#4 in Top 20 London for Business · ★★★★★
The Connaught
Mayfair pied-à-terre, Hélène Darroze for after-hours dinner, the most-discreet front desk in London.
Mayfair pied-à-terre, Hélène Darroze for after-hours dinner, the most-discreet front desk in London.
"Mayfair pied-à-terre, Hélène Darroze for after-hours dinner, the most-discreet front desk in London."
The Connaught is the smaller, more discreet of Maybourne's two Mayfair flagships (Claridge's is the larger sibling). It anchors Carlos Place, two blocks from Berkeley Square, and has run as a luxury hotel since the present building reopened in 1897 as the Coburg Hotel; it took the name Connaught during the First World War, in 1917. Just over 120 rooms and suites make it small by Mayfair standards, with the Apartment, the Sutherland Suite and the Aldwych as the multi-room flagships. Hélène Darroze at The Connaught (three Michelin stars, the most-decorated hotel restaurant in London) is the business-dinner room, while the Connaught Bar, routinely ranked among the best bars in the world, is where the meeting carries on afterwards; the Red Room is the quieter Champagne-and-cocktail alternative. The Connaught is best for the London business trip where discretion is the deliverable: the senior banker who would rather not be photographed at Claridge's, the family-office visitor who prefers a smaller-scale house, and the multi-day guest the front desk recognises by the second visit.
The Apartment, the multi-bedroom flagship, or a Mayfair Suite a tier down.
Book Hélène Darroze at 7pm for the business dinner and ask for a corner two-top. The Connaught Bar at 6pm is the after-meeting room, where the Martini cart is the draw and the staff remember regulars by face. Use the Carlos Place side entrance for the most discreet arrival.
The Connaught sits within our broader Top 20 Hotels in London for Business list. It scored an aggregate 9.8/10 across the three editorial criteria, competitive against the field but, on business-specific factors, the angle above is what earned its rank. For the alternatives in the same London neighbourhood, see Mayfair, Carlos Place and adjacent. For a different city entirely, see the related lists below.
Have firm dates? Our editor's advice is to book roughly twelve weeks in advance. Expect the best-positioned suites to go early; in the busy season the lead time is months, not weeks. Top-category rooms with private pools or terraces, the reason this hotel ranks here, are routinely the first gone.
A ranked shortlist, a special offer worth booking, and the overpriced stay to skip. Straight from the editors.