Brown's Hotel

Brown's Hotel
Location within Central London
General information
Location 33 Albemarle Street, Mayfair, London
Coordinates 51°30′33″N 0°8′33″W / 51.50917°N 0.14250°W / 51.50917; -0.14250
Opened 1837
Owner Rocco Forte Hotels
Management Rocco Forte Hotels
Technical details
Floor count 5
Other information
Number of rooms 115
Number of suites 33
Number of restaurants 2
Parking Valet parking
Website
Brown's Hotel

Brown's Hotel is a hotel in London, established in 1837[1] and owned by Rocco Forte Hotels since 3 July 2003.

History

Brown's Hotel was founded in 1837, by James and Sarah Brown.

Historian John Lothrop Motley stayed at the hotel in 1874, as shown in a letter he wrote on June 17 of that year, to Dutch historian Groen van Prinsterer.[2] Celebrated Victorian writers Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, JM Barrie and Bram Stoker were also all regular visitors.[3] The hotel has also hosted Alexander Graham Bell (who made the first phone call in Europe from the hotel); Theodore Roosevelt; Napoleon III; Empress Eugenie;[3] Elizabeth, Queen of the Belgians; Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia; George II, King of the Hellenes; Cecil Rhodes; Rudyard Kipling; Agatha Christie; and Stephen King. While Brown's has been described as the inspiration hotel for Christie's At Bertram's Hotel,[3] the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says Christie's model was a different Mayfair hotel, Fleming's.[4]

The hotel came under the management of Rocco Forte Hotels on July 3, 2003, having once been operated by Raffles International Hotels. During 2004–2005, the hotel underwent a £24 million refurbishment and re-opened in December 2005.[3]

Interior

The Brown's Hotel is noted for its traditional English Victorian sophistication fused with a contemporary feel.[3] The bedrooms are designed by Olga Polizzi and combine modern features with traditional furnishing and are all individually decorated. The standard rooms are 30 to 50 square metres in size with the suites being 60 to 168 square metres.[3]

The hotel has several restaurants and bars including The Restaurant at Brown's (formerly The Albemarle then HIX Mayfair), an informal A La Carte restaurant which serves seasonal British cuisine, The Brown’s English Tea Room which has served afternoon tea and light snacks since the mid nineteenth century and The Donovan Bar, named after the British photographer Terence Donovan and is lined with over 50 of his black and white prints.[3] The bar is furnished with wooden floors, black leather seating and dark country check banquettes. In one corner are "naughty" adult-oriented photographs and a table for 12.[3] The bar serves over sixty cocktails and thirty wines and Champagnes. The hotel has six private dining and meeting rooms, which can accommodate up to 72 guests for a lunch or dinner or up to 120 people for a reception.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Brown's celebrates its 175th anniversary". The Handbook. 28 December 2012. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014.
  2. ↑ Nationaal Archief (National Archives), The Hague, Collection 043 Groen van Prinsterer, 1810–1876, access number 2.21.006.43, inventory number 124
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "BBC R4: Five Meet to Make Up Myths]".
  4. ↑ Morgan, Janet (Oct 2008). "Christie, Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa (1890–1976)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn (subscription required). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 25 November 2012.

Coordinates: 51°30′33″N 0°08′33″W / 51.50917°N 0.14250°W / 51.50917; -0.14250

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