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It has long been the case in London that, for homes and hotels, location is everything. Upon discovering Condé Nast's latest Gold List and its newcomers, our resident Londoner and dandy extraordinaire Winston Chesterfield wondered whether 2010 might signal the end of a long reign.

London might be a very large, sprawling city but there has always been a very small ‘prime area’ – since the time of Henry VIII – wedged in and around the St James’ and Green parks that commands prices and public interest way above what central Londoners might refer to as ‘the suburbs’ of Kensington, Chelsea, Primrose Hill or Holland Park. An apartment in St James’ Square, recently purchased for an undisclosed amount, was rumoured to have been the most expensive apartment ever sold; proving that prime London – real-beating-heart-of-it-neighbours-with-the-Queen prime – refuses to hand over its long held crown to the ‘upstart’ neighbourhoods out west.

La grande dame par excellence... The Ritz proudly standng on Piccadilly.

It has been the same with London’s grand dame hotels. Anything luxurious between Piccadilly and Oxford Street – The Ritz, Browns, Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Dorchester – has been a triumph. When money travelled to London, you could guarantee it would be snoozing at one of these vaunted establishments. As a result, the luxury ‘mecca’ of the West End grew. Restaurants, nightclubs, cocktail bars, designer emporiums – it was all Mayfair, all the time.
For years, these establishments have enjoyed the plaudits of critics and guests alike. The gigantic laurels on which they rested seemed never likely to wilt – for who would be interested in staying anywhere else in London other than W1?
 

The Milestone.

At 11 Cadogan Gardens.

From the evidence on the Conde Nast Gold List for 2010, it is clear that plenty of people would prefer to leave the gilt, the glitz and the names of the postal district well behind them – at least when they retire for the night. Out of 12 hotels on the London hotel list, four of the highest scoring are nowhere near Mayfair; The Milestone is opposite Kensington Palace Gardens on the Kensington Gore; Number 11, Cadogan Gardens is located in Belgravia; The Halkin is a classic Knightsbridge establishment and The Lanesborough is by the old ‘toll’ point – Hyde Park Corner. Even more surprising is the inclusion of The Goring, within spitting distance of Buckingham Palace, but backing onto unsightly Victoria.

The Halkin.

The Lanesborough.

The Goring.

Though the Mayfair grand dames are included on the list, they are some way from the top which is where, ideally, most of them expect to be year after year. Of course, many may cry that it’s only one list (albeit a highly respected and influential one) and that plenty of other sources will place them at the top of the tree. However, if the Leading Hotels of the World guide is anything to go by, it would suggest further misery; out of the grand dames, only the Ritz is recommended. For an establishment like Claridge’s, this would not be so terrible if the new Harden’s 2010 restaurant guide hadn’t just rated their flagship ‘Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s’ restaurant as one of the top ten most disappointing restaurants in London...

 

Winston Chesterfield

 

Photo credits: Various

(Featured in the main image, from left to right and top to bottom: No. 11 Cadogan Gardens, The Lanesborough, The Goring and the Milestone.)

TAGS: goods travel conde nast gold list 2010 london hotels the milestone cadogan gadens the lanesborough the halkin the goring