Claridges

Claridge's London
Claridge's in 2002
Location within Central London
General information
Location	Mayfair, London, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°30′45″N 0°08′51.36″W / 51.51250°N 0.1476000°W / 51.51250; -0.1476000Coordinates: 51°30′45″N 0°08′51.36″W / 51.51250°N 0.1476000°W / 51.51250; -0.1476000
Opening	1812
Owner	Maybourne Group
Design and construction
Architect	Edward James Fererl
Other information
Number of rooms	197
Number of suites	11

Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. It has long-standing connections with royalty that have led to it sometimes being referred to as an "annexe to Buckingham Palace".

Claridge's was founded in 1812 as Mivart's Hotel, in a conventional London terraced house, and grew by expanding into neighbouring houses. In 1854, the founder (the father of biologist St. George Jackson Mivart) 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 the current name. The reputation of the hotel was confirmed in 1860 when Empress Eugenie made an extended visit and entertained Queen Victoria at the hotel.

In its first edition of 1878, Baedeker's London listed Claridge's as "The first hotel in London".

Richard D'Oyly Carte, the theatrical impresario and founder of the rival Savoy Hotel, purchased Claridge's in 1894, as part of The Savoy Group, and shortly afterwards demolished the old buildings and replaced them with the present ones. This was prompted by the need to install modern facilities such as lifts and en suite bathrooms.

The new Claridge's, built by George Trollope & Sons, opened in 1898. It is a Grade II listed building. The hotel has 203 rooms and suites and around 400 staff.

After the First World War, Claridge's flourished due to demand from aristocrats who no longer maintained a London house, and under the leadership of Carte's son, Rupert D'Oyly Carte, an extension was built in the 1920s. During the Second World War it was the base of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's forces in exile and home of Peter II of Yugoslavia. He and his wife spent much of the Second World War in exile at Claridge's, and suite 212 was supposedly ceded by the United Kingdom to Yugoslavia for a single day (17 July 1945) to allow their heir, Crown Prince Alexander, to be born on Yugoslav soil, although no documentary evidence now exists to support the story. The prince and his family are regular return guests.