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IT’S hip and happening, it’s cool, man. I’m sure those were the terms used to describe the Café Royal by the fashionable in-crowd of the swinging Sixties when Mick Jagger and his Rolling Stones bandmates were swaggering around town at the start of their epic journey into rock ‘n’ roll folklore.
I asked my teenage daughter for the appropriate 21st Century terminology and she suggested ‘swag’.
In my day that meant a bag of loot, which is probably apt if you’re planning to stay long at this stunning destination in the heart of London. At least have a Platinum credit card handy.
The Café Royal is back on the top of the cool list and Mr Jagger has remained one of its coolest customers. Just days before my visit, the Rolling Stones’ lead singer popped in for a soirée with a fine-looking crowd in the iconic Grill Room.
Originally established in 1865, it has now been restored to revive the ornate Louis XVI mirrored décor and detailing, and has quickly established itself as the ‘in’ destination to enjoy cocktails and a light menu of British dishes.
Although it has a dress code with guests urged to ‘recapture the spirit of the room’ by being ‘celebrative and sophisticated’ no one asked Mr Jagger to leave despite him wearing a pair of tatty trainers.
It’s nice to know the rock ’n’ roll spirit lives on even when you’re 70 … and as everyone knows, no-one moves quite like Jagger.
Its rebellious founder would no doubt have been impressed. The Café Royal was founded by Daniel Nicolas Thévenon, a former Parisian merchant who fled bankruptcy in France with his wife, arriving in England in 1863 with just five gold sovereigns in his pocket (his wife had an additional two).
It was natural that Thévenon settled in Soho because at the time, it was the French quarter.
He changed his name to Daniel Nicols and opened the Café Royal on Glasshouse Street in 1865. The establishment rapidly flourished and expanded in 1870 to include its current address, 68 Regent Street.
It was neither a restaurant, a club or a café but it did have elements of all three. For a restaurant, it was too informal, for a club, it lacked the implied sense of responsibility and for a café (as late-Victorian London understood it), it had far too much verve and personality.
However, artists, writers, journalists, actors and poets began to call themselves Café Royalists and came to regard the place as a club.
If Charles Dickens’ Dictionary of London can be trusted, by the late Seventies the Café Royal had an excellent reputation among those ‘who knew how to order their dinners’.
Regular travellers will note that you can often tell the class of an establishment by the quality of the soaps and shampoos found in its bathrooms.
Café Royal is supplied by Floris of London, situated close by in Jermyn Street, purveyors of the finest perfumes and toiletries to the Court of St James’ since 1730.
Floris has been creating bespoke perfume for a long list of highly-esteemed clientele and some of these recipes remain olfactory secrets, locked away in its library, handed down over the generations. Others, such as Special No.127 created for Russia’s Grand Duke Orloff in 1890, were later introduced for everyone to enjoy, explained Edward Bodenham, the great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson of the company’s founder.
A favourite with the British royal family and leading celebrities of today and yesteryear, including the late Marilyn Monroe, the little bottles in the Café Royal rooms are luxurious additions to the overall experience.
It is understood that there was once a network of tunnels under London with Buckingham Palace, the perfumery and the Café Royal all linked. The link today appears to be the sweet smell of success and visitor pulling power.
London continues to draw thousands of visitors from the Gulf region each year, attracted by a combination of its fascinating history and modern facilities, sprinkled with a dazzling array of entertainment, shopping and dining experiences alongside upmarket hotel accommodation.
The latest figures, released this month, reveal that the total number of visitors to London in 2012 was 365,000 visits from countries in the Middle East (excluding Turkey, Egypt and Israel) compared to 338,000 in 2011.
As for total spend for the same period, it’s a staggering £920 million compared to £668 million in 2011.
Rania Hatoum, Visit Britain’s public relations and digital communications officer in the region, said: “Why London? There is the accessibility factor with weekly seat capacity of almost 100,000 from all the major Gulf cities to Britain.
“Travellers from the GCC region love London’s weather and colourful surroundings, its red buses and green parks ... not to mention its exhilarating shopping scene, its world renowned department stores and high streets; Knightsbridge, Sloane and Edgware are particularly popular for visitors from the Middle East.
“Also, London is studded with Michelin-starred restaurants and the food on offer is so rich and tempting.”
The newest attraction to the London scene is a genuine blast from the past, oozing with nostalgia of bygone centuries whilst fitting into the luxury lifestyle concept with ease.
Café Royal recently re-opened as a contemporary hotel on Regent Street, marking the first phase of its long-awaited return to the capital.
The revival of this legendary institution has been the culmination of a four-year transformation under the direction of David Chipperfield Architects and has seen Café Royal join The Conservatorium, Amsterdam, as the second hotel of The Set, Alfred and Georgi Akirov’s visionary luxury hotel collection.
Featuring 159 rooms and suites, including six historic suites, an array of dining venues, a private members club, high-tech meeting rooms and a Holistic Wellbeing Centre, Café Royal bears every trait of a 21st Century luxury hotel.
However, the sensitive restoration of the rooms by Donald Insall Associates, seamlessly weaving together original 1865 details with contemporary design, also pays homage to the architectural heritage of the building.
It is in this meticulous fusion of the traditional and the modern – an inherent characteristic of The Set Hotels – that Café Royal finds its niche.
The first phase of Café Royal’s development includes rooms and suites, the Ten Room, the exquisitely restored Grill and Domino Rooms, The Bar and a contemporary café – all under the direction of executive chef, Andrew Turner.
The Pompadour Suite is the Café Royal’s historic meeting and events space. It is named after Madame Pompadour and the 107 paintings on the ceilings are all scenes of love. There is a terrace at the end of the room which overlooks Regent Street and Soho.
This is where American fashion designer and model L’Wren Scott, 46, and her beau Mick Jagger, recently held a private dinner party. They were joined by friends including Ronnie Wood, Alice Eve, Karlie Kloss, Natalie Massenet and Tallulah Harlech to toast her collection’s showing during London Fashion Week.
Quick to follow this month, will be the rest of the building, welcoming the Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre and the remaining suites of historical significance.
Louis Sailer, general manager, said: “In reincarnating Café Royal as a hotel, we want to continue and revive its legacy as a meeting place for great minds and quirky characters – for those who are interested and interesting, curious about art, literature, politics and London life.
“Although we are a luxury hotel, we offer a sophisticated yet discreet luxury rather than an old-fashioned and stiff service. We want to be accessible to everyone and this will be achieved through our restaurants and bars. For example, in our main restaurant, the Ten Room, diners can enjoy a three-course meal or simply indulge in a drink and a lively debate!”
In addition to the rich history and architectural detail, Café Royal also tells so many beautiful stories.
Oscar Wilde was probably Café Royal’s most famous patron – he famously hallucinated on absinthe in the Grill Room, The Beatles dined at Café Royal and David Bowie threw Ziggy Stardust a ‘retirement dinner’ here. Other regular guests included Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, Tony Curtis and Dudley Moore.
And, of course, Mick Jagger is still a regular.
l The Café Royal is currently in its ‘soft opening’ phase with finishing touches taking place to a few of the historic suites, including one where once hidden images of French Emperor Napoleon are being restored. Portland Deluxe Room rates start from £400 (BD230, including taxes but excluding breakfast) and rise to £9,000 (BD5,000) a night for the Dome Suite. For further information and reservations, visit www.hotelcaferoyal.com or telephone +44 020 7406 3322.
*Summer season London-Bahrain Gulf Air return fares start from BD448 economy and BD1,488 Falcon Gold class.
