Dukes Hotel

{{Short description|Hotel in London, United Kingdom}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox hotel

| hotel_name = Dukes Hotel

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| image = Hotel Dukes London.jpg

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| location = 35 and 36 St James's Place, St James's, London, England

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| coordinates = {{Coord|51.5055|-0.1395|display=inline,title}}

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| opening_date = 1908

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| operator = Seven Tides International

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| number_of_rooms = 90

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| website = www.dukeshotel.com

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Dukes Hotel, now known just as Dukes, is a luxury 90 room/suite hotel at 35 and 36 St James's Place, London, founded in 1908.{{cite news |title=Dukes London Mayfair, London, England |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/central/west-end/mayfair/hotels/dukes-hotel/ |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=3 October 2017 |access-date=13 October 2021}} Previous guests have included the composer Edward Elgar, the author Ian Fleming, and various members of the British royal family.

History

The close in which the hotel is situated was once known as Cleveland Court,Laxton, Paul & Joseph Wisdom. (1985) The A to Z of Regency London. London: London Topographical Society. p. 44. ISBN 0902087193 which was named after Cleveland House, the London residence of the Duchess of Cleveland, a mistress of Charles II.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EZizXOCKaYYC&q=cleveland+court|title=A Handbook for London: Past and Present|last1=Cunningham|first1=Peter|year=1849}} In 1801, Henry Thomas Austen, brother of the novelist Jane Austen, had offices in Cleveland Court.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9vxqRs9L9MoC&q=Cleveland+Court%2C&pg=PA6|title = The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen|isbn = 9780521498678|last1 = Jordan|first1 = John O.|last2 = Edward|first2 = Copeland|last3 = Juliet|first3 = Mcmaster|date = May 1997}}

Hotel and bar

According to The Daily Telegraph, the hotel is "reassuringly old-fashioned". Jack Brooksbank, Princess Eugenie's husband, is reported to have told Richard Eden, the Daily Mail's royalty editor, that there is a secret tunnel from the nearby St James's Palace to Dukes Bar.{{cite news |last1=McCusker |first1=Kate |title=The Queen has a secret 'booze tunnel' running from St. James's Palace to a fancy cocktail bar |url=https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/the-queen-secret-booze-tunnel-751131 |access-date=13 October 2021 |work=Marie Claire |date=5 October 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Elise |title=There May Be a Secret Royal Tunnel From St. James Palace to This Legendary London Bar |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/there-may-be-a-secret-royal-tunnel-from-st-james-palace-to-this-legendary-london-bar |access-date=13 October 2021 |work=Vogue |date=6 October 2021}} From the hotel itself, Dukes Bar is accessed via "a small, unmarked door".{{cite news |last1=Breen |first1=Martin |title=Explore London from Dukes, James Bond creator Ian Fleming's favourite haunt |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/travel/explore-london-from-dukes-james-bond-creator-ian-flemings-favourite-haunt-40933754.html |access-date=13 October 2021 |work=Belfast Telegraph |date=10 October 2021}} The clientele were once described as a typical Mayfair set: "wealthy, tawdry, and slightly disreputable" but fading into the background after a couple of the bar's martinis.Britten, Fleur. (Ed.) (2008) [https://books.google.com/books?id=535u3ALi484C&q=dukes A Hedonist's Guide to London]. London: Filmer. 2nd edition. pp. 112-113. ISBN 9781905428236

Guests

Past guests have included the composer Edward Elgar, who often visited,{{cite news |last1=Crossan |first1=Rob |title=Dukes London: a St James' institution |url=https://luxurylondon.co.uk/travel/london/dukes-london-hotel-st-james |access-date=13 October 2021 |work=luxurylondon |date=21 January 2020}} and the James Bond author Ian Fleming who frequented Dukes Bar where he decided that Bond's favoured drink would be a vodka martini, "shaken, not stirred". The Vesper Martini is the Dukes Bar "signature drink" and includes five shots of gin, with a two-drink limit; any attempt to purchase a third one will be declined.

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother is rumoured to have been a regular, as well as Diana, Princess of Wales, who had "a small table in the drawing room permanently reserved" for afternoon tea.{{cite web |last1=Dickson-Robinson |first1=Lavinia |title=Dukes Hotel London |url=https://i-m-magazine.com/dukes-hotel-london/ |website=i-m-magazine.com |date=15 September 2020 |access-date=13 October 2021}}

References

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