The Origins of The Berkeley
The Berkeley formerly stood at the corner of Piccadilly and Berkeley Street on the edge of Mayfair at the turn of the 19th century, bearing the name of the street on which it stood. With good proximity to Mayfair the hotel became a popular venue for debutantes.
The Restaurant in particular was one of the few places where parents would allow their daughters to go unchaperoned, as they reasoned that the staff would keep an eye on them and their escorts.
The Berkeley was purchased by the founder of The Savoy, Richard D’Oyly Carte. Carte had fired the most famous hotel manager, César Ritz, and chef, Auguste Escoffier, despite the threat of bad publicity, because he had caught them both cheating him financially.
D’Oyly Carte approached The Berkeley’s Managing Director and offered him the opportunity to run The Savoy as well but he was turned down. Never one to give up he began negotiations to purchase the hotel. On 1 January 1901 The Berkeley became part of the Savoy Group. Managing Director, George Reeves-Smith, now found himself in charge of two properties.
Legacy of the D’Oyly Carte Family
Richard D’Oyly Carte died in April of that year, at which time his son Rupert, now aged 25, stepped into his father’s shoes as Chairman of the Board. This two-man team would manage the hotels most successfully for the next forty years, until Reeves-Smith’s death in 1941.
A Luxurious Affair
Like its sister hotels, The Berkeley was as luxurious and up-to-the-minute as it was possible to be, for example air-conditioning and double-glazing were installed throughout the hotel in the 1920s. But it was difficult to improve facilities at The Berkeley because it had not been purpose-built and the building was quite old.
The Berkeley of Piccadilly
Eventually the Directors made a policy decision to look for a new site on which they could build a purpose-built hotel. They finally hit on the idea of buying properties in the vicinity of Hyde Park Corner. Planning permission was granted to demolish these properties and to build a new hotel, designed by the architect Martin O’Rorke. Building began in 1968 and was completed in 1972.
The Berkeley’s Heritage
There is a permanent memento of the old Berkeley as some of the wood panelling and decorative carvings from the original hotel were installed in a sitting-room off the front hall. Known as the Lutyens Room, it became the Blue Bar in 1999.
Home of Celebrities and Sloanes
The Berkeley has retained its elegance, charm and popularity with the people of the time. The hotel’s famous drinking-spot, The Blue Bar, has been a talking point of glossy magazines and gossip columns around the globe. The hotel, its bar and pool are all favoured by stars such as Madonna, Leonardo diCaprio and Giselle.
The Berkeley Today
The Berkeley pool is one of only two rooftop pools in London and has a retracting roof and views over Hyde Park.
The extensive renovations and the addition of restaurants such as Gordon Ramsay's Boxwood Café and Marcus Wareing's Pétrus has secured The Berkeley as one of the world’s leading gastronomic hotels.