Saturday, 15 March 2014

The Gore and Pelham Hotel



The Gore Hotel 

As I stepped into the entrance of The Gore hotel I instantly knew I was in a boutique hotel. The place had a lovely homey feel, just as a boutique hotel should be. The 122 year old building was transformed into a hotel in 1891 – they decided to keep the original structure of the building, therefore the historic character has reminded in the hotel. Many interior parts of the hotel have also been left untouched, for example the ceilings and stairs in Bar 190. These features represent the boutique charm of the hotel.


The Gore Entrance


The Rolling Stones "Beggars Banquet" was held here in 1968. Photos can be viewed of the band in Bar 190. This creates a history and nostalgic feel – especially as Rod Stewart remains a regular guest at The Gore Hotel.

Rolling Stones

There are a total of 50 rooms in the hotel – the standard rooms at this establishment feel like executive, although the Queen room only has a shower and no bathtub.  The room had been designed in a lovely old fashioned manner, showing the boutique side running through all areas of the hotel. There are 12 junior suites, 8 of those are signature rooms – each room has a story behind it. For example, one room is named George Scott Gilbert; he was responsible for The Royal Albert Hall building.  He resided in the hotel while he was staying there, the hotel decided to name the room he resided in during that time to honour the man who build such a beautiful establishment. The hotel mirrors décor represent The Gore effortlessly – timeless and quintessentially British. It is easy to see the building has not been reconstructed because the corridors are still narrow! The Tapestry and furniture pieces have been hand selected from antique stores especially for The Gore.

The World Famous Dame Nellie Melba Room was my room for the evening - it was decorated in a style which would only suit her theatrical personality. The large bed was the most comfortable bed I had ever stayed in! The curtains didn't allow any light in which was just what I needed, an amazing nights sleep, I was stunned by the decor and beauty of the room - you could tell a lot of thought process had gone into the perfect design of the room. 


Dame Nellie Room


The hotel has a total of three main event spaces. The Green room is located on the ground level. The space can be used for a drinks reception; it is able to hold up to 50 guests. After the reception, there is a Tapestry or Mulberry room downstairs which has a main function as the main plenary space. The Tapestry is the biggest event space in the hotel, it fits up to 120 people standing reception style, 50 theatre style and 32 Cabaret style. The Mulberry room is smaller; it can fit up to 12 boardroom style and 20 theatre style. This room would function perfectly as a breakout session space, after the main plenary delegates can use the Mulberry as a breakout room. There is a cloakroom and registration area in between the Mulberry and Tapestry rooms.

 Mulberry Room
 Green Room
Mulberry Room


Bar 190 is available for private hire – the bar is buzzing on weekends especially as they have specialized mixologists working behind the bar. It was clearly the place to be on the weekend. I would highly recommend trying out the cocktails here!

Bar 190

The Pelham Hotel

I had the pleasure of visiting Pelham hotel for afternoon tea in Bistro Fifteen. I was greeted with champagne after a show room with the deputy manager, I choose Tea-Tox Afternoon Tea which included cucumber and lime sorbet, berries skewers with honey, yoghurt drizzle lemon and basil cake (to name only a few!) It was mouth-wateringly delicious and I would definitely go here again as the food was outstanding.

Bistro Fifteen
Afternoon Tea


The Pelham hotel is very different to the Gore Hotel – the design of the hotel has a very modern twist to the furniture and décor. There are five event spaces at the hotel. Event Room 1 & 2 are interconnecting rooms and hold up to 60 standing reception style.  This is located on the upper floors and has lots of natural light, perfect for business meetings, small conferences, reception drinks and lunch. The space is designed to parallel the hotel – in a modern feel. 

 Private Event Room 1 


There is a private dining room located on the lower ground level, this room can seat up to ten guests. A perfect location for an event space as it is in the heart of West London. It has wonderful catering services and excellent customer service. The room is private and intimate which allows guests to communicate and get to know one another thoroughly. The Library and Drawing Room are two other small spaces based on the ground level where guests reside during their stay to help themselves to drinks, relax and read up on current affairs by the fire place. These places are also available for hire – the library can hold up to 15 reception style, if an intimate drinks room is what you are looking for then this is the room for you! The beautiful décor has a combination of modern and vintage design, instantly setting it apart from other London Hotels.

Private Dining Room 



The five star luxury hotel has a total of 51 Rooms and is located right by South Kensington – its easily accessible for those who wish to travel into the central London and hit the shops in Sloane Square!

This visit was lovely and very memorable – I had a lovely time and was constantly greeted with friendly staff with exquisite manners and elegance which is difficult to find in some big chain hotels. The two hotels remain to be boutique and personable.

If you have any further questions on these two hotels for events please do not hesitate to contact Anita one of our Senior Events Managers at anita@emc3.eu

By Ellen Lai