Carlton Hotel, London

The Carlton Hotel stood on the corner of Haymarket and Pall Mall in the City of Westminster. Designed by theatre architect C. J. Phipps, it formed part of a larger development that included the rebuilt His Majesty’s Theatre next door. The hotel opened in 1899 under the management of Swiss hotelier César Ritz, with Auguste Escoffier as head chef. It quickly became one of London’s most fashionable hotels, drawing customers away from the Savoy. The building was decorated and furnished in 18th-century English and French styles, with over 250 rooms and around 80 bathrooms. A Palm Court on the ground floor and private telephones in every room added to its luxury. The hotel’s early success owed much to Ritz’s reputation and Escoffier’s culinary skill. In its first year it paid a 7 per cent dividend to its aristocratic backers and attracted high-profile guests such as the Prince of Wales. Ritz’s sudden retirement in 1902, after a nervous breakdown, left Escoffier as the public face of the Carlton. The hotel remained profitable for decades, though it faced competition from Claridge’s under Rupert D’Oyly Carte. During the First World War and the Great Depression it saw brief periods of poor results, yet wealthy figures like Andrew Mellon still favoured its grill room. The Carlton Hotel closed after severe bomb damage in 1940. The government took over the site in 1942, and the remaining parts were demolished in 1957–58. A 17-storey block now houses the New Zealand High Commission. A blue plaque marks the spot where Ho Chi Minh allegedly trained as a pastry chef under Escoffier in 1913. The building itself, though long gone, remains part of London’s late-Victorian architectural legacy.