The Goring

Mr. Goring himself tells us the history of his hotel: How the Stage was Set HISTORY IN BRIEF 1910: Opening year. World War I: The hotel acts as the command cente for the chief of the Allied forces. 1960: 50th birthday celebrations. HISTORY IN DETAIL 1910: Grand Opening of The Goring by founder Otto Richard Goring – the last hotel built in the reign of King Emperor Edward VII. Each bedroom has ‘en-suite’ bathrooms – the first in the World. Price of a room – 7s 6d (37p) 1914: Outbreak of 1st World War. Hotel becomes command centre for Chief of Allied Forces. Direct telephone link between General Pershing and President Wilson. The Allied War Effort is being run from The Goring Kitchen. Goring staff from France and Germany are evacuated, famously walking arm in arm to Victoria station singing each other’s national anthems. 1919: Lady Randolph Churchill comes to live at The Goring and is visited frequently by her son, Mr Winston Churchill. 1921: “Air-conditioning invented!” O.R. goring installs enormous fan on roof, piped to every room. Vacuum cleaners are attached via outlets in skirting board – underwear sucked out into the air, blowing across London. Price of a room – 25d (1.25 pounds) 1920-25: The Hon.Violet d’Arcy comes to live at The Goring while she is Lady in Waiting to Queen Mary. The Queen often comes to tea with her at The Goring. 1926: The General Strike. Opening of the new wing and Restaurant 1930: Novelist Anthony Powell is inspired to invent his heroine The Hon. Angela Goring for his epic series of novels ‘A Dance to the Music of Time’ over tea at the hotel. 1937: Coronation of King George Vl. Visit of the Norwegian Crown Prince, who explains his fondness for the hotel by saying ‘at Buckingham Palace I have to share a bath with five people! Here I have one to myself’. 1938: Leslie Nicol, switchboard operator, witnesses Churchill lifting the French Prime Minister Daladier off the floor by his lapels, with Chamberlain looking on. Price of a room - 1.37 pounds 1939: Outbreak of the 2nd Wold War. Occupancy down to 6%. 150 Polish Officers accommodated. 1944: The first ever colour footage of WWII is made. The Fox film crew stay at The Goring on their way to board landing craft for the D-Day Invasion. 1944: Mrs Goring’s salad invented. To beat rationing, Edna Goring invents a special dish from “whatever we can find”, including, hare, whale, and on one occasion, an antelope shot by an officer in the Western Desert campaign. No rabbit is safe in the Goring garden. 1945: Peace declared. Election of Labour Government and the austerity years. The King and Queen come to The Goring for sausages and scrambled eggs with the Princesses. 1948: Christening of Prince Charles, with Christening Cake supplied by the Escoffier-trained Goring pastry chefs. 1952: Death of King George VI. 1953: Coronation of Queen Elizabeth lI. Vast influx of foreign royalty come to stay at the Goring, which becomes an annexe to Buckingham Palace. 1960: 50th Birthday. The Swinging Sixties. Jean Shrimpton causes consternation at The Goring by appearing in one of the first mini skirts. Price of a room - 4 pounds. ‘70’s, ‘80’s Annual visits from Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother as Patron of the Injured Jockeys Fund. Price of a room in 1970 - 4.50 pounds. 1990: George Goring accepts an O.B.E. from HRH The Queen at Buckingham Palace for “services to the hotel industry”. 2005: Acquisition of the gardens from the Duke of Westminster. Retirement of Mr George Goring on March 22nd after 43 years at the helm. Appointment of 4th generation Jeremy Goring. Opening of the new Dining Room, designed by David Linley. The Dining Room voted best British Restaurant by ITV Carlton TV, in front of 5 million viewers. The Goring voted number one hotel in London by readers of Travel + Leisure Magazine. 2006: Again voted the best hotel in London by readers of Travel + Leisure Magazine 2010: The Goring Centenary. 2012 Jeremy Goring named Independent Hotelier of the Year 2020: George Goring passed away.

We are currently preparing a list, with the cooperation of the hotel.

Review of Mr Goring: 1910: My grandfather, O. R. Goring, opened The Goring Hotel on March 2nd 1910. He was an innovator of great vision - this was the first hotel in all the world to have a private bathroom and central heating to every bedroom. He also installed extraction ventilation in all the bathrooms and a revolutionary vacuuming system. Yet in the face all this technology, The Goring still clearly declares its country house heritage, and enjoys the largest - and quietest - private garden of any central London hotel. Only a few years after we opened, the First World War broke out. 1916: the hotel was commissioned by the American Army. In notable contrast with their British allies, they thoughtfully and at great expense restored the Goring to its former splendour upon their departure in 1919. My father, O. G. Goring, started at the hotel in the mid-20's after completing his training at the ecole Hoteliere Lausanne and a variety of leading European Hotels. He saw us through the 1927 recession, the swinging 30's and the Second World War (from which we emerged practically unscathed, even though our neighbour Buckingham Palace received six direct hits, and St Peter's Eaton Square, our local church, was bombed flat. My father passed away in 1974. I was born in the Goring in 1938, and started work here in 1962 after completing my own training, just as my father did, at the ecole Hoteliere Lausanne. William A. Cowpe, our Managing Director, started here in 1970, having learned the trade at the Savoy in London, and leading hotels in Europe. My family has always been highly active in the world hotel scene. Following the form set by my grandfather, my father's titles included Founder Member of the International Hotel Association, President of the CFA, the HCI and the Reunion des Gastronomes. Reflecting, perhaps, a recognition of his broader role in the business of our city, he was also a Freeman of the City of London. They paved the way, therefore, for me to play my part. I had the privilege to be elected British Hotelier of the Year in 1990, and the great honour to receive an OBE from the Queen in 1992 for service to the hotel industry. The Goring's believe that this long-standing concern for, and influence on, standards and practices in hospitality worldwide is no better expressed than within the Goring Hotel itself. It is the experience of our guests that we see as the true test, and as a family-owned business, we are uniquely able to review and regularly invest in improvements. In the spirit of my grandfather's innovative approach, we continue to spend over one million pounds per annum in the Goring's decor and facilities. The Hotel continues to remain in safe hands as my son Jeremy, already well known in the hotel industry, has now joined The Goring - the forth Mr Goring of The Goring.