Simply Abu Dhabi XXXV

2 6 5 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I O pened in 1865, Café Royal was originally a restaurant, which soon become known as the space for London’s most illustrious events. The haunt of famed patrons, from royalty and celebrity to the creative and the notorious, Café Royal was an established and iconic landmark on the British capital’s social scene for a century and a half. In its recent reincarnation as the luxurious Hotel Café Royal, it remains an established favourite for locals, while becoming a global destination. The original building is a Grade II-listed property (Britiain’s protected register for historically significant buildings) in Regent Street. Conceived by one of England’s most celebrated architects, John Nash, in the early 1800s, Regent Street has a unified design, unusual for London. Originally called New Street, the Georgian thoroughfare was dedicated to the Prince Regent, who later became George IV. When the Café Royal opened at its southern end in 1865, the now famous sweeping, colonnaded Nash terrace was still relatively novel and continues to be a signature feature in central London. With elegant Mayfair to the west and creative Soho to the east, the hotel is perfectly positioned within walking distance of London’s finest shopping streets, tourist attractions and theatreland. Within the hotel, grand historic areas have been sensitively restored. David Chipperfield Architects, world famous for radical and sympathetic building design, has achieved a perfect balance between 21st-century style and the retained grand historic public rooms of the 1860s and 1920s. These spaces have been painstakingly restored in collaboration with historic building architects, Donald Insall Associates. For today’s generation of elite guests, 160 guestrooms and suites (including seven signature suites) have been created in a contemporary yet refined style. Continuing its celebrated legacy of excellent hospitality and dining, the hotel offers a selection of restaurants and holistic wellbeing concept, Akasha. Where great minds came to discuss great ideas Throughout the ages, Café Royal was the epicentre of fashionable London and has been an established and iconic landmark on the capital’s social scene for over a century. Frequented by writers and artists such as Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley, the conversations, inspirations and discussions at ‘The Café’ were profound. Arthur Conan Doyle, H G Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Rudyard Kipling, W B Yeats, Walter Sickert and James McNeill Whistler were all patrons. Distinguished figures such as Winston Churchill, Augustus John, D H Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, Noël Coward, Jacob Epstein and Graham Greene were also often seen. Rock stars and royalty Royalty also took to the place, and the Prince of Wales (later to abdicate as Edward VIII in order to marry Mrs Simpson) and The Duke of York, later to become George VI, often took lunch at ‘The Café’, as did Diana, Princess of Wales in more recent history. The glamour continued with the luminous Brigitte Bardot, the bejewelled Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and unforgettable visitors from music and sports celebrities such as Louis Armstrong, Sir Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Muhammad Ali. For today’s generation of elite visitors, Hotel Café Royal offers seven signature suites from which to choose. The Club Suite, Tudor Suite, Celestine Suite, Empire Suite, Dome Penthouse, Presidential Suite and Royal Suite all offer the ultimate guest experience with a unique aesthetic and character inspired by the hotel’s stunning original features. Each suite is a masterpiece of contemporary design mixed with architectural heritage, withbespoke furniture and luxuriousmarble bathrooms set against restored original elements such as mirrors supported by ornate gilded griffins, golden-hued walls and grand windows overlooking Regent Street. To meet your every need, each suite also comes with a butler and a complimentary London airport transfer. So youneedn’t worry about a thing.