Hotel Review: Bond creator’s favorite Dukes of St James

If you want to sip your appropriately stirred cocktail in the bar once frequented by James Bond creator Ian Fleming then Dukes Hotel in St James is the right hotel to choose.

This 90-room boutique hotel opened in 1885 as a residence for young aristocrats, and that might be thought the origin of the name. In fact, there is a royal connection as the hotel is named after the three illegitimate dukes fathered by Charles II whose mistress lived on the other side of this courtyard.

Dukes has been a hotel for over a hundred years and is steeped in the tradition of the gentleman’s club district of London of St James where spies like Ian Fleming used to hang out in the 40s and 50s.

Personal charm

The standard of service is far more personal and attentive than you will find in a big hotel chain. There was a mad dash out to buy a newspaper that they did not have at breakfast. Two of the receptionists are the spitting images of the cast from Hotel Babylon and offer the same combination of camp and glamour.

Aside from the famous cocktail bar there is a second Pierre Jouet champagne bar downstairs and an outside seating terrace off the drawing room. Afternoon cream teas with or without champagne are popular too.

There is also a comfortable restaurant in the basement for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with very reasonable menu prices. Breakfast is also not a buffet but the full-on old fashioned silver service, and one of the tastiest in London.

Recently the hotel has been trying to woo the Arabian businesswoman and professional shopper with some more feminine ‘duchesse’ suites. That will only add to an already brilliant location for exploring the shopping of Oxford and Regent Streets as well as St James with its shirts, suits and shoes for gentlemen.

The rooms are quiet and modern in decor, albeit the marble bathrooms a tad small as often happens in older hotels. But the facilities are very modern with large flat screen TVs, Nespresso machines and free Wi-Fi. Take the skyline penthouse for a super terrace and black marble bathroom.

Fully equipped

If you need the gym then there is one in the basement and a tiny business centre, alongside rooms for spa treatments and a steam room. Dukes has pretty much everything in miniature that you would expect in a much larger hotel.

The hotel is owned by the Dubai group Seven Tides whose brand new Ibn Battuta and Deira Movenpicks have been well received this year, and popular with Middle Eastern guests.

Author Ian Fleming clearly liked Dukes and you are advised to book a table if you fancy the Martini cocktail, shaken and not stirred that he made famous in the Bond films, the next of which is to be set in Dubai.