The Dorchester

The Dorchester is a five-star hotel on Park Lane in the City of Westminster, just east of Hyde Park. Built in the early 1930s, it replaced Dorchester House, an 18th-century mansion owned by the Earl of Dorchester. The hotel’s reinforced-concrete structure was designed to be exceptionally strong, earning it a reputation as one of London’s safest buildings during the Second World War. Over the decades, it has hosted royalty, politicians, writers and film stars, including Princess Elizabeth before her engagement announcement in 1947. The hotel was Grade II listed in 1981 and later purchased by the Sultan of Brunei, becoming part of the Dorchester Collection. The hotel’s interiors were shaped by stage designer Oliver Messel in the 1950s and fully renovated in the late 1980s at a cost of $100 million. Today it offers five restaurants, including Alain Ducasse’s three-Michelin-starred dining room. The Dorchester Bar is where the classic “Dorchester of London” cocktail was invented by barman Harry Craddock in the 1930s. Afternoon tea has been served daily since the hotel opened in 1931, continuing a tradition that began with its first guests. Visitors find spacious public rooms with 1930s furnishings and a large plane tree in the front garden, recognised as one of London’s Great Trees. The ballroom, once the setting for the Lace Ball in 1931, remains a focal point for events. The hotel’s basement once housed a communal air-raid shelter used during the war. Literary luncheons and cabaret performances have been part of its social life since the 1930s, blending glamour with enduring tradition.