Review / Raffles’ OWO London is steeped in history, with James Bond and Winston Churchill connections – and the grand hotel blends heritage with luxury and Michelin-starred dining

Jun 30 , 2024

Once housing the War Office, London’s Raffles OWO blends opulence with history. Photos: Handout

James Bond author Ian Fleming worked in this building, where the MI5 and MI6 were formed, while Winston Churchill used to give his address from the balcony

The hotel features 9 restaurants and 3 bars, with three-Michelin-starred chef Mauro Colagreco, known for his seasonal, locally sourced approach, running several

It’s said that Winston Churchill, the former two-time British Prime Minister, always rubbed the nose of one of the lions on the grand marble staircase in the London War Office for good luck.

The Raffles OWO underwent a US$2 billion restoration eight years ago

Flash forward to the present and the War Office, completed in 1906, has been transformed into one of, if not absolutely, London’s most exceptional hotels. Eight years after the Hinduja Group spent some US$2 billion on its restoration, it is me rubbing the lion on the staircase at the now Raffles OWO (Old War Office).

Situated directly across from the Horse Guards Parade (from some of the suites you can actually see the guards whinnying about with their horses before starting duty in the most London possible scene) in Whitehall, and one block from St James Park, Big Ben and Trafalgar Square, its location is unparalleled. But it’s actually the building itself, imbued with the kind of tony heritage and world-shaping history that any other hotelier would kill for, that makes it extraordinary.

The James Bond connection

The original grand staircase of the historic War Office building has been retained

After all, this was the building where MI5 and MI6 were formed. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, worked in this building. The spies were said to have their own entrance to the building. The Spy Bar in the hotel basement nods to this, and that you have to put a sticker over your phone upon entry only adds to the fun.

Oh, if the walls of the building could talk! Churchill gave his morning address in the Juliette balcony above that grand staircase that welcomes you into the hotel. Like much of the hotel, the staircase is original, albeit with the addition of a glittering two-storey iDogi chandelier. It’s the same for the hallways, some 4km of them, which retain the ultra wide dimensions that allowed for couriers on bicycles to deliver messages during its war office days. With interiors by the late, legendary Thierry Despont, it possesses a certain statesmanlike quality. The colour scheme throughout is blazing red, inspired by the coats of the Horse Guards. The button details on the curtains recall the buttons of the cavalry. The wood panelling, marble, wallpaper and chandeliers evoke a certain old-world elegance – you can practically smell the cigar plumes that must have once furled in these rooms.

The best suites in the hotel are named for the top brass who once walked the halls, including the Haldane Suite, which was once Churchill’s office, and the Christine Granville suite, named for the daring spy described as the “female James Bond” (and rumoured lover of Fleming), must have the most beautiful bathroom I’ve ever seen complete with a gleaming copper bathtub.

Bedroom beauties

Suites in the OWO London are luxuriously appointed