The Royal Suite at The Goring

Why it is on the list

The Goring opened in 1910 and is the only London hotel still owned and run by the family that built it; it has held a royal warrant since 2013, the only hotel granted one.¹ Catherine Middleton spent the night before her wedding in this suite.¹ It is on the fifth floor: 151 m² including the balcony, two bedrooms each with its own bathroom, a sitting room, a dining room and a guest cloakroom.² The bedroom is lined in the silk of the first-class dining room of RMS Titanic, the bathroom in the silk of the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace; the rooms hold antiques, Georgian glassware, letters written by royalty and a life-size portrait of Queen Victoria.² Buckingham Palace is a ten-minute walk, Victoria station five.³

It is the wrong choice for a party that needs more than two bedrooms.² For a single couple, the Garden Suite has its own terrace over the same lawns.⁴

How to get it

Call the reservations team on +44 (0)20 7769 4553 or write to reservations@thegoring.com and ask for the Royal Suite; the suite page also takes enquiries.²⁵ Booking direct brings the suite's inclusions: a bottle of vintage Dom Pérignon on arrival, an in-suite cocktail hour, car parking, and two-way airport transfers on request.² The concierge takes requests before arrival as well as during the stay.² Reception is on +44 (0)20 7396 9000.⁵

Discretion

Check-in happens in the suite, not at the front desk; the lift opens on the fifth floor to the suite's own footman, who looks after the party from arrival to departure.²⁴ Parking is included, so a car can be left at the hotel.² Unpacking, packing and twice-daily service are done by the hotel's staff.²