The Athenaeum Hotel

This article is about the Athenaeum Hotel in London. For the Athenaeum Club in London, see Athenaeum Club, London.

The Athenaeum
Location within Central London
General information
Location	116 Piccadilly London, England W1J 7BJ
Coordinates	51°30′17″N0°8′51″W / 51.50472°N 0.14750°W / 51.50472; -0.14750
Opening	1973
Owner	Sir Richard Sutton Estates
Management	Ralph Trustees Limited
Design and construction
Developer	Rank Organisation
Other information
Number of rooms	162
Number of restaurants	1
Parking	none
Website
Athenaeumhotel.com

The Athenaeum is a family-owned ^[1] five-star hotel overlooking Green Park in Piccadilly, London.

History

Hope House was built at 116 Piccadilly in 1849–1850 by Henry Pelham-Clinton, the 6th Duke of Newcastle. The name Athenaeum first appears around 1864 when the house was bought by the Junior Athenaeum Club. The site was redeveloped in 1937, with the construction of an art deco apartment block, the Athenaeum Court. ^[2]

In 1971, The Rank Organisation purchased the Athenaeum Court. It re-opened as The Athenaeum Hotel in 1973, after being gutted and rebuilt. The hotel attracted guests including Steven Spielberg, Marlon Brando, Harrison Ford, Lauren Bacall, Liza Minnelli and Warren Beatty, through Rank's Hollywood links. Rank encouraged the stars of its films (including Elizabeth Taylor) to take up residence at the hotel whilst working on projects in England. The Hollywood Reporter observed that there were more movie stars to be seen in London's Athenaeum than in the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel.

In 1992, the Athenaeum was purchased by Ralph Trustees Limited, a family-run business who also own The Grove in Hertfordshire and the Runnymede Hotel & Spa near Windsor.

Sally Bulloch was the Executive Manager for over twenty years. ^{[3] [a]} The current General Manager Joanne Taylor Stagg took over in 2019. ^[4]

The Hotel has a dedicated Kid's Concierge service which takes care of children's needs and helps families to plan itineraries. The Athenaeum also provides age-appropriate toys to children upon arrival. ^[5]

The nearest tube station is Green Park. ^[6]

Awards

The hotel has 5 red stars and 2 red rosettes from the AA. ^[7]

The website travelandleisure.com put the Athenaeum in its list of the 500 best hotels in the world in 2008. ^[8]

Afternoon tea at the Athenaeum has received an Award of Excellence from the UK Tea Guild for Top London Afternoon Tea 2008. ^[9]

References

Footnotes

1. She was a child actress and her brother was Jeremy Bulloch best known for his portrayal of Boba Fett in the Star Wars original trilogy.

Citations

1. "Sir Richard Sutton Estates acquires the Athenaeum Hotel, Mayfair". 7 September 2015.
2. "History page of hotel website". Athenaeum Hotel. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
3. "Sally Bulloch's obituary". London: Telegraph. 21 April 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
4. "Joanne Taylor-Stagg to join the Athenaeum". 13 December 2018.
5. Murphy, Jennifer. "Family-Friendly Luxury Hotels". Forbes.
6. "Hotel location". Athenaeum Hotel's website. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
7. "Profile Page on AA website". AA. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
8. "T+L 500 Winner 2008". travelandleisure.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
9. "Top London Afternoon Tea 2008". UK Tea Guild. Retrieved 18 December 2008.

External links

• The Athenaeum website Archived 5 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine