Review: The Connaught

Set the scene

One of the very smartest hotel addresses in London, The Connaught Hotel’s energy crackles and fizzes from morning through night, with coming and goings, reunions, a hum of excitement and a permanent sense of occasion. In the welcoming, flower-garlanded reception hall, lashings of dark woods are polished to perfection, marble gleams and a grandiosely solid, gold-leaf-gilded mahogany staircase twists heavenward. You come here to be amidst beauty, to enjoy some of the best hotel menus in London, by the likes of Hélène Darroze and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, to feel part of a celebratory crowd and to have your head turned by art. A 3,000-plus-piece private collection distracts and bedazzles, lining the famed staircase and every other space besides. There’s a Graham Sutherland landscape here, a Barbara Hepworth lithograph or green-bronze Nick Fiddien piece there. There’s a Louise Bourgeois in The Red Room; a water installation by Tadao Ando outside the front door; and Damien Hurst in the Hélène Darroze flagship restaurant.

Backstory

The Connaught started life in 1815 as the The Prince of Saxe-Coburg Hotel, formed of two houses owned by the Duke of Westminster. In 1892, the two houses were rebuilt and “The Coburg” relaunched in 1897. In 1917, it was renamed The Connaught, after Queen Victoria’s seventh child Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. In 1940, French President General Charles de Gaulle checked in to conduct war meetings with US and British leaders. Since then, the hotel has gone through £70m facelifts and the addition of a new wing, Japanese Garden, Aman Spa and 1930s-inspired ballroom. And yet, it has retained its original spirit and identity: a feat no illustrious hotel group manages better than the Maybourne Group.

Location

The Connaught curves around the corner of Carlos Place just off Berkeley square, in the chi chi enclave of Mayfair Village, cheek by jowl with London’s nicest restaurants and shops. This is the otherworldly London of a Richard Curtis film.

Service

Personal. In spite of The Connaught’s obvious grandeur and heritage kudos, everyone is treated as equal by each member of staff with the deft service touch that the Maybourne Group pulls off so beautifully. Anything and everything is possible and can be achieved with a trademark, down-to-earth friendliness.

The rooms

A blend of heritage and contemporary creature comforts, the Connaught’s rooms (by Guy Oliver) are split between the original building and the 2007 Connaught Wing. They promise style, a soft landing, and, generally, a butler. As with the rest of the hotel, rooms and suites blend extreme comfort and modern convenience with antique beauty, atmosphere and brilliant art. Mini bars are disguised in Chinoiserie cabinets; bed heads are hand-embroidered; and the toto loo seats in the white-marble bathrooms exude a gentle heat. Even the hotel slippers are turbo-charged—chunkier and softer than average. The 2024-renovated grey-green or storm-cloud-blue Coburg Suites are the newest. Off the broad corridors of the original building, they have views over Carlos Place, with shining parquet and deep carpets underfoot, painted panelling, pretty cornices, delft-encrusted chimneypieces, heavy draped curtains and original art. There are mega-suite options. David Collins Studio’s The Apartment is on the rooftop, blue-grey in palette and stocked with limited-edition books and art, including a plaster chandelier by sculptor Philippe Anthonioz. The Mews is a light-filled private townhouse on three floors by Blair Associates Architecture with an outside terrace and a baby grand. The King’s Lodge was created by craftspeople and artisans from The Turquoise Mountain School in Kabul, Afghanistan, in honour of the 19th century Peacock Palace in the old city of Kabul. It launched in 2024 with the support of the King. Oak beams and panelling; walnut cabinetry and panelling; vaulted window seats and a four-poster said to be the first to have been carved in Kabul more than 100 years ago, conspire to create a completely different look.

Food and drink

Eating and drinking well is at the heart of a stay. Since 2017, renowned New York-based French chef Jean-Georges at The Connaught has been the fixture for informal and eclectic pan-Asian and pan-European with a French accent. The harmonious oval space overlooking Mount Street has a soothing palette of palest blues and greys, juxtaposed with Jean-Michel Othoniel’s sunny, stained-glass windows. It’s also where the astoundingly good breakfasts are served.

The Connaught Grill is a contemporary iteration of the 1955 Grill, loved by Bond author Ian Fleming. Interior architect John Heah’s refit focused on craftsmanship—he created, from the unremarkable rectangular space, something as discreet as its historic counterpart, with secluded, high-walled timber booths by bespoke woodworker Mira Nakashima that are perfect for nefarious deals and secret tete-a-tetes. Spanish executive chef Ramiro Lafuente Martinez presides over the refined meat-fest menu by Jean-Georges Vongerichten—the freshest of oysters, caviar and beef tartares, sharing steaks, chicken liver parfaits and Brixham Dover sole.

Three-Michelin-starred Hélène Darroze at The Connaught is the headline affair wrapped up in spacious interiors by Pierre Yovanovitch, salmon-hued with soft blonde-timber panelling. Seasonally grounded, it’s an evolving feast of progressive Frenchness, from Brittany pigeon to a whole menu dedicated to vol-au-vents.

The Connaught’s watering holes are equally iconic. The Connaught Bar (by David Collins Studio) is one of the best drinking spots in London, with ultra-attentive and jolly service, their famous Martini trolley and conversation and excitement bouncing off its silver-leafed walls.

The Coburg Bar buzzes with a zappy, more visible, businesses-like energy. If you start an affair at The Connaught Bar, you cut a deal at The Coburg. The Red Room by Bryan O’Sullivan is a modern bar for quiet loungers with an after- or pre-party feel, a striking Louise Bourgeois, “I Am Rouge”, on the wall, and rare vintages by the glass served from a marble trolley to vintage Italian and French tunes.

Tucked around the side of the building, dusty rose and baby pink hued The Connaught Patisserie by Nicolas Rouzaud is known for sublime pastries—morning croissants, fresh afternoon pasties arriving before Champagne hour, and celebratory cakes to take home. Cigar Merchants is a new, tucked-away space run by Adam Lajca, one of only 33 Masters of Havana Cigars in the world, for sampling one of the best cigar collections in the capital. Bryan O’Sullivan Studio’s jazz-hop-piped design includes a Swiss extraction system to purify the air.

Spa and Wellbeing

In the subterranean levels you’ll find The Connaught’s black granite pool,

meditative waterfall wall and dinky Aman spa. The distant rumble of the Central line is a reminder that the real world lurks outside this cosseted haven. Aman Signature treatments range from “Grounding”, to “Purifying” and “Nourishing”. Grounding might include a Ku Nye full-body massage inspired by ancient Tibetan healing traditions that stimulates the meridian system, acupressure, kneading, deep-tissue techniques and a Tibetan head massage. There are also deep-tissue massages, facials, keravive scalp treatments, reiki, acupuncture, osteopathy, cranio-sacral therapy and nutrition consultations.

Accessibility

The hotel has a selection of accessible room options split between the new and old parts of the building, ramp access via The Connaught Bar, and a team on standby to cater to all disabilities and requests.

Eco Effort

All Maybourne London hotels are powered by 100% renewable electricity, and a solar power farm in Essex is underway. They are working towards a recycling rate of 90 percent across the hotels. Airport transfers with EV electric cars are optional.

Families

Kids get special welcome treatments, activity books, robes and slippers, swimming hours, menus, 24-room service, childminding, and a doctor on call—and parents get a cots and highchairs and other baby trappings they need. Children’s books and board games, Wii and family films are available on request.