If The Goring walls could talk…

As anyone worth their salt knows, what happens at The Goring stays at The Goring – and while the walls would never talk, look closely and they’ve got stories of their own to tell

The Goring is the last grand hotel in London to still be run by the family that opened it in 1910. If there’s one thing the Edwardians knew how to do, it was have a good time. In a whirl of moustaches and pocket watches, parasols and corsets, London’s glitterati were not shy when it came to rowdy dinners and even rowdier balls (bravo, Edwardians), setting a tone we remain heartily committed to. Winston Churchill held war-time meetings in the private rooms here. The late Queen Elizabeth II was known to drop by for lunch. There was a very famous actress who once tried to – actually, never mind about that. It’s a glamour, grandeur and glint in the eye that is both embedded and now embroidered into the silk-lined and meticulously hand-painted walls of the hotel. 

That spirit of outrageous high-society shenanigans has been perfectly captured by the designers at Fromental, the artists of the wallcovering world. The devil’s in the detail. That seal on the wall you spotted in the corridor is a nod to Jeremy Goring’s love of surfing. The cheerful-looking pig is in fond remembrance of his great-grandfather, Otto Goring – a self-declared food enthusiast. In the Dining Room, glance up from your Michelin-starred menu to find yourself watched over by monkeys swigging Champagne, appearing from under cloches and coming out of cakes. Take that as your cue to have a marvellous evening.

If history gets your heart racing, we can only direct you to The Royal Suite. Described as ‘arguably the most glamorous accommodation option in England’, (thank you, Forbes, that is kind) the walls are lined with the very same hand-woven Gainsborough silk that decorated the First-Class Dining Room of RMS Titanic, while the Bathroom’s walls twin with the Throne Room at neighbouring Buckingham Palace. The full-scale portrait of Queen Victoria behind the glass in the shower will confirm this. As will the Footman currently preparing you a cocktail by the fireplace. 

And if you happen upon the unicorn as you pass through the lobby, take note of its lustrous mane and glittering eye. This is the work of HRH The Princess of Wales, then the Duchess of Cambridge, who finished the painting herself when she came to reopen The Goring after its refurbishment in 2015. Some people think unicorns aren’t real, which we are always taken aback by. You should hear the unicorn who actually posed for that painting on the subject. She finds it hilarious.