Opposite London’s 18th century Horse Guards building, a stone’s throw from 10 Downing St. and Trafalgar Square, the new 112-room Raffles Hotel at The OWO (The Old War Office) has been the most exciting London hotel development in a generation. Opened in the fall of 2023, the first United Kingdom property for Raffles Hotels & Resorts is now beyond a doubt the most thrilling historic hotel in the capital.
Superlatives are somehow not enough for The OWO. Commissioned in 1899 and opened in 1906 as the British Army’s new headquarters, The OWO was made of 25 million bricks, 26,000 tons of Dorset West of England stone and 50 acres of plasterwork. The most exceptional thing about it today is that almost everything you see – bar curtains, carpets and soft furnishings – is original.
The exceptions are new bedroom suites – designed by the late Thierry Despont, who sadly died one month before the hotel opened – and the majestic Murano glass chandelier above the grand staircase, designed by Idogi of Venice. It represents the two hemispheres and the great Venetian and British trading empires. The small balcony above the staircase was where Winston Churchill would stand to address his staff when he was Secretary of State for War in 1920-21 (and again, when he was Secretary of State for War in 1939, before becoming Prime Minister in 1940). Roll the clock back to 1522 and the time of Henry VIII, and this 27-acre site was part of the Palace of Whitehall, which burnt down in a fire in 1698. Still, Tudor and modern history come alive here.
Back to the present day and the original piano nobile (second floor) offices now house the hotel’s epic “heritage” suites. One is the magnificent Haldane Suite, named for the Scottish Liberal Richard Burdon Haldane, first Viscount Haldane, who was a Secretary of State for War, a great supporter of the suffragists and founder of the London School of Economics.
The Granville Suite, formerly the levee rooms, where the professional head of the British Army would have had his office, is named for the Polish aristocrat Krystyna Skarbek, known as Christine Granville, who at the outbreak of World War II wanted to support the Allies and became an agent of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) – reportedly becoming Churchill’s favorite spy. (Working behind enemy lines, especially in occupied Poland, Granville used to ski across the mountains into Allied territory, taking microfilm containing Nazi secrets stitched into her gloves. She would have her cyanide tablet stitched into the hem of her skirt, a hunting bow strapped to her thigh and was allegedly able to calm the Gestapo’s Alsatians, as she had grown up on a farm and was used to horses and dogs.)
Other suites are named after notable women and female spies connected with the history of The OWO, such as the American-born Nancy Astor, the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons, Clementine Churchill (Winston’s wife) and many brave WWII operatives.
My own suite, number 319, while admittedly more modest, was nevertheless vast, a powder room and a living room leading to a magnificent bedroom and dressing area, with views over Whitehall and the statue of Field Marshal HRH George William Frederick Charles, the second Duke of Cambridge. In the beautiful lacquered cupboard, I found Mozzo coffee, fine British teas and bone china cups and saucers, as well as a china teapot. In the sparkling, marble bathroom, there were top of the line Lefroy Brooks hardware and Raffles’ specially commissioned “1906” products, made by La Bottega–Trecastelli in Italy, the soap a heady blend of vetiver, sandalwood and neroli.
New, beautiful elevators – mimicking older ones – have been installed to conform to modern standards but throughout the building, corridors are broad because, back in the day, Boy Scouts would have actually cycled along them, delivering their various messages to individual offices.
Of course, a hotel of this size and stature needs an outstanding food and beverage program, and with its nine restaurants and three bars, Raffles is no slouch. You could stay here for months and never eat the same meal twice. Of the cuisine I sampled during my short stay, I especially enjoyed a superb smoked salmon club sandwich in the Drawing Room washed down with a glass of Pol Roger (Churchill’s favorite Champagne). A magnificent, Mediterranean-inspired breakfast at Saison, one of three restaurants at the hotel run by Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco, set me up for the day while after-dinner drinks in the subterranean Spy Bar – with its links to James Bond creator Ian Fleming, who along with Secret Service personnel once worked in the building – introduced a note of glamour and mystery. Yes, that’s a real Aston Martin DB5 above the bar – or, I should say, half of one.
But the biscuit, so to speak, went to Colagreco’s eponymous fine dining restaurant, which the hotel is calling “a dining experience of theater and beauty” and “a creative take on the British terroir.” They’re legitimate claims: From the first “snack” on Colagreco’s tasting menu, apple and celeriac on a cracker sitting on a bed of flowers, to the shimmering white halibut in vin jaune and grilled lamb with stuffed brassica leaf among the main courses, you know you are in supremely talented hands. Colagreco’s Mirazur restaurant in Menton in the South of France already holds three Michelin stars, and you feel it won’t be very long before stars rain down on his new London establishment, too.
Other places to eat and drink, meanwhile, include Pillar Kitchen, a wellness-focused restaurant that goes beyond healthy food and The Guards Bar and Lounge, which honors The OWO’s historic connections with the Household Cavalry, with a focus on British ingredients entwined with flavors from the East.
If my jaw hadn’t dropped already at The OWO, it did when I toured its state-of-the-art Guerlain Spa, which spans 27,000 square feet over four floors. That’s bigger than Gracie Mansion. These include a cutting-edge gym and movement studio, a vitality pool and steam and sauna rooms. Nine exquisitely designed treatment suites are also available, including three spacious VIP Spa Suites and L’Atelier Guerlain men’s and women’s hair salons.
Last but not least, Raffles boasts a stunning 20-meter (22-yard) indoor swimming pool. Surrounded by luxurious loungers, I can honestly say it is one of the most stunning hotel pools I have ever seen.
Churchill, a keen bather himself, would certainly have approved.
For more, visit raffles.com.
