Aston Webb’s Edwardian gateway to Buckingham Palace takes overnight guests this autumn, with a seafood restaurant by Clare Smyth, Café Boulud on the roof and a ballroom reached by the original oval staircase.
For more than a century Admiralty Arch has been a building to pass through rather than stay in. The Edwardian gateway between Trafalgar Square and The Mall opens in autumn 2026 as Waldorf Astoria London – Admiralty Arch, and Hilton says it will take overnight guests for the first time in its history. Reuben Brothers own the building and have restored it with Hilton. Hilton gives the debut as autumn 2026, but the hotel takes bookings only from February 2027.
A gateway with a hidden turn
Sir Aston Webb designed the arch between 1906 and 1911 as the entrance to the ceremonial approach to Buckingham Palace, part of the national monument to Queen Victoria. It has been listed at Grade I since 1970, and the listing singles out one piece of ingenuity: the two concave fronts, one to The Mall and one towards Trafalgar Square, disguise the change of axis between them. Above the cornice sits a dormered mansard roof, which now holds bedrooms, and two of the room types carry its name.
The hotel will have 114 rooms, suites and residences across 200,000 square feet, and residential and signature suites take more than half of the accommodation space. Their names draw on the building’s naval past: the Nelson Suite, the St James’s Residence and the Victory Residence, after HMS Victory. A spa with a hydrotherapy pool, sauna and steam room is planned.
Seafood in the First Sea Lord’s house
Clare Smyth opens Coreus in the former residence of the First Sea Lord, which the listing names as part of the building. Hilton describes a menu built on the UK’s coastline, with sustainably sourced seafood, local oysters and British produce. Her Notting Hill restaurant, Core by Clare Smyth, holds Three MICHELIN Stars.
She also brings Whiskey & Seaweed, a bar named after the cocktail inspired by her Potato and Roe dish, with whiskies drawn from across the UK. The hotel has named a second bar, The Admirals’ Mess, and says more about a signature cocktail bar will follow.
Café Boulud on the roof
Daniel Boulud takes the top of the building. Café Boulud will be an all-day brasserie, running from breakfast, pastries and afternoon tea through to lunch and dinner, and Hilton says it will be Boulud’s only restaurant in Europe. The concept takes its cue from the café his family once ran near Lyon. Its south-facing terrace will look straight down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace.
A ballroom beneath the arch
The ballroom covers 3,540 square feet. Guests will arrive by a dedicated entrance and descend the building’s original oval staircase to reach it, and a nine-metre antique Murano chandelier, restored in Rome, will hang at its centre. The hotel’s events chart gives 320 for a seated dinner and 365 for a standing reception; other pages give up to 500 guests without naming a layout. The Dorchester’s ballroom seats 474 for dinner.
Windsor, the next room in size, seats 120 for dinner and takes 170 standing, and three smaller rooms, Balmoral, Kensington and the Boardroom, take 8 to 12 around a table.