The Royal Horseguards Hotel is a five-star luxury hotel close to Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and London’s Theatreland. The Embankment’s location means that some rooms face the River Thames and have stunning views directly facing the London Eye and South Bank.
Heritage building
The late Victorian building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, whose architectural legacy in London includes the Romanesque-style Natural History Museum. Seen from across the Thames, many think the hotel looks like a fairytale French castle. The Renaissance Neo-Gothic Revival style looks even more impressive at night when the hotel is softly lit.
This impressive building was built in 1884 and is Grade II listed (which means it has special architectural significance and must be preserved).
The hotel is beautiful both inside and out and is often used as a filming location. He has appeared in several films, such as The Constant Gardener , the Bond films Octopussy and Skyfall , Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) , and the television shows Mr Selfridge and Downton Abbey .
Story
The building began life in 1884 as the National Liberal Club, near the heart of Westminster politics and the Houses of Parliament. In fact, the first stone in the cellars was laid by Sir William Gladstone, one of five members of the Club who went on to serve as Prime Minister.
From 1909, until his death in 1923, Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming was the first Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6. The offices were located on the eighth floor and there is a blue English Heritage plaque on the outside of the building. He was known as ‘C’ due to his habit of initializing documents he had read, and he always used green ink, something MI6 still does today.
During World War II, most of the building was taken over by government departments; the fifth floor was used by the Russian embassy, the sixth floor by the American embassy, and the seventh floor by the air training corps. Winston Churchill and others are said to have used secret tunnels inside the building through the basement at One Whitehall Place (next door), now the hotel’s event space.
The London Metropolitan Police had their headquarters next door until the 1960s and their telephone number was Whitehall 1212. This historic link is commemorated on behalf of the hotel’s British cuisine restaurant, One Twenty One Two.
The building was converted into a hotel in 1971 and expanded in 1985. Guoman Hotels acquired the hotel in 2008 and completed a major multi-million pound renovation to make it their flagship hotel in London. It has been rated 5 stars since 2009.
The hotel
The hotel is the perfect blend of old and new, celebrating a rich history still in tune with today. An immaculate heritage building with up-to-date technology, all rooms have Egyptian cotton bedding and a 32-inch plasma satellite TV. There is also free Wi-Fi, iPod docking stations with surround sound, and waterproof LCD TVs in all bathrooms. The luxurious bathrooms also have underfloor heating.
This is a large hotel with 282 rooms, including exclusive suites, many with magnificent views of the Thames.
In addition to the One Twenty One Two restaurant, there is the Equus night bar and afternoon tea in the lounge. Plus, the outdoor terrace is a hidden gem, perfect for alfresco dining in the summer or evening cocktails. And I could work it all out in the private gym on the eighth floor.
My review
Royal Horseguards is considered a family hotel so I wanted to put this to the test. I went to spend one night with my 9 year old daughter during a school break so we could also try the Royal Horseguards mini afternoon tea .
We stayed in an Executive River View Room on the 7th floor, which meant that our views of the Thames were exceptional.
The bed was huge and incredibly comfortable, which meant that even though you could hear traffic noise from the busy Embankment and the trains at Charing Cross Station, we both slept very well. I mention the sounds so you know how close the hotel is to the London background noise, but nothing was disturbing enough to disturb us.
We were at the end of a busy week of school holidays so I needed to rest and this really worked. Our room had two leather chairs where I sat and read magazines and a large desk area where I did a little work. There are electrical outlets next to the desk and couches, but not next to the bed.
The lighting in the room is controlled in panels by the door or by the bed to create ambient lighting or choose only bedside lamps.
The hotel knew he was bringing a child, so there was a teddy bear waiting on the bed and children’s toiletries as well. For younger visitors, they can provide high chairs, cots, and more.
I loved the separate shower area and deep bath, along with the Elemis toiletries. I had a long soak in a bubble bath at night and watched TV (yes, a TV next to the bathroom), then took an invigorating shower in the morning under a huge rain shower.
We enjoyed the buffet breakfast as there is a much broader choice than is usually found even in nice hotels: three milk options for cereal and the fresh fruit salad included fruit that I had never tried before. We had finished eating before noticing another room with even more buffet options.
Conclution
Whether for business or pleasure, Royal Horseguards is an excellent hotel. High standards mean that every guest should feel like a VIP. I will talk about this wonderful stay for a long time. Definitely recommended.
Dirección: The Royal Horseguards, 2 Whitehall Court, Whitehall, Londres SW1A 2EJ
Phone: 0871 376 9033
Official Website: www.theroyalhorseguards.com
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