Travel: London’s Dorchester Hotel is fit for royalty

Situated a short walk from Buckingham Palace in the posh neighborhood of Mayfair, London’s deluxe Dorchester Hotel has had a long and distinguished association with royalty, British and otherwise.

In the summer of 1947, some five years before the British Princess Elizabeth was coronated as Queen, her engagement to Prince Philip was announced at a private dinner party at The Dorchester. Members of the British media had been tipped off in advance.

That evening, the police had to clear a path along the sidewalk for the future monarch, who was thronged by photographers, journalists and well-wishers as she left the hotel by a side door. It was a scene similar to those that her future daughter-in-law, the late Diana the Princess of Wales, would routinely face decades later.

It was also at The Dorchester that Prince Philip celebrated his stag night on the eve of his wedding. For Elizabeth’s coronation, the hotel’s exterior was decorated as gaily as a multi-tiered wedding cake, with ornate ribbons, sashes and curtains hanging from every balcony, and the Union Jack much in evidence.

Although Prince Philip has returned often to the hotel to speak at charity functions, it was only through the patronage and support of another regal figure — the Sultan of Brunei — that London’s most eminent address for foreign visitors attained a much-needed refurbishment.

The pride of Park Lane since its opening in 1931, and a “home away from home” for many famous guests from around the world, The Dorchester had been conceived as an advanced luxury hotel that would “rank as the finest in Europe.” One of its original decorators, Oliver Ford, had also been interior decorator for Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother. And the views outside seem nearly as pretty as those inside: all rooms overlook either Hyde Park or the hotel’s own landscaped gardens.

But after nearly 60 years, the regal decor of The Promenade, The Grill Room Restaurant, the Oliver Messel Suite and other areas of the hotel that had been recognized as architectural landmarks were showing signs of age. As well, management wanted to install a central air-conditioning system throughout.

So the Sultan of Brunei, the legendary multi-billionaire who had purchased the 11-story property in 1985, took the unprecedented step of closing it down in 1989 for a complete renovation and restoration. Prince Philip was again on hand when it opened for business late in 1990. Today the hotel is one of four properties in the Audley Group, a portfolio of hotels owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, whose mission is to preserve and maintain the highest possible standards of service and excellence.

The Dorchester’s rooms supposedly reflect the refined style of an English country house; if so, it is the type of stately home found around the British countryside, like the fictional Manderley, that opens its doors for public viewing once a week for ,3.50 a head. While each of the 197 rooms and 55 suites have a unique decor, many feature four-poster beds, fireplaces, fine wooden cabinetry and furniture, plush rugs and armchairs, embroidered bedspreads and draperies, and large walk-in closets designed for steamer trunks.

All the bathrooms are done entirely in fine white Italian marble and feature full-length mirrors, long counters with two sinks and sets of faucets, and bathtubs so generously proportioned that they routinely inspire hosannas from oversized or pregnant guests. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has publicly proclaimed that The Dorchester is the only hotel in Europe that possesses a bathtub large enough for him to relax in with his legs fully outstretched.