Goring Hotel, London, United Kingdom

Slideshow | Lightbox (17) Tags: europe hotels london restaurants traditional-cuisine uk Posted: Oct. 29, 2009 by Shekn

Goring Hotel is located on Beeston Place - a small narrow street very close to Buckingham Palace

It takes about 10 minutes of a stroll to get from The Goring to Buckingham Palace

Reception area in Goring Hotel, London, UK

As you can see lobby area and hall in Goring Hotel are rather small and not glamorous. Concierge desk is in the background.

The staircase to upper floors in Goring Hotel is also modest

The armorial bearings of The Goring Hotel spotted in its lift

The layout of The Goring Hotel as seen on the fire escape plan

Let's enter a typical Delightful Room in The Goring

Goring Hotel -
entrance

The Goring Hotel

Address: 15 Beeston Pl, London, SW1W 0JW, United Kingdom
The Goring on map

If you go to London, United Kingdom, and want to stay in a hotel that has the flavor and character of an old English mansion, the Goring might be your choice. Cosily located in the very heart of London in Beeston Place, this five-star hotel is only a five-minute walk from Buckingham Palace.

The hotel is not big - 71 rooms only, approximately 15 rooms per floor. Otto Richard Goring opened it in March 1910. At that time it was the only hotel in the world with a bathrooms and heating in every guest room. Many statesmen, members of Royal Family and celebrities stayed in the hotel since 1910. The Goring family, who still owns it, made many renovations during those 99 years. But one thing that has never been changed is the spirit of last century, and it seems like the determination of not letting the twenty-first century inside is still strong.

From outside, The Goring looks like a typical for London and the beginning of the 20th century building. And it produces exactly the same impression from the inside. When entering the hotel through solid wooden doors you are getting into the times of Sherlock Holmes, My Fair Lady and Titanic. The reception aria reminds more of a private house than a hotel - stylish and welcoming - dark wood, marble and bronze. It spreads into a small hall with an elevator, stairs and corridor ending with the restaurant. The elevator is very handy in a five-story building with high ceilings, especially if your room is on the fifth floor. And the elevator itself is a relic with the armorial bearings of the Goring Hotel.

Three sides of The Goring Hotel are looking onto the streets: Beeston Place, Victoria Square and Eaton Lane, but one side - into a small courtyard with a big lawn, trees and flowers. For those who hate city noise the room looking onto this small garden is a welcoming refuge.

We had a "delightful room with a garden view" - £430.00 ( about $700) per night (2009 prices). There are 11 rooms of this type in the Goring Hotel. They are usually about 290 sq feet (27 sq m) with king or two twin beds. When we opened the door into our room, we got into a small hall - the entrance to the left led into the room itself. The bathroom was in front of us.

The room is nicely appointed in traditional English style: dark wood old furniture, spacious wardrobe big enough for two people, vanity table with ottoman, couple of chairs with small cocktail table, working desk and a king size bed with excellent linen. All the furniture is not new but in a decent state. Rooms are equipped with air conditioning.

Our room was in gold and blue colors with French doors and big old window with heavy wooden frame. On a windy night, this frame started rattling, and the sound together with the quietness of the place made us feel like we were in an old mansion haunted by some friendly ghosts. Alas, once lights were on and half-opened window closed, the charm had gone, though not completely.

Another cosy place is a bathroom. It is not big but beautifully finished with marble and dark wood. The appliances are up to date: bathtub with shower, single pedestal sink, a toilet, but no bidet. Mirrors on three walls add to the space of the bathroom. Towels and bathrobes are of the highest quality which makes a pleasant difference in comparison with other hotels. The towel rack is always hot and the room feels warm and inviting especially after a long walk along the streets in rainy and windy London.

In guest rooms you will find satellite TV with many local in international channels and pay-per-view movies.The rooms are equipped with safes, multi-line and direct-dial phones, high-speed Internet access, and TV Internet access. Hotel amenities do not include a swimming pool, hot tubs or fitness rooms inside the hotel. You will have to go to Victoria’s LA Fitness Club, a three-minute walk, where you can find all wellness equipment including swimming pool, sauna and gymnasium.

Hotel service is amazing in the Goring; the staff is efficient, polite, friendly and at the same time is dignified. Here and there, you will find some nice touches like complimentary newspapers. A couple of complimentary bottles of water are always on a small table in your room. Any time of the day the room is in perfect condition - everything is cleaned, put in place; linen, bathrobes and towels are changed. I do not mention many other things - rest assure, you will find everything you need in Goring, from excellent room service to slippers, from rollaway beds to hypo-allergenic bedding and irons/ironing boards - just ask if need something like this.

The last but not least - The Goring has its own restaurant, The Dining Room. Also opened for breakfast, from 6 pm it is engaged in a courageous act of proving that British cuisine may be as good (or even better) as the one found in other countries known for the art of food. Well, I leave it you to decide whether you like the food at Goring or not. But regardless, I would applaud for this attempt to deliver the very best kind of British country house cooking. The wine list is exquisite. The room is decorated in shades of biscuit, cream and caramel; although I thought that the colder lights coming from crystal chandeliers even when dimmed were a bit out of synch with the rest of the decor. The overall impression is that The Dining Room offers the same timeless, classical elegance as the rest of The Goring.

The Goring Hotel is a trip back into a quieter slower age, it leaves warm memories and romantic feelings of last centuries and people - London's quintessentially English hotel.

Highly recommended.

The room is about 290 sq feet (27 sq m) rather conservative in style. You can see a small working area with desk on the left.

With an outlook over a gardens, this room provides the tranquillity that may be difficult to find in London; other rooms may overlook Victoria Square and Beeston Place.