Connaught Hotel Hélène Darroze at the Connaught Michelin starred restaurant, Mayfair London. Photo:Jeff Gilbert
The hotel first opened in 1815 as the Prince of Saxe Coburg Hotel,[1] an offshoot of a hotel opened by Alexander Grillon in Albemarle Street, Mayfair, and was originally a pair of Georgian houses in Charles Street, near Grosvenor Square. The 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 duly reopened. In 1917, during World War I, the decision was made to change the name to The Connaught. The name chosen was that of Queen Victoria’s 3rd son, Prince Arthur, the first Duke of Connaught. In 1935, Rudolph Richard, a young Swiss hotelier, became general manager of The Connaught and ran the hotel almost as an English private house, with the highest standards of comfort and service. In 1956, The Connaught was acquired by the Savoy Group, owners of Claridge's, The Berkeley and the Savoy Hotel in London. In 2005, the Savoy Group, including the Connaught, was sold to Quinlan Private, which sold off the Savoy Hotel and Savoy Theatre and renamed the group Maybourne Hotel Group. In March 2007, The Connaught closed its doors for a £70 million restoration programme, described as a 'contemporary interpretation' rather than re-creation. Guy Oliver (designer) 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, conceirge 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, all of the public spaces and function rooms .
Size: 2911px × 4367px
Location: Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, Connaught Hotel, Mayfair London, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © Jeff Gilbert / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: chef, connaught, cuisine, darroze, decor, gastronomic, helene, hotel, london, luxury, mayfair, michelin, michelin-starred, restaurant, éène
