Architecture, design, comfort, hospitality and service. These are the pillars of a fabulous hotel, and this year, The Lanesborough shows just what it takes to become Hotel of the Year, rising to the top.
On the 26th of September, The Lanesborough was named Hotel of the Year at the prestigious AA Hospitality awards. The glittering awards ceremony was held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London, and hosted by none other than the much-loved TV presenter Claudia Winkleman.
The Lanesborough is one of the most beautiful examples of Regency architecture found anywhere in Britain. One of London’s most iconic buildings, it overlooks Hyde Park Corner and is adjacent to the grounds of Buckingham palace, straddling Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Mayfair in an unbeatable postcode.
Long before The Lanesborough became a monarch of London's hotel scene, the Neoclassical mansion began its lifespan in 1719 as an elegant country home belonging to James Lane, the second and last Viscount Lanesborough. It later became St George’s Hospital, before its transformation into a five-star hotel in 1991 under the Rosewood group.
The Lanesborough reopened in July 2015 under the prestigious Oetker Collection group after a major two-year renovation project by the late, great interior designer, Alberto Pinto. The hotel comprises 93 rooms and suites including the Royal Suite, the largest suite in London, with seven bedrooms and bathrooms, two living rooms, and a dining room.
All guest rooms are complete with 24/7 private butler service, to serve your every need during your stay. Now that’s class!
Guests can choose to dine-in at The Lanesborough Grill, with award winning Chef Shay Cooper at the helm of the hotel’s flagship restaurant, serving a seasonal, modern British à la carte menu. Here, you will find an extravagantly decorated dining room, naturally illuminated during the day by a domed glass roof while softly lit chandeliers leave the tables underneath aglow.
With a Michelin Star already under his belt from two previous venues, Chef Cooper aims to impress with his food that champions the very best of regional artisans and seasonal produce. Signature dishes include their Coronation Crab Salad, Beef Wellington and Dover Sole.
After your lavish meal, why not journey to The Lanesborough Club & Spa, an exclusive wellness, fitness, and lifestyle members’ club for the modern Londoner in a ‘luxury club for life’. Spread over 18,000 ft, it offers a 360 degrees integrated approach to wellbeing, and delivers a variety of excellent, innovative spa treatments, in careful collaboration with resident experts who are ‘best in class’ in their respective fields.
Upon receiving the award, Stuart Geddes, Managing Director of the Lanesborough, said: “I am both thrilled and honoured to be accepting this award on behalf of all the team at The Lanesborough and the wider Oetker Collection Group. We have been on an incredible journey at the hotel since joining in 2019 and I am extremely proud of all the things that we have achieved commercially to date. The incredible levels of guest service, that the team tirelessly deploy to deliver on a daily basis, can be clearly seen by our exceptional return guest ratio, the volume of first-time guests wanting to try the hotel, and our growth in the British market, which has been a core strategy in the past years to build our reputation in this highly competitive market in London. Our guests don’t see The Lanesborough as a luxury hotel – they see it as their home.”
Trust that this hotel will be continuing on their legacy as one of the best hotels in the world, surpassing our expectations of luxury and hospitality.