The Dorchester is a five-star hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in Westminster, Greater London, to the east of Hyde Park, one of the world’s most prestigious hotels. It opened on 18 April 1931, and still retains its 1930s furnishings and ambiance, despite later alterations.
Throughout its history, the hotel has been associated with the rich and famous. During the 1930s, it became known as a haunt of writers and artists such as poet Cecil Day-Lewis, novelist Somerset Maugham, and the painter Alfred Munnings. It has held prestigious literary gatherings, such as the “Foyles Literary Luncheons”, an event the hotel still hosts today. During the Second World War, the strength of its construction gave the hotel the reputation of being one of London’s safest buildings, and some politicians and military leaders chose it as their London residence. Princess Elizabeth was at the Dorchester the day before her engagement to Philip Mountbatten was announced on 10 July 1947. The hotel has long been popular with film actors, models, and rock stars; Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton often stayed at it during the 1960s and 1970s. It became a Grade II Listed Building in January 1981 and in 1985 was bought by the Sultan of Brunei. It now belongs to the Dorchester Collection, owned by the Brunei Investment Agency.
In the 1950s, the stage set designer Oliver Messel made changes to the interior of the hotel. Between 1988 and 1990, it was completely renovated at a cost of $100 million by Bob Lush of the Richmond Design Group.
Today, the Dorchester has five restaurants: The Grill, Alain Ducasse, The Spatisserie, The Promenade, and China Tang. Alain Ducasse‘s restaurant is one of the UK’s five 3-Michelin-starred restaurants. Afternoon tea, a tradition at the hotel since it opened in 1931, is served every day of the week at five in the afternoon in The Promenade and the Spatisserie. Harry Craddock, a well-known barman in the 1930s, invented the “Dorchester of London” cocktail here at the Dorchester Bar. A well-lit plane tree stands in the front garden and was named as one of the Great Trees of London by the London Tree Forum and Countryside Commission in 1997.
