editorial

After years of restoration work, one of the most storied buildings in Whitehall is now home to the British capital’s most intriguing new hotel.
<figure id="attachment_136596" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-136596" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-136596 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Raffles-London-Granville-Bedroom-London.jpg" alt="The hotel’s grand staircase, and the Granville Suite is named for wartime spy Christine Granville." width="1200" height="894" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Raffles-London-Granville-Bedroom-London.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Raffles-London-Granville-Bedroom-London-300x224.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Raffles-London-Granville-Bedroom-London-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Raffles-London-Granville-Bedroom-London-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-136596" class="wp-caption-text">Left to right: The hotel’s grand staircase; the Granville Suite is named for wartime spy Christine Granville. (Photos: John Athimaritis)</figcaption></figure>
There was a time when only high-ranking officers and cabinet members could walk through the front door of London’s Old War Office building, the onetime headquarters of the British Army. Everyone else had to go around the back. From its construction in the first years of the 20th century until 1964 (when the War Office was absorbed by the Ministry of Defence), the brooding Edwardian Baroque landmark on Whitehall was the preserve of soldiers, spies, and civil servants.
It’s a much more hospitable place today. Eight years ago, the site was purchased by the Mumbai-based Hinduja Group, which embarked on a billion-plus-dollar overhaul of the building and brought in a Singapore-born hotel brand synonymous with old world luxury to transform it into its newest incarnation: Raffles London at The OWO. The results are impressive. Restoration work has removed years of grime from the facade’s ivory-white Portland stone and dome-topped corner turrets. Beneath the old foundations, four new floors were dug out through layers of London’s 2,000-year history to create space for a subterranean ballroom and multilevel wellness facilities.
It all goes hand in hand with remodeled interiors by the recently late French architect and designer Thierry Despont, known for breathing new life into the legendary Ritz Paris. Stepping past a caped doorman who greets me with a doff of his bowler hat, I was dazzled by the lobby. Sunlight now streams through a skylighted cupola onto a handblown crystal chandelier by Venetian glass atelier iDogi. Below, the building’s grand marble staircase ascends to the internal balcony where, in the early 1920s, Winston Churchill—then the Secretary of State for War—would bellow orders at his staff.
History buffs will also appreciate being a stone’s throw from Trafalgar Square and Downing Street. Forget the bedside clock—from some rooms, you can see the face of Big Ben. Directly opposite the hotel, mounted troopers of the Household Cavalry guard the official entrance to Buckingham Palace. And right next door stands the Banqueting House, the royal venue in front of which King Charles I was beheaded after losing the English Civil War. If you want to soak in history, you’re in the right place.
<figure id="attachment_136598" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-136598" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-136598 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/London-1.jpg" alt="The OWO’s rooftop bar comes with views of St. James’s Park, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/London-1.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/London-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/London-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/London-1-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-136598" class="wp-caption-text">The OWO’s rooftop bar comes with views of St. James’s Park, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. (Courtesy of Raffles London)</figcaption></figure>
Naturally, the 120 guest rooms at Raffles London come with niceties no Stuart monarch could ever have imagined. Measuring in at 31 square meters, the entry-level Classic rooms face a cobbled internal courtyard (but still let in plenty of natural light) and feature marble bathrooms with bespoke toiletries by London perfumer Azzi Glasser. But it’s inside the heritage suites that the combination of history, luxury, and modern amenities really shines. Some bear the names of famed British World War II spies—the forerunners of MI5 and MI6 were established here—and others once served as offices for the army’s highest ranks. These still retain their original oak paneling, fireplaces, and vestiges of Edwardian wallpaper, alongside the requisite 21st-century touches of high-definition TV screens, iPad-controlled lighting and blackout curtains, as well as underfloor heating in the bathrooms to combat those chilly winter mornings.
Book the Churchill Suite and you’ll be in the same spot where military leaders convened to make key decisions throughout both World Wars. Despite the name on the door, this was not Churchill’s office. For that, you have to walk down the corridor to the Haldane Suite. The 250-square-meter accommodation nods to Richard Burdon Haldane, an earlier war secretary who also helped set up the London School of Economics. For the privilege of being this close to history, expect to pay up to US$31,000 a night; the rate includes butler service and roundtrip airport transfers from Heathrow in one of the hotel’s white leather-upholstered Range Rovers.
Guests and non-guests alike can access the nine restaurants and three bars across The OWO, which also houses 85 Raffles-branded residences. Headlining the offerings is Mauro Colagreco, whose namesake chef helms three-Michelin-starred Le Mirazur on the French Riviera. Its razor-sharp focus on British ingredients translates into dishes such as Cornish monkfish with Jerusalem artichoke, glazed wild mushroom and hazelnut, and grilled loin of venison with mustard sauce and radicchio. On my visit, the food was exquisite and service exemplary, though I could have done without the waiter’s enthusiastic explanation that the lettuce had been hydroponically grown just a few kilometers away in Elephant and Castle, a less-than-desirable area south of the River Thames.
<figure id="attachment_136597" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-136597" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-136597 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/The-OWO-London.jpg" alt="Mauro’s Table, a private dining room at Raffles London, and Mauro Colagreco with head chef Leonel Aguirre outside The OWO." width="1200" height="894" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/The-OWO-London.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/The-OWO-London-300x224.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/The-OWO-London-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/The-OWO-London-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-136597" class="wp-caption-text">Left to right: Mauro’s Table, a private dining room at Raffles London; Mauro Colagreco with head chef Leonel Aguirre outside The OWO. (Photos: Matteo Carassale)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_136595" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-136595" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-136595 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Mauro-Colagreco-Jerusalem-Artichoke-London.jpg" alt="Roasted Cornish monkfish tail with Jerusalem artichoke espuma and chips at Mauro Colagreco’s namesake dining room." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Mauro-Colagreco-Jerusalem-Artichoke-London.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Mauro-Colagreco-Jerusalem-Artichoke-London-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Mauro-Colagreco-Jerusalem-Artichoke-London-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Mauro-Colagreco-Jerusalem-Artichoke-London-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-136595" class="wp-caption-text">Roasted Cornish monkfish tail with Jerusalem artichoke espuma and chips at Mauro Colagreco’s namesake dining room. (Photo: Justin De Souza)</figcaption></figure>
The clubby Drawing Room, with wood-lined walls and sturdy leather sofas, is a suitably snug spot to settle in for traditional afternoon tea. Down the carpeted hallway, the Guards Bar and Lounge serves vintage cocktails as well as a locally inspired riff on the Singapore Sling. More fun is the louche Spy Bar downstairs, hidden behind what looks like an ordinary closet door; one half of an Aston Martin DB5—a car synonymous with James Bond—takes pride of place against a mirrored wall behind the busy mixologists. It’s said that Ian Fleming dreamed up many of the characters in his Bond novels, including 007 himself, when he attended meetings in the War Office during his time with the British Admiralty’s Naval Intelligence Division.
Deeper in the bowels of the building, a 20-meter swimming pool is surrounded by caramel-hued travertine, with sumptuously padded loungers spread along the perimeter. The only thing lacking is the sun. At one end, you can poach yourself on bubbling water beds before relaxing in the sauna and steam room off to the side. Overlooking the double-height pool area is a Pillar Wellbeing gym, where the same personal trainer who helped ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson get fit after Covid can help you work off the Drawing Room’s scones, jam, and clotted cream. And in the Guerlain Spa, a 90-minute four-hands Imperial massage could well prove to be the ultimate jet lag buster.
All in all, Raffles is a perfectly positioned luxe London hideaway, where anyone is welcome to enter through the front door—as long as their credit card can keep up.
<a href="https://www.raffles.com/london/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raffles.com/london</a>; doubles from US$1,365
This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://www.destinasian.com/magazine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">December 2023/February 2024</a> print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“A New Life for a London Landmark”).

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