The Berkeley

The Berkeley is a five-star luxury hotel on Wilton Place in Knightsbridge, London. It sits in the City of Westminster, close to Hyde Park and Knightsbridge’s shops. The present building dates from 1972, when architect Brian O’Rorke designed a modern structure that reused features from the original hotel on Piccadilly. The Maybourne Hotel Group, which also runs Claridge’s and The Connaught, has owned the Berkeley since 2005. In 2016 the entrance was rebuilt by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, who used carbon-fibre beams and Formula One techniques. The hotel has long attracted well-known guests and chefs. In the 1920s and 1930s the maitre d’hotel Ferraro appeared in novels by Dennis Wheatley and P. G. Wodehouse. Queen Elizabeth II lunched there in the 1980s. Pierre Koffmann opened his Michelin-starred restaurant at the Berkeley in 1998, followed by Marcus Wareing in 2003. The Collins Room serves fashion-inspired afternoon teas, and the Blue Bar once released its own album. Visitors find a rooftop pool and spa on the seventh floor. The Bamford Haybarn Spa opened in 2013. In winter the rooftop terrace becomes a pine-filled cinema with blankets and hot water bottles. The Collins Room offers Prêt-à-Portea pastries that change with each fashion season. The Berkeley Bar and Terrace looks toward St Paul’s Church, while Cédric Grolet’s patisserie sits beside the Berkeley Café. La Môme London now occupies the space once home to Marcus.