Travel + Leisure - India & South Asia
THE HISTORIC HOTEL
The Belmond Cadogan, London
LONDON HAS SEEN A RUSH of high-end hotels springing up in historic buildings. Few, however, have been quite so keenly anticipated as the Belmond Cadogan. The Belmond brand’s first London property stands at a junction that divides two of London’s most affluent districts, Chelsea and Knightsbridge. As I approached the hotel, which occupies several Victorian buildings on a prominent corner, I was able to make out each of its component parts. First, the former Cadogan hotel, which was built in 1887—a wood-panelled, 64-room property that Belmond took over in 2014. Also part of the ensemble: a former bank and three adjoining town houses. It has taken $48 million and three years to turn this gorgeous stretch of prime London real estate into one luxury hotel.
There is evidence of historic pedigree everywhere you look: a blue plaque is dedicated to one-time resident Lillie Langtry, actress, socialite, and mistress of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). Oscar Wilde used to live in what was once Room 118 and is now part of the Royal Suite. There are nods, too, to Sir Hans Sloane—the naturalist and collector who in the 17th century established what later became the Cadogan Estate, on whose grounds the hotel sits—in the form of coral patterns on the carpets and a carefully chosen library of botanical books.
On my visit, winter sun streamed into the vast new entrance hall, where a grand central staircase leads up to the 54 rooms (most of which are suites). Chef Adam Handling of the Frog, in London’s trendy Hoxton area, presides over the restaurant, which has an open kitchen so diners can observe his team at work. The decor is as luxurious as you would expect: marble-heavy bathrooms, huge roll-top baths, and triple-glazed windows that ensure total insulation from the traffic below. My favourite touch was a wooden bath tray with a perch for my iPad and a slot for a glass of champagne. Doubles from ` 37,219; belmond.com.