Best London hotels: eat in the room that inspired the Titanic
Fitz’s Russell Square at the Kimpton Fitzroy London hotel was designed by architect Charles Fitzroy Doll as a prelude to the Titanic
Out of the 21 five-star hotels in London (I know, there are far less than you’d think) it’s often the same ones that get the attention. Claridge’s, The Ritz, The Dorchester and The Savoy rightly win plaudits. But one of the properties that deserves more focus sprawls an entire block the length of Russell Square.
The Kimpton Fitzroy London flies under the radar, but it shouldn’t. It’s worth a visit just to take in the remarkable scope of the building alone. Opened in 1900, its presence over Russell Square draws the eye even if you aren’t interested in hotels (it isn’t only Claridge’s that has the cheek to take up a whole block!).
Inside the lobby is the most high-camp you’ll find in London. Maroon and forest green stone columns and archways finished off with gold latticework are so grand and imposing they are slightly unnerving. The original incredibly detailed mozaic flooring is intact. The lobby feels like the lair of some terrible villain, which is kind of fabulous. It certainly sets the tone.
Best London hotels: dine in the Titanic’s dining room. Sort of
The rooms have been modernised, which I was thankful for as sleeping in a heavy-set Gothic bedroom would certainly have given me the creeps. I had the Corner Suite, with roll top bath in the window and views over Russell Square. Designed in 1801 it was the capital’s largest square at the time, and would have already been historic by the time the first guests rocked up to the Kimpton Fitzroy, formerly known as the Hotel Russell. Those Victorians were starved of stunning in-room bathtubs, but they rewarded with en suites; back then the hotel was one of the first in the capital with in-room toilets, which would have been the height of luxury.
The most significant draw is the newly renovated Fitz’s restaurant. On the ground floor, it serves British classics with attentive but not overbearing service. The main attraction isn’t culinary, but architectural: the reopening may have fiddled with the table layouts, but no self-respecting hotel manager at the Kimpton Fitzroy would dare alter the DNA of the room, which was designed by architect Charles Fitzroy Doll in 1898 to be almost identical to the dining room on the Titanic which was his most famous work. (Doll’s designs were so elaborate that his work inspired the phase ‘all dolled up’).
It’s an emotional experience to simply sit in this restaurant and feel close, in some way, or as close as it’s possible to feel, to the diners on that fated ship. The design is superlative, yet simple; Sarrancolin limestone pillars are topped by fanciful cherubs that come to life when you look at them for too long, especially after a gin or five. Contemporary artwork peps up the history and shows the Kimpton Fitzroy understands the need to not be reliant only on the past, although not all is a success: underneath the cherubs, plywood conceals the room’s original columns which dilutes the majesty slightly.
On the menu, fiery tiger prawns with curry leaf and butter, ox cheek croquettes, venison loin and a tempting ‘King of King’s’ shepherd’s pie. I sat with a glass of burgundy and imagined Fitzroy Doll’s era, and how fun it must have been to have the creative licence to design these sorts of grandiose socialising spaces where the ceilings just seem to drift on forever.
There is more: an admirably cosy late-night bar, for instance. Wander up the (elaborate, obviously) central staircase to the second floor to find Lucky George, a bronze dragon statue made in a run of two. The other one? At the bottom of the Atlantic still attached to the wreck of the Titanic. But I retreated to bed and woke for a final bath, taking in the view of the square as well as the original cornicing in my gorgeous room: two formative bits of London design history in one eye shot.
Rooms at the Kimpton Fitzroy London start from £247
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