Royal London Hotels: Where Royalty Stays and Dines

On the eve of the biggest wedding of a generation, the bride slept not in a palace but in a hotel. On the night of 28 April 2011, Catherine Middleton — as she then was — spent her last hours as a private citizen in a suite a few hundred metres from Westminster Abbey, at a quietly grand hotel called The Goring. The next morning she left it as a future queen.

That is the particular magic of the royal London hotels: they are the places where the story of the monarchy spills out beyond the palace walls. Some hold royal warrants. Some have sheltered exiled kings. One even became, for a single day, the sovereign soil of another nation. Together they form a map of royal London written in marble, mahogany and afternoon tea.

Here are the great hotels with crowns in their history — where royalty has stayed, dined and celebrated, and where you can follow, at least for an evening, in their footsteps.

Which London hotels hold a royal warrant?

Only one London hotel currently holds a royal warrant: The Ritz. The Piccadilly landmark was first granted its warrant in January 2002 by the then Prince of Wales — now King Charles III — for banqueting and catering services, making it the first hotel ever to receive one. In May 2024, King Charles renewed the honour under his new reign, and a fresh 24-carat gold coat of arms was mounted at the hotel.

There is a second, poignant chapter to this story. The Goring, near Buckingham Palace, was granted a royal warrant by Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2013 for hospitality services — the only hotel ever to hold the Queen’s own warrant. Warrants granted personally by the late Queen lapsed after her death in 2022, and the current roll is a matter for the Royal Warrant Holders Association, but The Goring’s distinction as the Queen’s chosen hotel is a permanent part of its history. For the wider story of these honours, see our guide to what a royal warrant is.

The Goring: the eve of a royal wedding

The Goring has been a family-owned fixture beside the Palace since it opened in 1910, built as one of the most modern hotels of its day with private bathrooms and central heating throughout — luxuries then almost unheard of. It has quietly served the royal household for over a century, hosting guests who came for the coronations of both George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.

Its most famous night, of course, was in April 2011. Catherine stayed in the hotel’s Royal Suite with her parents and siblings, emerging the next morning to travel to the Abbey. The hotel has traded gently on the association ever since, and a stay in that suite remains one of London’s most romantic — and expensive — indulgences. It is the sort of place where the staff remember your name and the marmalade is made in-house: understated, and all the more royal for it.

Claridge’s: an extension of Buckingham Palace

If The Goring is discreet, Claridge’s is dynastic. Opened in Mayfair in 1856, it has been so entwined with royalty that it was once described as an extension of Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria called on the Empress Eugénie here; during the Second World War, the exiled crowned heads of Europe — of Norway, Greece, Yugoslavia and more — made Claridge’s their London court.

It is the setting for one of the most extraordinary royal anecdotes in London. In July 1945, when Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia was born in the hotel, Suite 212 was reportedly declared Yugoslav territory for a day so that the heir could be born on his own soil. Queen Elizabeth II, for her part, is said to have lunched in the royal suite once a year. Art Deco to its fingertips, Claridge’s remains the grande dame of royal London.

The Ritz: the King’s favourite

No hotel is more associated with the present King than The Ritz. Opened on Piccadilly in 1906 by César Ritz, it brought Parisian glamour to Edwardian London, and its gilded Palm Court has been a stage for high society ever since. It was here, in 1999, that the then Prince of Wales made his first public appearance with Camilla Parker Bowles — a quietly historic moment in a very public room.

The King’s affection for The Ritz is long-standing, which makes its royal warrant all the more fitting. Afternoon tea beneath the Palm Court’s marble and gold is one of London’s grand rituals, taken to the sound of a harp and served on tiered silver. To sit there is to share a room the royal family has loved for generations — no invitation required, only a reservation.

The Savoy: a stage for society

Down by the Thames stands The Savoy, opened in 1889 by Richard D’Oyly Carte on the profits of his Gilbert and Sullivan operas. It was a marvel of its age — among the first London hotels lit by electric light, with hydraulic lifts and its own artesian well — and it drew royalty, statesmen and stars from the very beginning.

Winston Churchill famously brought his cabinet to lunch at The Savoy, and its American Bar and riverside suites have hosted more royal and celebrity guests than almost anywhere in London. The approach off the Strand is the only street in Britain where traffic drives on the right, a small eccentricity that suits a hotel which has always played by its own rules. For glamour with a theatrical wink, there is nowhere quite like it.

The Dorchester: a night before an engagement

The youngest of these grande dames, The Dorchester opened on Park Lane in 1931 and swiftly became a favourite of film stars, writers and society hostesses. It carries a lovely royal footnote: the young Princess Elizabeth is said to have attended a ball here the night before her engagement to Philip Mountbatten was announced, and Philip chose The Dorchester for his stag party — an evening still marked at the hotel.

With its views over Hyde Park and its famously theatrical afternoon tea, The Dorchester has kept its place among London’s most glamorous addresses for the best part of a century. It is proof that a royal hotel need not be centuries old to earn its stripes — only to have gathered enough stories along the way.

Afternoon tea fit for royalty

You do not need to book a suite to taste the royal life at these hotels. Afternoon tea is the democratic pleasure of grand London — a few hours of scones, finger sandwiches and pots of well-brewed tea in rooms built for kings and queens. The Ritz’s Palm Court, The Goring’s dining room and The Dorchester’s Promenade are all celebrated for it.

For where to take the ritual at its very best, our guide to the best afternoon tea in London picks the finest rooms in the city, and our love letter to afternoon tea, the most British ritual tells the story of how it began. It is the most accessible way to step, however briefly, into the world of the royal London hotels.

Why these hotels still enchant

Palaces are for ceremony; hotels are for life. That is why these addresses matter — they are where the royal story has been at its most human, from a bride’s last quiet night to an exiled king’s wartime refuge to a future queen’s ball on the eve of her engagement.

That is their enduring appeal. To walk into one of these rooms is to join a very long guest list, one that runs from Victoria’s court to the present King. Browse more of our Royal Places & Events stories to keep exploring the London the royal family knows best.

Frequently asked questions

Which London hotels have a royal warrant?

The Ritz London currently holds a royal warrant, first granted in 2002 by the then Prince of Wales and renewed by King Charles III in 2024 for banqueting and catering services. The Goring held a royal warrant granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013 — the only hotel ever to hold the late Queen’s warrant.

Where did Kate Middleton stay before her wedding?

Catherine, now Princess of Wales, spent the night before her 2011 wedding at The Goring hotel near Buckingham Palace, staying in the Royal Suite with her family before travelling to Westminster Abbey the next morning.

Which hotel is King Charles’s favourite?

King Charles III is closely associated with The Ritz on Piccadilly, where he made his first public appearance with Queen Camilla in 1999 and which holds his royal warrant. He is a long-standing admirer of the hotel.

Does the royal family stay in hotels?

Working members of the royal family usually stay in royal residences or with hosts, but hotels have played a real part in royal life — from Catherine’s pre-wedding night at The Goring to exiled monarchs sheltering at Claridge’s during the Second World War.

What is the oldest luxury hotel in London?

Among London’s famous royal hotels, Claridge’s traces its origins to 1856, making it one of the oldest, followed by The Savoy in 1889, The Goring in 1910, and The Ritz in 1906. The Dorchester, opened in 1931, is the youngest of the group.

Can you have afternoon tea at these royal hotels?

Yes. The Ritz’s Palm Court, The Goring, The Dorchester and Claridge’s all serve celebrated afternoon teas that are open to the public by reservation — the most accessible way to experience a royal London hotel.

Royal warrant holdings change as the roll is reviewed; details are correct as of 2026. For the current list, see royalwarrant.org.