. However, while The Goring zoomed to the top of international consciousness following William and Kate’s wedding, it was already one of the world’s best luxury stays.
So, when I had the chance to visit recently following a seven year, multi-million pound renovation—not to mention tour the Royal Suite where Kate stayed the night before the wedding—I jumped!
The location
The exclusive area of Belgravia is located in West London. (Photo: Corbis)
Steps away from Buckingham Palace in Belgravia—literally just around the corner from the Palace’s back gardens—The Goring Hotel is also a short walk to the Victoria tube, train, and coach stations. While the neighborhood is quiet at night, some of London’s top attractions are minutes away by cab or tube.
The property
The Goring opened in 1910 at the height of the Edwardian era, and its bygone charms still resonate today. While London is hardly wanting for hotels steeped in royal history—there’s Claridge’s, The Savoy, The Dorchester (the list goes on)—The Goring is the only hotel to have a royal warrant for hospitality from The Queen. It’s also London’s only Relais and Chateaux hotel.
(Photo: The Goring)
Equally noteworthy—it’s the only five-star hotel in London that’s still run by the original family who built it, with owner Jeremy Goring carrying on the family tradition started by his great-grandfather Otto. The lack of corporate gloss is a huge plus: it feels like you’re a guest at a friend’s insanely glamorous country house. There’s a homey feel to The Goring, where staff greet you by name, and photos of the owner and his family hang opposite the elevators on the hand-painted zoo murals (more on those in a second).
The renovation
The dining room at The Goring Hotel. (Photo: The Goring Hotel)
The Goring’s renovation helped smooth rough edges, giving the grand dame a facelift and making an already lovely hotel even prettier. To ensure the hotel never had to be closed for more than a few weeks in early 2015, a rolling renovation of the entire property took place over seven years. The rooms and suites were redone, the garden re-landscaped, and the dining room, bar and lounge all redesigned by a team including David Lindley (Princess Margaret’s son), Nina Campbell, Tim Gosling, and Russell Sage.
The front hall and ground floor have been completely outfitted in hand-painted Fromental wallpaper that’s whimsically, quintessentially The Goring — there are monkeys on horseback, bejewelled walruses, raj elephants, and a lion battling a unicorn. (It’s more elegant and less trippy than it sounds, I promise.) Iconic features like the turn-of-the-century lift are still there, while the old gentleman’s cloakroom is now inlaid with black and white marble.
The royal history
While the staff at The Goring is too discrete to spill any royal gossip, it’s well-known that The Queen visits from time to time. The Queen Mother was a regular (she was obsessed with the Eggs Drumkilbo), while the Queen’s grandmother, Queen Mary, also came frequently for tea. And rumors still persist of a secret tunnel connecting the hotel to Buckingham Palace, though when Prince Harry snuck out of the garden party the night before William and Kate’s wedding, it was through the hidden entrance onto Eaton Lane.
The rooms
The Belgravia room. (Photo: The Goring Hotel)
With only 69 rooms and suites spread out on five floors, there’s literally not a bad room in the house. The Goring has the feel of a country estate, with guests getting a set of massive gold keys to unlock each door. I judge hotels by the quality of their bathrooms: I’ve stayed in some “five-star” properties with rickety sinks and way-too-old-to-be-charming tubs. Not so at The Goring, where all the marble-lined bathrooms have been renovated, and the bathtubs are large enough for two. The Goring was also the first hotel in the world to have both a bathroom in every room and central heating.
The royal suite
Guests get a grand piano and a grand view in the royal suite. (Photo: The Goring Hotel)
Taking up an entire half-floor overlooking the gardens, the royal suite is where Kate, Pippa, and Carole Middleton slept the night before the wedding. It has two bedrooms—each with French windows looking onto a private balcony overlooking the gardens and lined with the same silk from the first class dining room of the Titanic—two marble bathrooms, a massive sitting room, a dining room that seats up to six, and a grand piano.
The eye-popping master bathroom is worth the price of admission alone—if you can afford the $13,400 per night price tag, that is. It’s sunken to the side of the bedroom, accessible via five steps down into the floor-to-ceiling marble cave. The bathtub itself is enormous and inviting, but the real star of the show is a life-sized portrait of Queen Victoria, hidden behind a glass case inside the massive shower.
There are also a variety of delights hidden around the room, Easter-egg-style, like a military jacket behind plexiglass in the wardrobe, a handwritten postcard from Queen Victoria’s great-granddaughter Helena Victoria inside a drawer, and antiques like books, glasses, decanters, clocks, and statues aplenty.
Where to eat and drink
Afternoon tea at The Goring Hotel. (Photo: The Goring)
Afternoon tea is a very serious British ritual, and the Bollinger champagne tea at The Goring is legendary. (It’s won numerous awards, including The British Tea Guild Council’s Top London Afternoon Tea Award. You see? No funny business here.) Tea is served either in the gardens, the lounge, or the veranda between 3pm and 4pm, and reservations must be made in advance.
Expect not just tea, but finger sandwiches, scones, pastries, and the Queen Mum’s favorite egg and lobster confection, all washed down with champagne.
Michelin-chef Shay Cooper helms The Dining Room, which is all about locally-sourced British food. Think Cornish fish, Clarence Court eggs, Romney Marsh lamb, and Scottish girolles.
What I loved
Every room comes with a personal footman. (Photo: The Goring Hotel)
It’s easily one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed in—and yet there was zero pretention. From the desk manager to the barman to the bellhops, everybody was warm, welcoming, and super down-to-earth.
Also a plus: my footman (every guest gets one!) brought up private cocktails on a silver tray so my friend and I could enjoy drinks in my room. The new footman service also includes perks like having your bath drawn, or arranging photos in your room for you before you arrive so you feel even more at home.
The hotel has a sense of humor, which is clearly evident in the lobby’s wallpaper menagerie. Meanwhile, each night a stuffed sheep was placed on my bed in a different position—once offering me chocolates, another time cuddling the TV remote.
A friendly companion awaits your arrival at The Goring Hotel. (Photo: The Goring Hotel)
Speaking of those beds, they’re so plush and comfortable that you’ll definitely need to set an alarm clock.
Oh, and wi-fi is free.
What I didn’t love
Honestly, there was nothing I didn’t love. It’s a wonderful, whimsical hotel, and I can’t wait to bring my family there next time we’re all in London together. Maybe next time we’ll get lucky and have a Duchess sighting—keep me posted on your plans, Kate.
How much it costs
Rooms range from about $480 a night for the Delightful Queen rooms to $13,400 for the Royal Suite.
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