Raffles London at The OWO

Character and identity

Set inside the Edwardian Baroque hulk of the Old War Office on Whitehall, Raffles London at The OWO occupies a building where Churchill once briefed from the Grand Staircase's Juliet balcony and Ian Fleming worked for Naval Intelligence. An eight-year, two-billion-dollar restoration has delivered 120 rooms and suites by the late Thierry Despont, with triple-height ceilings, oak panelling and Piastraccia marble underfoot. The mood is regally masculine, anchored by Household Cavalry red. Nine restaurants (three from Mauro Colagreco), three bars including the subterranean Spy Bar, and a 27,000-square-foot Guerlain spa with a 20-metre pool fill out the offer. Service is polished and discreet.

Who's it for

Bottom line

What you're really paying for is the building itself: the corridors Fleming walked, the staircase Churchill spoke from, restored at a scale no other London opening this century can match. Book a heritage suite (the Granville is softer than the ministerial Haldane or Churchill) to actually inhabit the history; Classic Rooms from around $1,384 still deliver the triple-height ceilings but less of the story.