Hospitality brand Raffles returns to its British roots with a grand show at the Raffles London

When the new Raffles London at The OWO (The Old War Office abbreviated) opened last September, it was as if the brand had come full circle. In 1887, the Armenian Sarkies brothers opened the first Raffles Hotel in Singapore, naming it after the British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who founded modern Singapore. Now, 136 years later, the Raffles flag is hoisted in London’s Whitehall government district.

The similarities between both hotels’ founders are almost uncanny. The four Sarkies brothers who founded Raffles Singapore were Armenian-Persian refugees who fled Iran and settled in different parts of Southeast Asia.

As trade routes opened and the mystical East became a draw to European travellers seeking off-the-beaten-path experiences, the astute siblings opened posh properties around the region that are now historic landmarks today, such as the Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang and The Strand in Yangon.

The Indian Hinduja family, who bought The Old War Office from Britain’s Ministry of Defence in 2016 for £350 million ($594.6 million), also consisted of four businessmen brothers who continued their entrepreneur father’s legacy after he passed on. 

Its first international headquarters was in Iran from 1919 until 1979, before it was shifted to Europe. While the Sarkies brothers were prolific hoteliers, The OWO is the first hospitality project in the billionaire Hindujas’ global commercial empire, whose interests include banking, media, and technology. 

A London grand dame

The 120-key Raffles London looks set to be the most talked about outpost next to the Singapore flagship. The Old War Office’s storied history — military and political offices used by the likes of Sir Winston Churchill, British Secret Service headquarters, and Bond film set — make for excellent design fodder.

The 85-apartment The OWO Residences by Raffles and nine restaurants and three bars, including an unmarked speakeasy Spy Bar, complete the stay-work-play package. 

Members of high society have already descended in droves. During my three days in early November, the common areas and dining outlets were awash with the spiffy and stylish. Suited-up security personnel, blending into the storyboard, would politely stop curious outsiders from wandering up the lobby’s statement central staircase to the guest room floors.

Gym time at The Pillar Wellbeing space is a hobnobbing session with London’s health-conscious elite. I huffed and puffed through a cardio class with an Ed Sheeran-lookalike (minus the ginger locks), who later succinctly summarised the evolution of London’s luxury spa scene as we strapped on Normatec compression leg sleeves for post-workout recovery. 

If you are checking in after a long-haul flight, the deep tissue massage at The Guerlain Spa, resplendent with frescoes of three-dimensional butterflies and vines on the ceilings, is the way to go. 

Famed Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco, the circular gastronomy advocate behind three-Michelin-starred Mirazur in the French Riviera, throws his weight behind three dining concepts in the hotel: fine-diner Mauro Colagreco, all-day diner Saison, and private dining room Mauro’s Table. 

Celebrity chef-led restaurants often flounder after the initial opening show, but Saison, which is housed in The OWO’s former military library, and the eponymous restaurant impressively delivered precision cooking bolstered by a polished team. 

The Argentinian chef’s vegetable-focused philosophy is well expressed with local varieties, such as radicchio, Jerusalem artichoke, and even plump, hydroponically grown red oak lettuce from an underground facility in south London. Natural flavours in dishes like orecchiette with deep green pistachio pesto, line-caught bluefin tuna, and a West Country lamb are vividly coaxed out through uncomplicated preparation.

History lessons

The late French designer Thierry Despont, whose portfolio includes the homes of Bill Gates and Calvin Klein and historic restorations like The Statue of Liberty, brings history, home, and homage together in a rich tapestry. There are bespoke fabrics and furniture referencing the suites’ previous lives as political offices, corridor carpets inspired by the building’s original floor grills, murals of bucolic landscapes and 18th-century London maps.

Look a little closer at one of the suite mantelpieces, and you may just find a chariot whose wheel can be manually turned.

There are 10 room categories, almost as if the hotel was doing its best to accommodate all manner of budgets. The top-tier Heritage suites were once offices used by Britain’s leading politicians and military leaders, while notable females like World War Two spy Virginia Hall Goillot and Churchill’s wife Clementine are referenced in the Corner Suites. 

While all the bells and whistles sound like a determination to smoke the competition — The Peninsula London also sprouted on the opposite end of St. James Park in the same month — Shalini Hinduja emphasises that it is not so. The London-based daughter-in-law of Gophichand Prakash Hinduja, one of the three remaining brothers helming the group’s business, had worked closely with the design team to oversee the entire renovation of The OWO.

“Superlatives and breaking precedents were not the overriding motivation, although The OWO has certainly raised the bar as a destination in London. We felt an enormous responsibility to restore the Old War Office meticulously and authentically — how many chances do you have to transform a building which was once the office of some of Britain’s most influential politicians, spies and military officials?” said Shalini, an interior designer by training. 

Vantage point

I was secretly glad to have the duplex Turret Suite rather than one of the other sprawling Heritage Suites. The lower floor bedroom is all English garden chic, while the upper floor was the perfect vantage point for ceremonial proceedings at the Horse Guards Parade. 

The windows were supposed to be closed during official events for obvious security reasons — a fact I was blissfully unaware of until the hotel team knocked on my door while I was engrossed filming King Charles and Queen Camilla trotting out of the gates for the opening of the Parliament session down the street.

This Rapunzel tower set in one of The OWO’s iconic cupolas was also my retreat after a day of following on-point concierge tips, such as a meal of fish and chips with London-made ale at The Clarence pub down the street from the hotel. 

I used to wonder what made Daniel Craig so pensive in the closing scene of Skyfall (2012) as he stood on a nearby rooftop contemplating the panorama across The OWO turrets, uttering: “I hate to waste a view.” I finally understood as I gazed out towards Horse Guards Parade, all draped in a rosy sunset cloak.