In short… The Raffles London at the OWO is a memorable splurge for history and Bond buffs
The backstory… So many stories behind the Raffles at the OWO’s stony façade! The Old War Office was built with fortress-like solidity and Edwardian grandeur in 1906 as HQ for the British Army, across the street from the Royal Horse Guards. And one layer down in the London clay lies the remnants of the original Palace of Whitehall, home to 15th and 16th-century kings including Henry VIII, who died here (the original timber structure burned down). The OWO was the site of some of the most important military decisions of the first part of the 20th century, including during Winston Churchill’s time as Secretary of State for War (1919-21) and First Lord of the Admiralty (1939), when he ran war councils from the second-floor conference rooms and gave addresses from the balcony of the grand staircase. Both MI5 and MI6 got their start here, which brought colorful characters through a side “Spies Entrance.” In fact, the OWO helped inspire Ian Fleming to write his Bond series, after he worked in naval Intelligence and was a regular at the military library (now Saison restaurant). Room 007 in the basement was once used as high-security storage vaults for falsified identity papers for spies. Coincidence? I don’t think so. The OWO has appeared in several Bond movies over the years, including Octopussy, License to Kill and Skyfall.
The building’s Whitehall location was entirely deliberate—there are tunnels running to 10 Downing Street, Parliament and other VIP sites for emergency evacuation. (The Ministry of Defense moved across the street to a new building in 1964.) And it really couldn’t be more central if you’re in London to sightsee, being just minutes from the Thames, the National Portrait Gallery, St. James’s Park, 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace. In 2014, the Hinduja family bought a 250-year lease on the OWO from the Ministry of Defense and took it on as a passion project, allegedly investing 1.4 to 1.6 billion pounds into its meticulous restoration, while bringing in Raffles as hotel operator and opening in fall 2023.
The vibe… For such a massive and very masculine structure, the new design has a surprising warmth to it. The lobby is dominated by the grand staircase, illuminated by a skylight that had been covered over since WWII. (Former military who used to work here are known to stop by and excitedly venture to the second floor, as it was off limits to all but higher-ranking officers.) Architect-designer Thierry Despont created cheerful, soft social spaces off of the lobby, like Saison, where a white trellis and garden-themed mural obscure the old subway tile underneath, and the colorful, oak-walled Guards Bar and lounge.
But you can still imagine the place as a hive of activity—the flanks of the building are connected by 2.5 miles of corridor and you will get lost! It took me two days just to remember how to find my room. The upstairs hallways are lined in cherry red curtains with brass buttons, reminiscent of the Horse Guard uniforms. The hotel is full of cool attention to detail like this, including a nod to the fact that the building had London’s first state-of-the-art telephone system, and the cast-iron grilles that allowed the wire to pass through are also highlighted throughout.
The rooms… There are 120 guest rooms including 39 suites, and another gender-bending detail I appreciated is that the eight corner suites are named after women and female spies, like Churchill’s wife, Clementine, and Christian Lamb, a Wren intelligence officer who worked on the D-Day landings. (On the day I was there, the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, she actually received the Legion d’Honneur from President Macron at age 104.)
I stayed in the Margot Suite, named for Brigadier Dame Margot Turner, a WWII military nurse. The sitting area had a sort of cavernous Oval Office vibe, high ceilings with polygonal walls (it’s beneath one of the OWO’s four turrets) and low, jewel-toned Deco-ish furniture. But the bedroom was cozy and a great sleep—all cocooning creamy carpet and textured walls. I also was happy about the radiant heated floors and towel warmers, which I often find excessive, but even in June in London it was chilly. The custom bath products, 1906, had an especially nice sandalwood-vetiver scent. And honestly, this was amazing: a toilet bowl that glows at night.
There are five “Heritage Suites” on the second floor that were once occupied by some of Britain’s most prominent politicians, including Churchill and Lord Haldane (also Secretary of State for War), which have been restored by an army of 1,500 craftspeople—woodworkers, plaster workers, iron workers—and filled with period antiques. The most popular suite in the building is the Turret Suite, a duplex with two balconies and a 360 view of basically all of London. The rest of the OWO is given over to 85 Residences, whose owners can use the hotel’s facilities but also have their own.
The food & drink… So many options. Since I was here on a press trip, I tried them all (almost). The Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco (known for 3-star Mirzaur in Menton, France, and his garden-to-plate approach) oversees three restaurants. The fine dining spot (named for him) serves a vegetable-forward tasting menu with wine pairing. Normally I don’t love these because you wind up feeling so stuffed, but the 5-course spring Knotted Garden Flower Menu was amazing, including a starter of pickled rose petals and carrot shavings that looked like fresh pot pourri, peas and runner beans with turbot, and duck with beetroot puree. Saison is, of course, all about local/seasonal ingredients: creamy Irish oysters, super light Cornish cod Provençal style, and possibly the best “chips” I’ve ever had, which are triple fried. I had a detoxing porridge breakfast with a ginger and lemon shot at Pillar Kitchen, the healthy/clean eating café, and a lovely lobster salad at Café Lapérouse in the hotel’s courtyard (an outpost of the Parisian one featured in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris). There’s also a sushi restaurant on the roof, Kioku, where we only went for a drink (great nonalcoholic tea-cocktail menu). The Guards Bar is an homage to the Raffles Singapore institution, founded in 1887, a sultry room with red velvet booths where you can order a Singapore Sling, which was created at the iconic Raffles Long Bar. And you can’t skip a nightcap at the Spy Bar, for hotel guests only, that you arrive at via a basement corridor lined with rooms once used for debriefing spies. Behind door 007 is a speakeasy-style room outfitted with old telephones, a vintage liquor cabinet, and half an Aston Martin DB5 on the wall. I highly recommend the (very strong) vesper martini, but not at 11pm!
The wellness… The health facilities are huge—a 20-meter swimming pool, vitality pool, steam room and sauna. The OWO spa is run by Guerlain and I had a deep facial that followed a kind of mood-journey with Guerlain scents, and ended with an LED laser treatment. I’m not a hotel gym-goer, but there’s a big gym with Technogym equipment and free weights and daily yoga or HIIT classes. Pillar also runs the health club, and you can arrange for private physical or nutritional coaching.
Be sure to… Visit the Churchill War Rooms across the street. The complex was fitted out as an emergency HQ just before WWII broke out, in the reinforced basement of an office building. Some 500 people worked in this airless warren of rooms at any given time between 1939 and ‘44 and rode out the London Blitz here. Visit the map room, the beating heart of the war operation where hotlines rang with updates from the field and push pins marked the movement of convoys. And the War Cabinet Room, the seat from where Churchill directed much of the war effort. I definitely recommend booking a behind-the-scenes tour if you’re into that sort of thing.
Parting words… My watch/read list now includes Darkest Hour, The Imitation Game, Season 1 of The Crown, The Splendid and the Vile… Hard not to get obsessed!
Dates of stay… June 5-7, 2024
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