July 9, 2013

AMPERSAND: FINEST HOUR 128, AUTUMN 2005

ABSTRACT
PALACES THAT MADE THE P.M.’S SHORTLIST Martin Symington on Winston Churchill’s favourite haunts.

Reprinted by permission from The Times, 2 April 2005. Telephone numbers are from the UK but may easily be understood elsewhere

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He was “easily satisfied by the best of everything,” declared Sir Winston Churchill, who resigned as Prime Minister fifty years ago last April. As an inveterate traveller and epicure, he was the natural customer of grand hotels. Many properties still trumpet Churchill’s patronage. The following are six with the closest connections.

THE MOUNT NELSON HOTEL, CAPE TOWN

Churchill arrived in South Africa in 1899 as Boer War correspondent for The Morning Post, and made himself at home at the Mount Nelson, where he filed dispatches from a luxury suite. The comfortable living came to an end when the young reporter took to the field and was taken prisoner. His subsequent heroic escape gave him a first taste of fame. A century later, pink-washed “Nellie” (as the hotel is known by devotees), set in subtropical gardens at the foot of Table Mountain, prides itself on colonial-style ambience with afternoon tea and banquets at the Cape Colony restaurant.

Mount Nelson Hotel (020-7960 0500). Doubles from £313, per night, including breakfast.

MENA HOUSE, CAIRO

The catalogue of famous people to have stayed at Mena House, next to the Pyramids at Giza, is lengthy. But only Churchill and Montgomery have suites named after them. Churchill’s stays spanned several decades, as recorded in sepia photographs lining the hotel’s corridors. He described it as an “oasis of good living.” These days, the original, extravagant Palace Wing is supplemented by a modern 500-room Garden Wing, which offers five-star comforts and pyramid panoramas, but not the same atmosphere.

Mena House Oberoi (00 800 1234 0101). Doubles from £95. The Churchill Suite is £761.

KNOCKINAAM LODGE, DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY

Churchill was known to rehearse speeches for the House of Commons in the bath. Appropriately, the Churchill Suite at this former shooting lodge has a huge stone bath. Knockinaam’s finest hour came a few days before the Normandy Landings in 1944, when the P.M. arrived here by seaplane for a secret meeting with Eisenhower. These days American and British guests have no need to be furtive as they dine in the lodge, now at the Michelin one-star restaurant.

Knockinaam Lodge (01776 810471). Dinner, B&B from £250 per couple. The Churchill Suite is £370.

LA MAMOUNIA, MARRAKESH

“It is the most lovely spot in the world,” Churchill is said to have assured Roosevelt about Marrakesh, persuading the latter to join him at the art deco styled grand hotel, La Mamounia, after their Casablanca Conference in 1943. He described the views from the balcony over the roofs of Marrakesh and the pink Atlas Mountains beyond as “paintaceous.” World leaders from Ronald Reagan to Nelson Mandela have also stayed here.

La Mamounia (00 212 4438 8643). Doubles from £238. The Churchill Suite is £940.

REID’S PALACE, MADEIRA

Winston and his wife Clementine first stayed at this Edwardian hotel over the 1949-50 New Year, while Winston recuperated from a mild stroke. They occupied ground-floor rooms, today called The Churchill Suite and adorned with caricatures of the famous visitor. While on the island, Churchill indulged his passion for painting. Despite a revamp by Orient-Express to make the hotel feel lighter and fresher, elderly aristocrats still dress for dinner and play bridge during the “winter season” at Reid’s.

Reid’s Palace Hotel (020-7960 0500). B&B doubles from £274. The Churchill Suite is £1829.

HOTEL DE PARIS, MONTE CARLO

Churchill stayed here several times, including 1963 when he collapsed and was taken by stretcher through the lobby and flown home. In those final years, WSC kept the suite on the top floor that still bears his name. Today, it is yours for £5600 a night. It has 360-degree views over Monaco and the Mediterranean. More recent occupants include rock star Prince.

Hotel de Paris (00 37792 1625 25). Double rooms from £273.