The Connaught is a five-star luxury hotel located on the corner of Carlos Place and Mount Street in Mayfair, London.[1] Established in the early 19th century, it has changed hands several times. The hotel is currently owned and managed by the Maybourne Hotel Group.[2]
The hotel first opened in 1815 as the Prince of Saxe-Coburg Hotel,[3] an offshoot of Grillion's Hotel that had been established by Alexander Grillion in Albemarle Street, Mayfair. It was originally a pair of Georgian houses in Charles Street, near Grosvenor Square. The 1st Duke of Westminster decided to redevelop the area, and the street was changed, becoming Carlos Place. In 1892, the hotel's owner applied to rebuild it, but work did not start until two years later, when the original houses were demolished.[4]
In 1897, the Coburg Hotel was reopened. In 1917, during the First World War, a decision was made to change the name to the less-German "Connaught". The name was taken from the title of Queen Victoria's third son, Prince Arthur, the first Duke of Connaught.
In 1935, Rudolph Richard, a young Swiss hotelier, became general manager of The Connaught and ran the hotel almost as an English private house, with the highest standards of comfort and service. In 1956, The Connaught was acquired by the Savoy Group, owners of Claridge's, The Berkeley and the Savoy Hotel in London. In 1998, the Savoy Group was sold to Blackstone Group and Colony Capital.[5]
In April 2004, the Savoy Group, including The Connaught, was sold to a group of Irish investors led by Derek Quinlan.[5] In January 2005, the group was renamed Maybourne, a separate management company, which retained The Berkeley, Claridge's and The Connaught.[6]
Restoration
In March 2007, The Connaught closed for a £70 million restoration programme, described as a "contemporary interpretation". Guy Oliver was the lead designer of the restoration, refurbishment and redecoration of the old hotel, completing a total of 88 rooms and suites (including The Prince's Lodge, The Eagles Lodge and The Sutherland and Somerset Suites) as well as the restoration and redecoration of the main staircase, new lifts, concierge and public areas, L'Espelette Restaurant and The Georgian and Regency Rooms. Immediately after this work was completed he designed a further 31 rooms and suites in the new addition to the hotel, a terrace penthouse, and all of the public spaces and function rooms, including the Ballroom, Maple Oak and Silver Rooms. The Maybourne Hotel Group stated that they intended to preserve the traditional values for which the hotel is known. The chef was Angela Hartnett,[7] but she was later replaced by French chef Hélène Darroze.
The hotel reopened in December 2007 with fewer rooms than usually available; development continued throughout 2008 when The Connaught Bar, designed by David Collins, opened.[8] The hotel also has a swimming pool and Asian-inspired spa managed in conjunction with Aman Resorts.[9] Other changes included a new Espelette Restaurant, with a covered terrace, which was replaced by Jean-Georges at The Connaught in 2017,[10] and the Coburg Bar, then managed by Andreas Cortes, who later became the hotel's director of food and beverage.[11]
In 2021, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught was awarded three Michelin stars in the Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland.[23]The restaurant retained its three stars each year from 2022 to 2026.[24][25][26][27][28]
In October 2020, the hotel opened a patisserie on Mount Street, selling cakes made by executive pastry chef Nicolas Rouzaud and his team.[29] It was renamed Nicolas Rouzaud at The Connaught in 2025.[30]
The Connaught Bar is run by mixologist Agostino Perrone, which has received several international awards including World's Best Cocktail Bar at the coveted Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in both 2012 and 2016, the only bar in the world to have won it twice.[31] In 2021, The Connaught opened a new bar, the Red Room, featuring artwork by Louise Bourgeois and Jenny Holzer, and stained glass windows by Brian Clarke.[32] In 2023, the Connaught Bar placed 5th on The World's 50 Best Bars list.[33]
↑'Mount Street and Carlos Place: Mount Street: North Side', Survey of London: volume 40: The Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings) (1980), pp. 321-326. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42158 Date accessed: 17 July 2010.
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