Travel: The Goring Hotel, London

THERE was a wedding last year. You may have heard. In London. Big deal, big hats, horses, carriages, pageantry, the works.

And a very nice helping of English eccentricity, the bride and family staying at the Goring the night before and continuing the party there after confirming it might have been a big deal marrying your daughter into the royal family, but the thing was to be enjoyed. And if you want a five-star hotel close to Buckingham Palace and don’t want stuffy, the Goring is the place.

It is still very much a family business, with fourth-generation Jeremy Goring now involved in its management. Founded in 1910, it was the first hotel in the world to provide a private bathroom and central heating for each room, unlike Buckingham Palace, making it popular with visiting royalty. Duringn the First World War it was the command centre for the chief of the allied forces and in the Second World War accommodated 150 Polish officers. That’s the serious history.

There are quirky touches, such as the life-size bronze of founder OR Goring, which gets a fresh flower in his buttonhole every morning. Then there are the sheep. In the lounge is the original, a large footstool-sized sheep, and every room has its own, with a smaller companion on the pillows. The family were originally farmers, and the reasoning is that if you wake and see a sheep, you know you’re at the Goring. n

ROOM SERVICE? Each of the 69 rooms and suites are individually decorated, with sheep and fabrics by Gainsborough Silks – as used in Buckingham Palace. They are country-house smart and cosy or modern smart and cosy, and simply sumptuous. Much of the furniture is by David Linley and everything is here, including wi-fi. Bathrooms are mainly traditional with lots of marble, combined with modern fittings such as rain showers. The rooms overlooking the garden are the quietest.

WINING AND DINING? Start your meal in the garden bar, with its low-lit, gentlemen’s club atmosphere and great choice of cocktails, and then go into the dining room, the main restaurant. This was also designed by David Linley, and while the modern chandeliers are striking in daylight, the room comes alive in the evening. The menus are traditional English, and lunch is three courses for £36 and dinner for £49. The chef is ex-Claridges and the Savoy, the sommelier is terrific and first courses include eggs Drumkilbo – a favourite of the late Queen Mother, who frequently dined here – a fresh crayfish, egg and aspic mix, while mains include beef Wellington. At lunch, from the trolley, there may be steak and kidney pudding and you could follow with trifle. The Goring’s afternoon tea is one of the great calorie fests to be found in London: eggs Drumkilbo, again, sandwiches, scones, patisserie, plus tea, for £35 per person.

WORTH GETTING OUT OF BED FOR? You really are in the heart of London. Buckingham Palace is at one end of the street, Victoria Station the other. Theatres, restaurants, shops, museums and parks are all on the doorstep.

LITTLE EXTRAS? In the bathrooms there are robes, slippers and Molton Brown toiletries. There is also complimentary membership of the Victoria LA Fitness Club.

GUEST BOOK COMMENTS? Poor Mr Middleton – room-only rates are from £410 to £1,525 a night, plus VAT, plus breakfast. If this hotel were a person, it would be a favourite aunt: welcoming, comforting, beautifully dressed, with old-fashioned good manners, and sparky. But not for the sheep-phobic.

• The Goring, 15 Beeston Place, London (020 7396 9000, www.thegoring.com)