Luxury Hotels in Central London - Brown's Hotel

First Class Historic Hotel situated in the heart of the West End

Oct 4, 2008

Situated in Mayfair, Central London, Brown's Hotel has a reputation for quintessentially English elegance. It also has a long list of distinguished and famous guests.

London's history lives in the places like Brown's hotel, where Queen Victoria occasionally would eat. Brown's inspired Agatha Christie's book, At Bertram's Hotel. American Presidents Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt each stayed here, as did Winston Churchill, among many famous and powerful guests.

History of Brown's Hotel

Up until the mid 19th century there were no hotels in London in a form that we would recognize today. Previously, apartments were rented by the month, rather than by the night and for those who could not afford them there were boarding houses or rooms above taverns. However, in 1837 James and Sarah Brown, a couple who had formerly been valet and maid to Lord and Lady Byron, saw a need for something more satisfactory for transient visitors.

Brown's Hotel - The American Connection

The hotel was sold in 1859 to the Ford family, the famous car manufacturers, who modernised the hotel with proper bath tubs, gentleman's smoking room, electric lights, elevators,and the first London hotel to have its own on-site restaurant which changed the whole nature of hotel dining. Previously, guests would have hired individual suites and dined privately.

Thirty years later in 1889 the family purchased the hotel to the rear of the property, the St Georges Hotel. The two hotels were knocked into one and a fifth floor was added to the building. On the stucco facade of the new building were placed two panels of gold and blue mosaic bearing the names of Brown’s and St. George’s. They are still in place today.

The two American presidents with the name of Roosevelt stated here: Franklin spent his honeymoon at Brown's in 1905 and Theodore stayed here in 1886 prior to his second marriage. A copy of the marriage certificate still hangs in the hotel today. The occupation of the future President of the United States is given simply as ‘ranchman’.

Over the years famous people from around the world have stayed at Browns. One of them was Alexander Graham Bell who, in 1876, visited London to promote his invention of the telephone to the British government. It was from this luxury hotel in central London that Bell made Britain’s first ever phone call, using a private telegraph line installed between the hotel and the Ford’s household in Ravenscourt Park about five miles away.

Rudyard Kipling completed The Jungle Book at Brown’s and Agatha Christie spent many afternoons tucked away on a corner sofa seeking inspiration for her 1965 thriller At Bertram's Hotel.

Queen Victoria frequently came to dine but not to stay overnight as Buckingham Palace is just a short walk from the hotel.

Winston Churchill always sat at the same table near the restaurant's impressive fireplace - probably because of its easy access to an elevator that could quickly whisk the wartime prime minister to the hotel's bomb shelter, a key issue during the London Blitz. He is supposed to have said, "I never stay in hotels. I stay at Brown's."

Brown’s Hotel Today

Since 3 July 2003 Brown’s has been owned by The Rocco Forte Collection and recently underwent a renovation which manages to combine contemporary style with its traditional wood panelling and stained glass. It has been described as a bastion of Victorian glamour with a stylish modern sheen.

The copyright of the article Luxury Hotels in Central London - Brown's Hotel in Historical Travel is owned by Cathy Smith. Permission to republish Luxury Hotels in Central London - Brown's Hotel in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.