Whitehall, London, UK ~ Raffles London at the OWO

January 2026

We’re excited to welcome our first guest contributors to hotelling.org. This entry is a collaboration with two friends who invited us to join them at the Raffles in London; thanks to them for sharing their insights on the Raffles experience!

Tell us about the origin of the London trip.

This trip was definitely a ‘treat yourself’ moment. We were coming off a couple of months with family in Serbia, transitioning back home and looking for a few days of luxury travel along the way.

You chose the Raffles OWO before we decided to join you. Why this hotel?

We were intrigued by the history of the OWO, which formerly served as the headquarters of the British War Office and is right on Whitehall among the iconic buildings of England. The hotel also has a knock-out spa – part of the ‘treat yourself’ scheme.

What were your first impressions of the property?

The entry to the building is directly across from the Royal Horseguards with tourists all around, so it really is right in the center of London’s power. The porter invited us in, asked if we were staying, and then whisked us off to reception, which was tucked away in the back of the ground floor. We didn’t have a moment to pause and take in the massive entry and grand staircase. In the reception room, we were seated at a desk and offered champagne, while another staff member took our luggage. With the exception of the champagne, it felt a little like meeting with a banker. The staffer from reception then escorted us to our room with an introduction to the ground floor bars and restaurants along the way. Our bags arrived separately. It was all well executed but felt a little choreographed, like a ride at an amusement park.

When you were left on your own in the room, what did you think? Did it meet your expectations?

We knew our choice was the right one when we made it to our room. Prior to our arrival, we received a preferences form, which included everything from pillow choices and preferred temperatures to the kind of refreshments we enjoy and the time we prefer turndown services. Someone clearly read the survey. Our pine needle pillows were waiting on the bed, the room temperature was perfect, and we had wine, fruit and chocolate waiting for us.

Our room looked directly onto Whitehall with two big windows, a king-size bed and a roomy seating area with a couch and coffee table. The entrance foyer with what looked like original parquet floors was a highlight; it served as a kind of dressing area (and perfect place to do yoga) and adjoined an entire wall of closets (stocked with a yoga mat, a steamer, slippers, luxurious wooden and padded hangers and a – very useful – shoeshine cloth to wipe off the London rain).

The marble bathroom was stunning with a separate deep tub, a big shower, dual sinks with a TV in the mirror, and a Toto washlet toilet. The bathtub was not only deep but long, and the edges were perfect for resting a glass of champagne, a candle or a book. The Toto toilet was always “on guard” with its lid programmed to open automatically each time we approached, followed by the swish of a bowl-freshening cycle of water. That got a little comical, particularly if we were on our way to the shower or just popping into the bathroom to get our robes from the hook, but other toilet functions, including the heated seat set to turn on in the early morning, were quite lovely.

We’ve previously stayed in rooms that have smart technology, but they’re often not that intuitive and not worth spending the time trying to decipher. In this room, however, the iPad controls were easy to understand and allowed us to do anything we wanted – from turning on and off the TV and controlling the drapes, to calling for housekeeping or ordering room service. We could even access an exhibition catalog of the art that fills the hotel. One caveat: We managed to accidentally turn on the “do not disturb light” via the iPad; you two did the same thing. This must have sent a mixed signal to housekeeping that we wanted our room serviced but also didn’t want to be disturbed.

When you arrived the day after we did, it was fun to see your room as well (this second room is the one in many of the pictures). It was a little more petite and looked out to the courtyard, but it had all of the same features.

Did the formality of the hotel – what you experienced when you first arrived – continue through your stay?

As we spent more time at Raffles – and as we learned to navigate both the building and the hotel’s culture, our first impressions changed. The hotel was classy but not snobby, and we never felt uncomfortable or out of place. Almost everyone we encountered was warm and friendly, and we had fun chatting with the porters as we came and went.

The hotel is full of amenities. Which ones did you use?

The Guerlain Royal Spa and Guerlain L’Atelier were our first stops. One of us had a haircut and his first-ever manicure, accompanied by a whiskey pour, while the other had a ‘slimming massage,’ which consisted of being kneaded and buttered with lovely Guerlain honey in one of the many treatment rooms – all labelled with the code names of famous English female spies.  Following our treatments, we visited the pool area – a gorgeous set of pools, a steam room, a sauna, and showers, all five stories underground.

Later in the night, we visited the Spy Bar – located in the tunnels under the hotel in Room 007. To get to the spy bar, which was behind a door only marked with the room number, we had to be escorted down by a hotel butler. Once inside we found half of a James Bond car hanging above the bar and a scene full of young, beautiful, rich, and boisterous patrons.

We also visited the Guards Bar to sample the London version of the famous Singapore Sling, which Raffles invented at its Singapore property in 1915. The London Sling was perfectly fine, but it doesn’t stand up to the original.

During our final evening, we joined the two of you in the Poppy Room, the guest lounge. The room, once part of the exterior facade of the building, is five stories high and filled with an amazing glass mobile of abstract poppy flowers, a tribute to war heroes from WWI.

A highlight of the stay was a tour of the building led by one of the hotel’s butlers (concierges). What made the tour special?

The person who led the tour was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the building, thanks, he said, to all he learned from the hotel’s in-house historian. The day we toured, two of the hotel’s historic suites happened to be unoccupied, so we got to visit both the Churchill Suite and the Haldane Suite (only £30,000/night) where we were able to sit at Churchill’s desk. We also learned why the hallways in the building are so wide; even though the building was one of the first to have internal telephone lines, young boys would cycle through the building delivering messages. And who wouldn’t love the story of the mosaic floor and the gift each War Office staff member received upon retirement: a set of cufflinks made from a piece of the floor.

 

Many iconic buildings around the world have been repurposed as hotels. How did Raffles do on this front?

Raffles acquired the building from the British government in 2016 and invested £1.5 billion and eight years into the restoration and conversion to a hotel.  The property truly feels like a monument to the empire and to all of the important work that happened in the building over 110 years. 

Would you return to Raffles OWO?

Absolutely! And what would be even better is returning as a resident of one of the building’s 85 private homes. We probably need two – one for us, and one for you.

Stay details:

• Raffles London at the OWO
• 3-night stay: January 30 – February 1, 2026 (first couple) and January 31 – February 2 (second couple)
• Junior Suite #124 and Deluxe Room #108

What we did, where we ate:

~the things the four of us did together on our two overlapping days in London~

Excursions:

• Walking tour of Highgate
• Guided tour of Highgate Cemetery (the east side)
• “Secrets of the War Rooms” tour at the Churchill War Rooms
• OWO tour, led by a hotel butler
• Walk along the Embankment
• Art exhibit at Two Temple Place
• Exmouth Market and Our Most Holy Redeemer Church
• Walk through Spitalfieds, Princelet Street, Brick Lane

Eating and Drinking:

• Lunch at The Red Lion and Son pub
• Drinks at The Hart, Marylebone, with D & K
• Dinner at Trishna with D & K
• Nightcap at Walker’s of Whitehall
• Coffee at Blues and Royals, Embankment Tube Station
• Lunch at The Seven Stars
• Pint at Ye Olde Chesire Cheese
• Pint at The Blackfriar
• Pint at Mikkeller Brewpub
• Dinner at Som Saa
• London Sling at Guards Bar and Lounge, Raffles

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