History seeps from the partitions of the Old War Office in Whitehall, London, Winston Churchill’s former workplace.
Once the beating heart of Britain’s military empire, the headquarters from which among the most consequential decisions in modern U.K. history were made, the constructing is now forging a recent future as one among the capital’s leading luxury hotels: Raffles London.
A painstaking eight-year renovation has seen the Grade II* listed Edwardian Baroque constructing — situated on the location of the Palace of Whitehall and a stone’s throw from Downing Street — shake state secrets for mystique of one other kind, as the primary European location of the long-lasting Singaporean brand.
It is the magic combination: the constructing, the placement and the name, Raffles.
Fiona Harris
Communications director, Raffles London
“It is the magic combination: the constructing, the placement and the name, Raffles,” Fiona Harris, Raffles London’s communications director, told CNBC Travel.
The hotel’s opening last month marks a full circle moment for the Raffles brand, whose name and original location pay homage to Sir Stamford Raffles, the British diplomat who founded modern Singapore.
The constructing’s recent owner, the Hinduja Group, which purchased a 250-year lease from the Ministry of Defense in 2016, began as a trading company in colonial India in 1914 and is now a world conglomerate.
CNBC Travel took a tour of the £1.4 billion ($1.7 billion) redevelopment — here’s a take a look at its 100-year transition from control center of the British empire to luxury stable for international visitors to the U.K.
An emblem of British history
Originally built for the British Army between 1899 and 1906, the vast OWO constructing served as an embodiment of imperial influence at its height.
On the time, greater than 2,500 British army men and girls worked inside the constructing’s 1,100 rooms and two-and-a-half miles of corridors.
The Grade II listed Old War Office was built for the British Army in 1906 and is predicated on the location of the unique Palace of Whitehall, home to several former British monarchs, including Henry VIII.
Raffles London
That grandeur stays today under an intensive renovation by EPR Architects, through which much of the constructing’s original features have been restored.
Contained in the grand lobby, an Italian marble imperial staircase and double-tier chandelier do justice to a constructing that served because the birthplace of the British Secret Service and the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond series.
A recent Italian chandelier, whose design is claimed to symbolize international trade, was delicately installed by an organization that typically handles nuclear equipment.
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Above it, the primary floor features the balcony from which Churchill would address his staff, giving approach to the previous offices of assorted political and military heavyweights, including David Lloyd George and Lord Kitchener.
“This constructing would have been stuffed with state secrets,” Harris said.
The Old War Office was occupied by various political and military leaders, including wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. A reproduction of his desk and a bust is displayed within the Churchill Suite.
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Churchill’s own office — dubbed by Harris as “the room where all the massive decisions were made,” including the move to affix World War II and the choice behind the D-Day landings — is not any less grand in its recent life as a set, with a duplicate desk and bust of the previous prime minister.
Pivot to the long run
The Churchill suite is just one among the rooms reimaged in tribute to the constructing’s history by the late Thierry Despont, whose architectural accolades include the restoration of Recent York’s Statue of Liberty and the inside redesign of Manhattan’s residential skyscraper 220 Central Park South.
All in, the hotel houses 120 suites and rooms, including five heritage suites in the previous offices of political and military leaders, and eight corner suites named after notable women and feminine spies.
Raffles London is home to 120 rooms and suites, including eight corner suites named after notable women and feminine spies.
Raffles London
Meanwhile, deep underground, a three-floor excavation expands the constructing’s area by greater than a 3rd to 800,000 square feet, making way for a ballroom, a 65-foot swimming pool, and a Guerlain spa.
The addition of nine recent restaurants run by multi-Michelin star chefs, including three by Argentina’s Mauro Colagreco, aim to burnish the hotel’s credentials as a culinary epicenter for the town, while three recent bars seek to showcase the constructing’s unique history and site.
A 65-foot subterranean swimming pool at the center of Raffles London’s four-story spa, which incorporates nine Guerlain treatment rooms and a gym.
Raffles London
Guests on the Guards Bar and Lounge, for instance, can enjoy a major position from which to observe the famous changing of the guard ceremony while sipping a London Sling ($29), a gin and cherry cocktail inspired by its Singapore namesake.
Those searching for more discretion can go for the subterranean spy bar, situated in an old interrogation room, from where they’ll pay homage to the assorted spies whose secrets were held inside its partitions.
Saison, run by Argentine Michelin star chef Mauro Colagreco, is one among nine restaurants and three bars at Raffles London. It’s housed in the previous library where James Bond writer Ian Fleming used to put in writing.
Raffles London
And for non-paying guests, there’s a possibility to go to and tour the constructing on one among 11 annual open days — a component of the Ministry of Defense’s lease agreement.
“We’re flipping it on its head,” Harris said of the constructing that after required security clearance for admittance. “It doesn’t matter in case you’re super wealthy or you simply want to come back for coffee with a friend. It’s open to everyone,” she said.
London’s recent luxury wave
A stay at Raffles London isn’t with out a significant price tag. An evening in one among the hotel’s classic rooms costs around £1,100 ($1,340), while a stay in one among its five most exclusive suites will set guests back between £18,000 and £25,000 per night.
Those preferring to remain without end also can achieve this, budgeting upward of £8 million for one among 85 Raffles branded OWO residences. On the time of writing, around half of those units have already sold — to buyers from the U.S., China and the Middle East — though a five-bedroom penthouse priced at £100 million stays there for the taking.
A roll top bath takes center stage within the opulent bathroom of the Granville Suite, named after British spy Christine Granville.
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The hefty sums come as Britain’s economy and far of its population remain under financial pressure amid high inflation. And yet Raffles isn’t alone in betting big on London’s luxury market.
In September, one other £1 billion hotel, The Peninsula, opened on the corner of Hyde Park, and in the approaching months, a Mandarin Oriental, a Rosewood and a recent sister hotel to Claridge’s, The Emory, are all set to launch in exclusive pockets of the capital.
An art installation of suspended, fragmented poppies pays homage to the Royal British Legion, a charity for members and veterans of the British Armed Forces.
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OWO’s owner, Hinduja Group Chairman Gopichand Hinduja — who, incidentally, purchased the property in 2016 ahead of a Brexit-based downturn — said the investment showcased Britain’s long-term appeal as a luxury travel market.
“We do not go on short-term,” Hinduja told CNBC in July. “The U.K. is a vital country, and everybody loves to come back to London whether it’s for holiday or it’s for business.”
“We’ve converted that place into peace and solace,” Hinduja added of The OWO constructing. “It’s a singular, singular property. It’s a place of destination.”
The Granville Suite is one among five heritage suites at Raffles London, each occupying rooms which previously served as offices for a few of Britain’s leading politicians and military leaders.
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