Bond Street

Afternoon Tea is available daily from 3pm to 5:30pm and reservations are essential. Prices from £31 per person.

020 7629 8860

Claridge's is a traditional grand hotel which is said to have an aristocratic ambience and reputation for luxury and expense. Its far-reaching and old connections with royalty have led to it being referred to as an "extension to Buckingham Palace". It was founded in 1812 as Mivart's Hotel, located in a conventional London terraced house. It grew by expanding into neighbouring houses. In 1854, the founder sold the hotel to a Mr and Mrs Claridge who owned a smaller hotel next door. They combined the two operations, and after trading for a time as "Mivart's at Claridge's", they settled on just Claridge’s. The reputation of the hotel was confirmed in 1860 when Empress Eugenie made an extended visit and entertained Queen Victoria at the hotel.

Richard D'Oyly Carte, the theatrical impressario and founder of the rival Savoy Hotel, purchased Claridge's in 1894. Shortly afterwards he demolished the old buildings and replaced them with the present ones. This was required to install modern facilities such as lifts and en suite bathrooms. The new Claridge's opened in 1898.

After the First World War, Claridge's flourished due to demand from aristocrats who no longer maintained a London house, and an extension was built in the 1920s. Peter II of Yugoslavia and his wife spent much of the Second World War in exile at Claridge's, and Suite 212 was surrendered by the United Kingdom to Yugoslavia for a single day, on June 17, 1945, to allow their heir, Crown Prince Alexander, to be born on Yugoslav soil. In December 1951 West German chancellor Konrad Adenauer secretly met with World Jewish Congress president Nahum Goldmann at Claridge's to begin negotiations on German reparations to Jewish survivors of the Holocaust.

The main restaurant is run by the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and afternoon tea at Claridge's has been endorsed by the Tea Guild. Claridge's has a cigar bar known as the Fumoir, where a wide variety of drinks and cocktails are available with a good stock of Cuban cigars. The Smoking ban in England has caused the Fumoir to stop selling cigars but it still serves a wide variety of Scotch, Bourbon, Tequila, and Brandy.

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