The Cavendish Hotel is a modern 4-star, 230-bedroom, luxury hotel in Central London

Central London

Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...

, United Kingdom. It is currently known as "The Cavendish London" and it is privately owned. It is located on Jermyn Street

Jermyn Street

Jermyn Street is a street in the City of Westminster, central London, to the south, parallel and adjacent to Piccadilly.It is well known as a street where the shops are almost exclusively aimed at the Gentleman's market and is famous for its resident shirtmakers Jermyn Street is a street in the...

 and has a second entrance on Duke Street. Jermyn Street is traditionally well known known for its bespoke gentleman clothing stores, shoe & bootmakers and barber shops.

The hotel gained notoriety in the early and mid 1900's, while under the management of the self-made hotelier, and socialite Rosa Lewis

Rosa Lewis

Rosa Lewis, née Ovenden was a British chef and owner of The Cavendish Hotel in London, located at the intersection of Jermyn Street and Duke Street, St James. Known as the "Queen of Cooks", her culinary skills were highly prized by Edward VII, with whom she was rumoured to have had an affair in...

, who was also known as the "Queen of Cooks" and "The Duchess of Jermyn Street".

The Cavendish London was the first hotel in London to receive Gold Grading in the Green Tourism for London Scheme.

Interior

The hotel features a contemporary style of decoration throughout and the public areas. The reception features a piece of artwork by the York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

-born artist Xavier Pick

Xavier Pick

Xavier Pick was born in York, England in 1972. He was brought up in Yorkshire and attended Pocklington School. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art and The Royal College of Art.He has won critical acclaim for his visual story telling...

.

With 15 floors, the building is substantially higher than most buildings in the area, and the rooms in the higher floors enjoy fine views of the London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 skyline.

History

There is reference of a hotel operating in the site under the name of "Miller's Hotel" from the early 1800s, however, the hotel was renamed to "The Cavendish" in 1836. In 1902, Rosa Lewis

Rosa Lewis

Rosa Lewis, née Ovenden was a British chef and owner of The Cavendish Hotel in London, located at the intersection of Jermyn Street and Duke Street, St James. Known as the "Queen of Cooks", her culinary skills were highly prized by Edward VII, with whom she was rumoured to have had an affair in...

 bought The Cavendish and put her husband Excelsior Tyrel Chiney Lewis and his sister Laura in charge. By 1904, though, the hotel was not going very well: debts spiralled out of control, Excelsior was having a drinking problem and, therefore, Rosa decided to throw them out and divorce her husband.

Once divorced, Rosa took charge of the hotel and expanded it greatly. The reform meant turning four buildings into one and by then the hotel had over one hundred rooms. During those times, Rosa Lewis

Rosa Lewis

Rosa Lewis, née Ovenden was a British chef and owner of The Cavendish Hotel in London, located at the intersection of Jermyn Street and Duke Street, St James. Known as the "Queen of Cooks", her culinary skills were highly prized by Edward VII, with whom she was rumoured to have had an affair in...

 cooked regularly for major figures of the times, who were delighted by her cooking and her hospitality. Some of them were the King Edward VII, Lord Northcliffe, General Kitchener and the Duke of Windsor.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Rosa Lewis

Rosa Lewis

Rosa Lewis, née Ovenden was a British chef and owner of The Cavendish Hotel in London, located at the intersection of Jermyn Street and Duke Street, St James. Known as the "Queen of Cooks", her culinary skills were highly prized by Edward VII, with whom she was rumoured to have had an affair in...

 decided to turn The Cavendish into a 'social first aid centre' for servicemen, which she did again for World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. On the 15th May 1941, the hotel was badly damaged by the German air raid. Rosa was in the building at the moment, but she was not injured.

Despite the bombing the hotel carried on. In 1944 Rosa Lewis became ill and had to go to a nursing home, leaving her friend Edith Jeffrey in charge of the hotel, which was already showing some signs of decline. She eventually returned to the hotel where
Edith took care of her, until she finally died on 28 November 1952 at the age of 85.

For another ten years Edith Jeffrey continued to run the hotel, now in a state of decline, until her own death. In June 1962 the old Cavendish Hotel finally closed its doors.

The Cavendish Hotel reopened its doors in July 1966 as modern style hotel.