MEET YOUR GUIDE
Here’s a fab interview with Andy Hotels Makes for a fascinating and illuminating backgrounder for this walk.
This is a standalone walk that can also be enjoyed before or after The Secrets of London’s Luxury Hotels.
LASHINGS OF LUXURY, LIBERALITY AND LICENTIOUSNESS – ROUND II
Andy Hotels has written two books on London’s luxury hotels – on The Savoy and on Brown’s (indeed, he’s the resident historian of Brown’s Hotel). So two completely different Secrets of London’s Luxury Hotels walks – well, it was meant to be. It was always on the cards – face cards all of them. The first Secrets of London’s Luxury Hotels Walk – Round I takes in The Savoy. This walk is Round II. We’ve christened it More Luxury Hotels – Their Stories & Secrets. It pays a visit to Browns (and Dukes, Claridge’s and the Connaught). The four Mayfair and St James’s aces. Different hotels, different neighbourhoods, different stories. Different secrets. Different walks.
They’re not prequel and sequel. They’re kith and kin but different. Two very different peas in the pod, as it were.
Join Andy Hotels on a walk featuring Dukes, Brown’s, Claridge’s, The Connaught and beyond. This is a stand-alone walk that takes off where its sibling left off. It reveals the glitter and the glamour, the tales and the tricks, the famous folk and the foibles of another handful of the capital’s most frightfully famous lodgings.
Find out where Ian Fleming was shaken and not stirred; the secret hotel tunnel used by royals; the wine cellar where the Yanks clubbed together during the war; the only American president to be married overseas; Mark Twain strolling down the street in his bathrobe to take a dip in the pool where Queen Elizabeth learned to swim; the hotel dining club where prime ministers and generals met behind closed doors; the public palace that became Yugoslavia for the day; and the five-star features of a fortress inspired by the Doge’s Palace in Venice. And much more besides!
This walk can be enjoyed on its own or as a tasty accompaniment to The Secrets of London’s Luxury Hotels – Round I.
Letitia Ord –
Andy gave us an excellent walk and tour with lots of good history about the hotels. More to the point, he was fun to be with! My teenage daughter had a great time on the tour as did I. Highly recommend!
Sally –
Interesting and informative walk guided
By the knowledgeable and friendly guide Andy. Intrigue, history, gossip and Dad jokes. what more could you want !
Jo –
Brilliant walk on a day that London really was looking its best in the spring sunshine. Andy is a wonderful guide. His pace is just right, he’s very entertaining and his knowledge about the luxury hotels is phenomenal. He pointed out all the little things you would never have notice on our stops outside Claridges, Chancery Rosewood and the Connaught and we were treated to a trip inside the luxurious Browns Hotel – the two hours just flew by.
Would definitely go on one of Andy’s walks again.
Fiona Harrison –
Andy is an excellent tour guide. From the minute I showed up at the meeting point he made me, and the whole group, feel welcome. He explained the history of the luxury hotels in London in such a compelling and fascinating way. I am not a history buff, but Andy managed to mix in funny jokes and local knowledge and showed us some beautiful and hidden corners of London I’d never seen before, as well as make the history extremely interesting. The two hours flew by. Absolutely recommend him! Don’t hesitate to book this.
Efrat Greenberg –
Andy is a highly professional and incredibly knowledgeable guide, and he shared fascinating stories. The balance of historical insights, anecdotes, and fun facts was just right, making the experience both engaging and enjoyable. We truly appreciated his wide perspective and the thoughtful way he presented everything, especially continuing after the tour to see a special elevator in one of the hotels. Highly recommended!
Christoph Karner –
Very interesting new walk in your vast collection of walking tours.
Andy is an excellent guide.
I am looking forward to the other walk about hotels.
David Goodwin –
We are addicted to walking tours and London Walks is our favorite company out of many cities. This tour is why we like London Walks. In addition to the big things in a city, it shows the lesser known, quirky side. Andy did a great job bringing a lesser known side o London to life. Informative and interesting. As a side note, I would be nice to get into some of the hotels, but I understand why that may not be possible and it’s not anyone’s fault. I still recommend it.
Joan –
I went on both on both of Andy’s walks. I really enjoyed both of them. They do stand alone, so go on both of them!!! Andy did a fantastic job of telling the histories as well as specific stories of the different hotels. The two hours flew by. It has been two weeks since I went on the walks and what I learned has enriched my time here in London. This is one of the best London Walks I have been on and I have been on at least a dozen!
Jo H –
Fascinating insights and anecdotes on some of London’s oldest and prestigious hotels! Very informative but also very amusing, Andy has a very warm pleasant manner and delivers the stories with wit and charm!
Malcolm Dewhurst –
I now know where to drink a Martini served with the drama of a James Bond novel, stay in a suite where Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia was born and enjoy a bourbon on the rocks at the former American Embassy. Andy is a knowledgeable and entertaining guide who makes history come to life.