“A Short Guide to Grosvenor Square” was part of the packet that OSS secretary Hedvig Johnson was given when she left Washington, D.C.  for London.  It was January of 1944, and she was headed for “Little America” right smack in what is now (and was then) the most exclusive areas of town.

The “Guide” explained that Hotels are jammed. Claridge’s is the best and the most expensive; it is now almost an American Club.  The Savoy, the Ritz, the Berkeley, the Mayfair, Grosvenor House and the Dorchester are all in the same class.

Claridge’s (Brook Street, Mayfair) was founded in 1812 as Mivart’s Hotel then expanded into neighboring houses. According to Wikipedia, “its extensive and old connections with royalty have led to it being referred to as an extension to Buckingham Palace.”

The Savoy (Strand, London) opened in 1889 and was the first hotel in London to have en-suite bathrooms. Winston Churchill would take his cabinet to have lunch here. During the war, The Savoy was a favorite of Americans, journalists, British war leaders.  It was bombed during the Blitz of 1940 but was not forced to close.

Here is an article that describes what was happening at The Savoy during World War II.  As author Amy Helen Bell explains, during the war wealthy Londoners would move into the nicer hotels. Their servants had found higher wages working for the war effort. The hotels didn’t have to contend with rationing and still had supplies of fine food and wine to serve their guests. The government did insist that “no restaurant meal could cost more than 5 shillings.” “The Savoy also boasted the most luxurious air raid shelters in London.”

Then, a few years The Savoy hosted a 1947 star-studded cocktail party.

The Ritz (150 Piccadilly) was built with the Ritz in Paris in mind. Opened in 1906. During WWII, Winston Churchill and Eisenhower would meet here.

The Berkeley (Wilton Place, Knightsbridge) During WWII the Berkeley stood at the corner of Piccadilly and Berkeley Street where it was closer to St. James Square, location of the Supreme HQ Allied Powers Europe under Eisenhower. . It moved to its new location in 1972.

May Fair (Stratton St.)

Grosvenor House (Grovesnor Square) Opened in 1929. According to the hotel site’s Historical Timeline, during World War II the Great Room became home to the Officers’ Sunday Club Entertainment for 300,000 officers. In 1943 the hotel became the largest US Officers’ mess, serving 5.5 million meals.

The Dorchester (Park Lane in Mayfair, near Grosvenor Square) Opened in 1931. Cabinet ministers stayed here during the war, as did Winston Churchill. Eisenhower also had a suite here after having lived previously at Claridge’s. Good history here.

The OSS “Short Guide” went on to say: If you are going to stay for some while in a hotel, one of the small family hotels is recommended … 

Dukes (St. James Place, Mayfair)

Flemings (Half Moon Street, Mayfair)

Browns (33 Albemarle Street, Mayfair) Founded in 1837. You can read a fascinating history of the famous people who stayed here at Wikipedia.

Or, alternatively, one of the massive, impersonal, inexpensive but good, hotels with “modern comfort” … Flats are most difficult to find and very expensive. The continued flow of American officers has jacked all the prices up.

Cumberland (near Hyde Park, in the Marble Arch district) dates from the 1920’s.

Mount Royal (now called the Thistle Marble Arch, Bryanston Street) Glenn Miller connection. Glenn Miller kept a room at this hotel. One evening while he and his orchestra were performing a V-2 rocket just missed hitting the hotel.

Another hotel not mentioned in the Guide was the Strand Palace. My brother Bill’s father-in-law B-17 navigator Larry A. Jackson stayed there at the recommendation of the Catholic Chaplain at his base. According to the history page on the hotel website: “During the Second World War, food ration vouchers could be exchanged for meals in the restaurant, and air raid shelters were provided for all guests in the basement vaults. Due to its large number of bedrooms, the Hotel became popular with the American armed forces before they were sent into action. The Hotel was in fact commissioned as an official U.S rest and recuperation residence. Once again the Hotel became an important social venue as Londoners and war-weary soldiers jived and jitterbugged long into the night.” 

Click on the map below. The Americans were staying in the best hotels, all in the heart of London.

View London Hotels WWII  

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