World's Greatest Places 2024 
By Brad Japhe 


In a city well familiar with five-star hotels, the new Raffles London at The OWO layers on a new level of luxury. The palatial 120-room property was meticulously refurbished—over eight years and to the tune of $1.76 billion—from an Edwardian-era government office that housed the likes of Winston Churchill and Lord Richard Burdon Haldane; visitors can even stay in the oak-paneled cupola suites where the iconic statesmen strategized during World War II. Underground, rooms that once functioned as high security storage vaults which have been repurposed to accommodate the Ian Fleming-inspired speakeasy Spy Bar as well as the multi-level Guerlain Spa and health club, complete with a serene 65-foot swimming pool surrounded by arched pillars under double height ceilings. A uniquely British brand of elegance is interwoven throughout the design, but the nine restaurants and three bars peppered about the premises pull from a far more international palate, with Michelin star pedigree as a thru-line. Mauro Colagreco, the Argentine mastermind behind Mirazur in the French Riviera, brings his vegetable-rooted seasonality to two separate concepts: an eponymous fine-dining affair and the more accessible Saison (think burgers and croque-monsieurs). Kioku by Endo exists as both a lobby-level izakaya and a top-floor sushi-and-sake den helmed by chef Endo Kazutoshi, a third-generation sushi master. The majestic, cobblestoned courtyard houses Café Lapérouse, a Parisian staple. For centuries, the aristocracy have held court at the Palace of Westminster. They now have a new place to play just blocks away.

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