The Goring

About The Goring

The Goring opened at 15 Beeston Place in 1910 and has been owned by the same family ever since - four generations of Gorings, which makes it the only family-owned five-star hotel in London. It was the first hotel in the world to be built with an en-suite bathroom and central heating in every room, a detail the family still mention, and it sits on a quiet street a few minutes' walk from Buckingham Palace and Victoria station.

The interiors are unapologetically English rather than internationally luxurious. Rooms are done in soft colours with proper fabrics and antiques, and the best of them look out over the hotel's private garden - a genuine lawn in the middle of Belgravia, and one of the largest private gardens attached to any hotel in the city. Suites on the garden side have terraces. Service is the reason people return: long-serving staff, no scripts, and a level of attention that does not feel rehearsed.

The Dining Room holds a Michelin star and cooks a confident version of British hotel food - the omelette Arnold Bennett and the beef Wellington are the dishes it is known for. Afternoon tea on the Veranda, looking out over the garden, is among the better versions in London, and the bar mixes drinks properly rather than fashionably.

It suits people who want Belgravia and Westminster on foot, and who would rather stay somewhere with a character of its own than in a well-run international chain. Rates are high and the hotel makes no apology for that, but for a significant occasion in London it is one of a very small number of places that still feel personally run.