The Athenaeum Hotel & Residences – Sterling Accommodations, Location and History in London

BRAD AUERBACH

9 years ago

The prestigious address of 116 Picadilly has seen its share of elegance over the decades. In the case of British history, of course, history is measured in centuries. Charles Dickens was said to be enamored of the building at this address, and later the residence became a club. The word ‘Athenaeum’ loosely translates as ‘library’ and is derived from the Greek name Athena, the goddess of wisdom. The club disbanded in the 1930s and the building was transformed into a luxurious Art Deco apartment block.

Four decades later, the Athenaeum and its neighbouring Victorian townhouses were snapped up by British entertainment group The Rank Organisation. The company renovated the apartments into an iconic hotel to accommodate its movie stars whenever they were filming at London’s famous Pinewood and Ealing Studios.

We were not doing any filming during our London visit, other than the occasional clips on our iPhone, but we had a glorious stay at The Athenaeum.

The 5 star hotel has been family run since the 1990s, and we enjoyed the understated elegance of the staff and accommodations for several days. Greeted by name as we arrived and departed, the doorman was very helpful with directions, advice and assistance (especially when I borrowed one of the hotel’s bikes for a ride around Green Park and Hyde Park).

Located in the elegant Mayfair section of London, we were close enough to the West End to see several excellent plays. The rooms were luxurious, and the bathrooms modernized. We had several fine meals onsite, at Galvin at The Athenaeum. British breakfast is always grand, and our dinner meal was superb. It is the latest restaurant from Michelin-starred London chefs Chris and Jeff Galvin. For the first time the brothers have stepped away from their trademark French-inspired menus in favor of championing Britain’s delicious homegrown produce and supporting independent farmers across the UK. I savored chilled courgette soup, Berkswell cheese & harissa as a starter with sea reared trout, coco de Paimpol, dill and lemon as my main. My wife still talks about the maple cured Saddleback pork, spring onion mash with grain mustard jus.

On a return for a very special occasion, we hope to book, or at least glimpse the Athenaeum’s penthouse…the 180 degree views of the London skyline are undoubtedly breathtaking.