The hotel first opened in 1815 as the Prince of Saxe-Coburg Hotel, an offshoot of Grillion's Hotel that had been established by Alexander Grillion in
Albemarle Street, Mayfair. It was originally a pair of
Georgian houses in
Charles Street, near
Grosvenor Square.
The 1st Duke of Westminster decided to redevelop the area, and the street was changed, becoming Carlos Place. In 1892, the hotel's owner applied to rebuild it, but work did not start until two years later, when the original houses were demolished. In 1897, the Coburg Hotel was reopened. In 1917, during the First World War, a decision was made to change the name to the less-German "Connaught". The name was taken from the title of
Queen Victoria's third son,
Prince Arthur, the first
Duke of Connaught. In 1935, Rudolph Richard, a young
Swiss hotelier, became general manager of The Connaught and ran the hotel almost as an
English private house, with the highest standards of comfort and service. In 1956, The Connaught was acquired by the Savoy Group, owners of
Claridge's,
The Berkeley and the
Savoy Hotel in London. In 2005, the Savoy Group, including The Connaught, was bought by a group of Irish investors, which sold off the Savoy Hotel and
Savoy Theatre and renamed the group
Maybourne Hotel Group.
Restoration In March 2007, The Connaught closed for a £70 million restoration programme, described as a "contemporary interpretation". Guy Oliver was the lead designer of the restoration, refurbishment and redecoration of the old hotel, completing a total of 88 rooms and suites (including The Prince's Lodge, The Eagles Lodge and The Sutherland and Somerset Suites) as well as the restoration and redecoration of the main staircase, new lifts, concierge and public areas, L'Espelette Restaurant and The Georgian and Regency Rooms. Immediately after this work was completed he designed a further 31 rooms and suites in the new addition to the hotel, a terrace penthouse, and all of the public spaces and function rooms, including the Ballroom, Maple Oak and Silver Rooms. The Maybourne Hotel Group stated that they intended to preserve the traditional values for which the hotel is known. The chef was
Angela Hartnett, but she was later replaced by French chef
Hélène Darroze. The hotel reopened in December 2007 with fewer rooms than usually available; development continued throughout 2008 when The Connaught Bar, designed by David Collins, opened. The hotel also has a swimming pool and Asian-inspired spa managed in conjunction with
Aman Resorts. Other changes include a new Espelette Restaurant, with a covered terrace, and the Coburg Bar, managed by Andreas Cortes. The Connaught Bar is run by mixologist Agostino Perrone, which has received several international awards including World's Best Cocktail Bar at the coveted Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in both 2012 and 2016, the only bar in the world to have won it twice. In 2021, The Connaught opened a new bar, the Red Room, featuring artwork by
Louise Bourgeois and
Jenny Holzer, and stained glass windows by
Brian Clarke. In 2023, The Connaught Bar placed 5th on
The World's 50 Best Bars list. ==Notable guests==