Step through the doors of Brown’s Hotel and you step into nearly two centuries of London history.
Opened in Mayfair in 1832, Brown’s has welcomed an extraordinary cast of characters – rulers and writers, politicians and spies, actors and adventurers. Along the way are the stories of the remarkable people connected with Brown’s – where Agatha Christie found inspiration for At Bertram’s Hotel, Rudyard Kipling spent his honeymoon, exiled monarchs found refuge, Theodore Roosevelt left to get to church on time, Alexander Graham Bell made Britain’s first telephone call and Princess Diana dropped by for tea.
Behind the famous names is an even more intriguing story: how a single townhouse become one of the world’s great hotels – and how it has managed to remain recognisably the same hotel for almost two centuries.
London’s oldest hotel
My research into Brown’s uncovered a history in which fact and folklore have become intertwined. One important discovery was the hotel’s true opening date was 1832 rather than the often-repeated 1837.
This places the hotel among the establishments that jostle to lay claim to the title of London’s oldest – from Claridge’s to The Connaught. I have developed the ‘rule of three’ as a way of deciding among these assertions. To lay claim to this title the hotel must never have been renamed, rebuilt or relocated.
Brown’s passes all three tests – explaining why it can truly claim to be London’s oldest luxury hotel.
Find out more about the history of this hotel on my guided walks.
Two books, one extraordinary hotel
Explore individual characters and episodes from the hotel’s extraordinary history – from Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain to Peter Cushing and the remarkable people who worked behind the scenes.
My research separates the fact from the fiction and reveals the people, events and changing world behind one of the capital’s most remarkable hotels.
I have distilled my research into two books:
Brown’s Hotel London: A History of Rulers, Writers & Rascals, a short, illustrated history of the hotel and its characters. Discover the book →
Brown’s Hotel: A Family Affair, a beautifully illustrated, coffee-table book. Buy online →
Experience Brown’s for yourself
I am the official historian of Brown’s Hotel and now lead Inside Brown’s Hotel, an exclusive public tour offering something unusual: the opportunity to explore the hotel’s history and go inside the building itself.
Find out about the Inside Brown’s Hotel tour →
Discover more
- Coming soon
Hotel History Expert 