The History of The Goring

1910 The foundation
Grand Opening of The Goring by founder Otto Richard Goring – the last hotel built in the reign of King Emperor Edward VII. Each bedroom has ‘en-suite’ bathrooms – the first in the World.
Price of a room – 7s 6d (37p)

1914 Outbreak of 1st World War 
The Hotel becomes command centre for Chief of Allied Forces. Direct telephone link between General Pershing and President Wilson. The Allied War Effort is being run from The Goring Kitchen.

Goring staff from France and Germany are evacuated, famously walking arm in arm to Victoria station singing each other’s national anthems.

1919
Lady Randolph Churchill comes to live at The Goring and is visited frequently by her son, Mr Winston Churchill.

Peace

1921
“Air-conditioning invented!” O.R. Goring installs an enormous fan on the roof, piped to every room. Vacuum cleaners are attached via outlets in skirting board – underwear sucked out into the air, blowing across London.

Price of a room – 25s (1.25 pounds)

1920-25
The Hon. Violet d’Arcy comes to live at The Goring while she is Lady in Waiting to Queen Mary. The Queen often comes to tea with her at The Goring.

1926 The General Strike 
Opening of the new wing and restaurant

1930
Novelist Anthony Powell is inspired to invent his heroine The Hon. Angela Goring for his epic series of novels ‘A Dance to the Music of Time’ over tea at the hotel.

1937
Coronation of King George Vl. Visit of the Norwegian Crown Prince, who explains his fondness for the hotel by saying ‘at Buckingham Palace I have to share a bath with five people! Here I have one to myself’.

1938
Leslie Nicol, switchboard operator, witnesses Churchill lifting the French Prime Minister Daladier off the floor by his lapels, with Chamberlain looking on.

Price of a room - 7s 6d (1.37 pounds)

War again

1939 War
Outbreak of the 2nd World War Occupancy down to 6% 150 Polish Officers accommodated.

1944
The first ever colour footage of WWII is made. The Fox film crew stays at The Goring on their way to board landing craft for the D-Day Invasion.

Mrs Goring’s salad invented. To beat rationing, Edna Goring invents a special dish from “whatever we can find”, including, hare, whale, and on one occasion, an antelope shot by an officer in the Western Desert campaign.  No rabbit is safe in the Goring garden.

1945 Peace
Peace declared. Election of Labour Government and the austerity years. The King and Queen come to The Goring for sausages and scrambled eggs with the Princesses.

Lasting Peace

1948
Christening of Prince Charles, with Christening Cake supplied by the Escoffier-trained Goring pastry chefs.

1952
Death of King George VI

1953
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Vast influx of foreign royalty comes to stay at the Goring, which becomes an annexe to Buckingham Palace

The Sixties

1960
50th Birthday. The Swinging Sixties. Jean Shrimpton causes consternation at The Goring by appearing in one of the first mini skirts.

Price of a room - 4 pounds.

‘70’s, ‘80’s
Annual visits from Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother as Patron of the Injured Jockeys Fund.

Price of a room in 1970 - 4.50 pounds

Modern times

1992
George Goring accepts an O.B.E. from HRH The Queen at Buckingham Palace for “services to the hotel industry”.

2005
Acquisition of the gardens from the Duke of Westminster. Retirement of Mr George Goring on March 22nd after 43 years at the helm. 

Appointment of 4th generation Jeremy Goring.

Opening of the new Dining Room, exquisitely transformed by David Linley to universal acclaim.  The transformation is the start of a refurbishment programme prior to the Centenary in 2010.

The Dining Room is voted best British Restaurant by ITV Carlton TV, in front of 5 million viewers.

The Goring is voted number one hotel in London by readers of Travel & Leisure Magazine.

2006
The Goring is the only family owned and run 5* luxury hotel in London Designer Tim Gosling is appointed to re-design three balcony Rooms

2007
The Archive Room, Boardroom and 10 bedrooms are all refurbished. Designer Nina Campbell is taken on to transform the Belgravia One Bedroom Suite (#52) and The Best Room (#114) with ravishing results

2008
The Lounge and Bar are given a theatrical new look by designer Tim Gosling, taking his inspiration from Empress Josephine’s the Chateau de Malmaison.  A portrait of Horatio Nelson is hung over the fireplace.

Gosling also works his magic on the Terrace, drawing his inspiration from Sir John Soane’s museum in Lincoln’s Inn Field

2009
The Goring is voted as having the Best Service in the UK by readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine in the USA

Designer Russell Sage is commissioned to transform six garden-view guest rooms using bespoke wallpaper by Royal Warrant holder, Gainsborough Silks. 

2010
The Goring Centenary