page_title: Mayfair
section_title: Hotels
hierarchical_section_title: Mayfair / Properties / Hotels
caption_attribution_description: English: Claridges Hotel This luxury 5-star hotel was built in 1898
context_page_description: Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in London and the world.
  The area was originally part of the manor of Eia and remained largely rural until the early 18th century. It became well known for the annual "May Fair" that took place from 1686 to 1764 in what is now Shepherd Market. Over the years, the fair grew increasingly downmarket and unpleasant, and it became a public nuisance. The Grosvenor family acquired the land through marriage and began to develop it under the direction of Thomas Barlow. The work included Hanover Square, Berkeley Square and Grosvenor Square, which were surrounded by high-quality houses, and St George's Hanover Square Church.
  By the end of the 18th century, most of Mayfair was built on with upper-class housing; unlike some nearby areas of London, it has never lost its affluent status.
context_section_description: Claridge's was founded in 1812 as Mivart's Hotel on Brook Street. It was acquired by William Claridge in 1855, who gave it its current name. The hotel was bought by the Savoy Company in 1895 and rebuilt in red brick. It was extended again in 1931. Several European royal families in exile stayed at the hotel during World War II. Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia was born there on 17 July 1945; the Prime Minister Winston Churchill is said to have declared the suite he was born in to be Yugoslav territory.
  Flemings Mayfair on Half Moon Street was opened in 1851 by Robert Fleming, who worked for Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey. It is the second oldest independent hotel in London.
  The London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on the corner of Grosvenor Square and Duke Street was the first Marriott Hotel in Britain. It opened as the Europa Hotel in 1961 and was bought by Marriott in 1985. It was a popular place for visitors to the American Embassy.
  The Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane is on the former site of Grosvenor House, the home of Robert Grosvenor, 2nd Earl Grosvenor (later Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster). It was built by Arthur Octavius Edwards in the 1920s and has over 450 bedrooms, with 150 luxury flats in the south wing. It was the first London hotel to have a swimming pool.
  The Dorchester is named after Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester. The first building here was erected by Joseph Damer in 1751, and renamed Dorchester House following the Earl's succession in 1792. The property was purchased by Sir Robert McAlpine and Sons and Gordon Hotels Ltd in 1928 to be converted into a hotel, which opened on 18 April 1931. It was General Dwight Eisenhower's London headquarters in World War II. The Duke of Edinburgh held his stag night at the hotel prior to his marriage to Princess Elizabeth.
  The May Fair Hotel opened in 1927 on the site of Devonshire House in Stratton Street. It also accommodates the May Fair Theatre, which opened in 1963.
  The Ritz opened on Piccadilly on 24 May 1906. It was the first steel-framed building to be constructed in London, and it is one of the most prestigious and best-known hotels in the world.
caption: Claridge's
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