Claridge's Review: Is Mayfair's Grande Dame Worth It?

Anyone writing a Claridge's hotel review in 2026 has to start with the thing that has just changed. Claridge's Restaurant, the hotel's flagship dining room, served its last guests in May 2026, and in June the space reopened as Dante Mayfair, a permanent London home for the New York bar and restaurant. That is the fourth restaurant identity in that room in twelve years. It tells you something true about the hotel: the building is fixed, the address is fixed, and almost everything inside it is negotiable.

Claridge's on the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street. Photo: Claridges CCC by Oosoom (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What the building actually is

The hotel traces itself to Mivart's, opened on Brook Street in 1812, which William and Marianne Claridge bought and renamed in 1854. The red brick pile you see today is later: it opened in 1898 to a design by C. W. Stephens, the architect of Harrods, and it is Grade II listed. The interiors that people mean when they say "Claridge's" are later still, from the 1920s remodelling that gave the hotel its Art Deco character. The Fumoir has been a bar since 1929.

Between 2016 and 2021 the hotel went through the largest rebuilding in its history without ever closing. Two floors were added at roof level, bringing roughly 40 more rooms, and the site was excavated five levels down to fit in a swimming pool, a gym and a spa. On a listed building hemmed in by Mayfair on all four sides, downwards was the only direction available. The hotel now has around 190 rooms and suites.

The rooms

There are broadly two experiences. The Art Deco rooms carry the hotel's signature look, monochrome, mirrored, lacquered, with shagreen and hand-made furniture; the Victorian rooms are softer and more traditional. The newest rooms, in the roof extension, are the most contemporary and generally have the better views, which in this part of Mayfair means rooftops rather than parks.

The honest caveat: this is a nineteenth-century building. Room sizes vary a great deal between categories and floors in a way that a purpose-built modern hotel's do not, and the entry-level rooms are not large by five-star standards. If square metres are what you are buying, ask for the floor plan before you book. If you want a specific look, ask for the category by name rather than trusting the pictures.

Eating and drinking, as of August 2026

Dante Mayfair is the headline. Founded by Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson, the New York original is a cocktail institution, and the London version runs the same repertoire alongside food that leans Italian and informal. Claridge's managing director Thomas Kochs has described the ambition as making it "the living room of Mayfair", which is a deliberate step away from the tasting-menu formality of what came before.

What came before is worth knowing, because it explains why the hotel keeps changing its mind. Gordon Ramsay held a star here from 2001 to 2013. Simon Rogan's Fera followed and was starred in 2015. Daniel Humm's Davies and Brook closed in 2021. Claridge's Restaurant opened in 2023 and lasted less than three years. The hotel has had a fine-dining room for a quarter of a century and has never settled on one.

The rest of the offer is more stable, and arguably more important to a visitor. Afternoon tea in the Foyer and Reading Room, under the Chihuly chandelier, is the single most requested thing in the building and needs booking well ahead. The Fumoir seats about two dozen people and is one of the best small bars in London. The Painter's Room opened in 2021. Claridge's Bar is the busy one. The ArtSpace Cafe sits above a Perrotin gallery, and there is a bakery. L'Epicerie is a chef's table inside the working kitchens, which is the closest thing the hotel now has to a fine-dining experience.

So is it worth it?

Three cases where it clearly is. If the point of the trip is Mayfair itself, the location is close to unbeatable: Bond Street station is four minutes away, Oxford Street one block north, and the Mayfair galleries and Bond Street shops are on the doorstep. If you care about interiors, the Art Deco fabric here is real and continuous rather than a recent theme. And if you are coming for an occasion, the hotel's institutional memory of running occasions is the product.

Two cases where it is not. If you want the biggest, newest, most technically equipped room in London, the money goes further at a modern hotel in the same price band. And if you want a starred restaurant attached to your bed, Claridge's does not currently have one, though its sister hotel ten minutes away does. Our Claridge's versus The Connaught comparison works through that choice in detail.

One more thing to plan around: the Christmas tree. Every year a designer or fashion house is invited to install the hotel's lobby tree, and from late November the foyer becomes a public attraction as much as a hotel lobby. If you want the hotel quiet, that is not the month.

For the wider field, see our guide to the best luxury hotels in Mayfair, our afternoon tea guide and the where to stay in W1 overview, or start at the W1 London homepage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Claridge's worth it?

It depends what you are buying. If you want the largest, most modern luxury rooms in London, newer hotels beat it. If you want a Mayfair address, an Art Deco interior that is genuinely historic rather than themed, and a level of service that has been practised on the same building since 1898, that is what Claridge's sells and very little else in London sells it.

How many rooms does Claridge's have?

Around 190 rooms and suites. Roughly 40 of those came from the roof extension added during the long rebuilding programme that ran from 2016 to 2021, so the newest rooms are the highest ones.

What restaurants are at Claridge's?

Dante Mayfair, which opened in June 2026 in the space that had been Claridge's Restaurant, plus The Foyer and Reading Room for afternoon tea and dining, L'Epicerie as a chef's table inside the kitchens, the ArtSpace Cafe and Claridge's Bakery. The bars are Claridge's Bar, The Fumoir and The Painter's Room.

Does Claridge's have a Michelin star?

Not currently. It has had three starred restaurants in the past: Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's from 2001 to 2013, Fera by Simon Rogan from 2014 to 2018, and Davies and Brook under Daniel Humm, which closed in 2021. The hotel itself was awarded three Michelin Keys in the guide's 2024 hotel awards.

Does Claridge's have a spa and a pool?

Yes. Both are in the basement excavation completed during the 2016 to 2021 works, which went five levels down under the building and added a swimming pool, a gym and the spa. Digging downwards was the only way to add facilities to a Grade II listed building on a constrained Mayfair island site.

What is the difference between Claridge's and The Connaught?

Both belong to Maybourne, both are in Mayfair, and they are ten minutes apart on foot. Claridge's is the larger, grander and more public of the two, with a lobby that functions as a Mayfair meeting place. The Connaught is smaller, quieter and more residential in feel, and it holds the Michelin stars.

Where exactly is Claridge's?

On the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, W1. Bond Street station is about four minutes' walk, which puts the Elizabeth line, the Central line and the Jubilee line within reach, and Oxford Street is one block north.

Sources

• Claridge's, restaurants and bars, and rooms and suites: maybourne.com
• The Caterer, Dante Mayfair to open in the former site of Claridge's Restaurant: thecaterer.com

Checked on 22 August 2026. Restaurant line-ups and opening hours change; confirm with the hotel before booking.