Five-star Two MICHELIN Keys Mayfair, London
Brown's Hotel, a Rocco Forte Hotel
Georgian townhouses in Mayfair, open as a hotel since 1837, where Alexander Graham Bell made a telephone call in 1876 and Kipling kept a desk.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- Two Keys, 2026
- Opened
- 1837
- Forbes Travel Guide
- Five stars, 2026
- From the airport
- About 45 minutes to an hour from Heathrow by car
The hotel
London's first hotel, still on the same block.
Brown's opened in 1837, and Rocco Forte calls it London's first hotel. James Brown and his wife Sarah, who had been a maid to Lady Byron, started with one house and soon had three. In 1859 James John Ford took over and grew the hotel to eleven townhouses, and he opened a restaurant inside it. In 1889 it took in St George's Hotel on Albemarle Street, where the front door is today.
In 1876 Alexander Graham Bell made a telephone call from the hotel to the Ford family's London house. Rudyard Kipling spent his wedding night here in 1892 and came back to write for decades; his desk is in the Dover Suite. Agatha Christie drew on the place for At Bertram's Hotel. Rocco Forte took over in 2003, and Olga Polizzi redesigned the rooms.
- The Drawing Room Afternoon tea, with thirty-two teas on the list. Charlie's serves early dinners for those going on to the theatre.
- The Donovan Bar Named for the photographer Terence Donovan. The Churchill Martini is on the menu in honour of a regular.
- Suites with a past The Kipling Suite, and the Dover Suite with Kipling's own desk, sit beside newer ones such as the Paul Smith Suite.
Dining
British cooking and a bar of photographs.
Venues as listed by the hotel and Forbes Travel Guide. Shown for information.
- Charlie's Seasonal British Adam Byatt, chef director; named after Lord Charles Forte
- The Drawing Room Afternoon tea Thirty-two teas
- The Donovan Bar Cocktails Named for Terence Donovan
Recognition
Ratings.
- Two MICHELIN Keys 2026
- Forbes Travel Guide Five stars, 2026
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 2 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children Welcome at any age.
- Pets Accepted on request, with no charge listed by the MICHELIN Guide.
- Spa Three treatment rooms, one of them for couples, and a gym open around the clock.
Getting there
Flying to London.
Heathrow is the nearest airport for long-haul flights, about 45 minutes to an hour by car depending on traffic, our estimate. Private jets usually land at Farnborough, about an hour and a quarter away by road, also our estimate.
- Paris 50 min
- Geneva 1 h 20
- Nice 1 h 40
- Dubai 7 h 35 long-range jet
- New York 7 h 35 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Brown's Hotel have?
- Two, in the 2026 selection for London.
- When did Brown's Hotel open?
- In 1837, according to the hotel and the MICHELIN Guide. It grew over the following decades into a row of Georgian townhouses between Albemarle Street and Dover Street.
- Can we bring a dog to Brown's Hotel?
- Yes. The MICHELIN Guide lists pets as accepted on request, with no extra charge.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to London?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to London, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in London
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Claridge's Art Deco rooms on Brook Street in Mayfair, and one of six London hotels with three MICHELIN Keys.
- The Connaught A Mayfair townhouse hotel with Hélène Darroze's three-star dining room inside.
- The Savoy Between the Strand and the Thames, with river views from the rooms on the Embankment side.
- The Peninsula London A newer house at Hyde Park Corner, brought to London by the Hong Kong group.
- Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park An Edwardian facade on the edge of Hyde Park, and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal on the ground floor.
- Raffles London at The OWO The Old War Office on Whitehall, turned into a hotel a short walk from Westminster.
- The Dorchester On Park Lane facing Hyde Park, home to Alain Ducasse's three-star restaurant.
- The Ritz London Louis XVI style on Piccadilly beside Green Park, with a dining room holding two MICHELIN stars.
- The Berkeley A Knightsbridge address a few minutes on foot from Hyde Park and Harrods.
- The Lanesborough A Regency building at Hyde Park Corner, with two MICHELIN Keys.
- Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane A tower on Hamilton Place by Hyde Park Corner, with its spa on the tenth floor.
- Rosewood London The Edwardian home of the Pearl Assurance company on High Holborn, entered through a carriage courtyard.
- The Cadogan, A Belmond Hotel, London Lillie Langtry once lived in part of this Sloane Street building, and Oscar Wilde was arrested in room 118 in 1895.
- Bvlgari Hotel London Off Knightsbridge near Hyde Park, with a 25-metre pool and a private cinema below street level.
- Corinthia London Built in 1885 as the Metropole Hotel near the Embankment; the spa covers some 35,000 square feet.
- The Langham, London Open on Portland Place since 1865, and the home of the Artesian bar and the Palm Court.
- Shangri-La The Shard, London Rooms from the 34th to the 52nd floor of the Shard, above London Bridge station.
- Four Seasons Hotel London at Tower Bridge The 1922 headquarters of the Port of London Authority on Trinity Square, facing the Tower.
- Pan Pacific London Opened in 2021 two minutes from Liverpool Street, with 237 rooms and an 18.5-metre infinity pool.
Staying at Brown's Hotel, a Rocco Forte Hotel?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to London, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.