The Cadogan Hotel

My family went on vacation in the fall of 2012. We were determined to have a formal afternoon tea together and read good reviews for the Cadogan. We had a really polite waitress who kept up with our strange sense of humor. Tea sandwiches were great, and the environment was even better. My dad got the silver needle tea and we still order it for him to this day (3 years later). It tastes like an orange creamsicle. We all agreed this was one of our favorite memories from our entire 10 day vacation. Sitting around at tea with all 7 of my family members was such a sweet and memorable experience.

My review is for afternoon tea, which was a real treat.
I had researched a couple of places for afternoon and decided on the Cadogan and made the reservation via the web, which was a very easy and accommodating process.
BFF and I had our choices of a variety of teas, a beautiful selection of sandwiches, savory treats and sweets treats. The setting was absolutely lovely as was the service.
I understand the hotel is currently under renovation. So I look forward to the possibility of coming by again when in the City.

I must say, at times I am amazed at Unilocal reviews… The Cadogan is a historic hotel, how can you expect its décor to get «a facelift»? Go to the W instead :-)
I found the Cadogan to be well managed, with helpful staff, nice smile all around, a good breakfast and a very efficient room, while still shrouded in velvets and decors that would make my mum love it.
Free wifi throughout the property, a nice have for business travellers.
It’s a great location too.

The afternoon tea here is out of this world. I cannot believe it has taken me over a decade and multiple trip to London to find this gem. Not to mention, I left it to my last day in London before I came here for a spot of tea.
They are located a little behind Harrod’s and just delightful.
I asked my afternoon tea to only have scones and salmon sandwiches. AMAZING! The cream was beyond description, so it was probably a good thing I discovered this on my last day or I would be several sizes larger and they would’ve had to roll me onto the plane!
I cannot wait for my next trip!

This superb and quaint little venue is perfect for an afternoon tea visit. I bring guests from out of town here all the time and they always love it. Their tea selection is vast and their sandwiches are average, but their scones are really really good. Far too much cake for the two of us to finish and we also got a complimentary glass of champagne.
The fact that it was also a regular hang out for Oscar Wilde is just the icing on the cake!

The Cadogan is a great hotel in the centre, Sloan St, a lovely Victorian style hotel, elegant and beautiful.
The rooms are superb, spacious and welcoming, and the staff are very helpful and kind.
Nice bar with great drinks, a nice stay altogether.

Reviewing Afternoon Tea only. For an establishment of this level, I was appalled on two accounts:
1. the drawing room’s décor looked, well, collegiate. Yeeuuch. Get a facelift!
2. our finger sandwiches’ bread was DRY. *GASP!* WTF?
Maybe we caught them on an off-​day, but really? Dried out finger sandwiches? That’s seriously, royally uncool.

Great looking aged, «historic» hotel, other than that… the room service?!? Wait, what room service?
Every single time we ordered from THEIR MENU, they kept saying, «no,» «we don’t have that in,» «that’s not available,» and they even had the nerve to say that «its not on the menu» when CLEARLY IT WAS. I was looking at it, UNDER A LIGHT for crying out loud on Unilocal.
Get this, they have a «late night menu,» in which they serve nothing listed on that menu. THEIR OWN MENU, they get angry when you order from it, late night. What am I missing???
I remember I squinted my eyes to make sure I wasn’t THAT hungry, that I’ve started to hallucinate. Not only did they insist that I wasn’t looking at the right menu, they would say «yes» to an order and bring up A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ITEM. I remember even telling the lady the next morning, «I’m vegetarian, now why on earth would I order a ham sandwich?» When I spoke to the front desk, I asked her if she could take out the Late Night Menu, and was wondering if the one we had was outdated, I seriously was hoping it was all my fault — — but sadly, IT WASN’T!!! What’s the deal?! Again, paying for things/​service that DOESN’T EXIST.
ITS NOT ME ITS YOU.
OH, and on top of that, the room never got vacuumed, replenished, or anything really. BOO HOO.
And you know what? Being able to tell people that I was at a hotel where Oscar Wilde was arrested for «committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons» is NOT enough for me to say that this place is awesome, because its not.
FAIL.
But you get the 2 star rating for having interesting architecture and being in a good location.

I was so disappointed with this hotel bar. I’ve wanted to come here for about three years — after discovering it was the hotel that Oscar Wilde was arrested in, I figured it would be an excellent way of mixing my love of literature and cocktails.
And when we finally found the place i was very excited (up by Pont Street rather than on Sloane Street). We were directed to the bar, through a rather tired looking drawing room (with some rather out of place artwork on the walls). We were greeted with a tiny, empty bar (save for one woman reading a paper).
There was no barman to be seen and the bar itself was littered with debris. A swanky hotel bar shouldn’t really have bottles of Peroni as their bar display either in my opinion. We’d been so excited about coming here, that we almost stuck it out.
But we didn’t, we turned around and left. We might have had to explain to a barman where we were going, but we don’t know where he was.
I don’t want to give this place 1 star — without trying the drinks I don’t think that’s fair. But it’s really not an impressive hotel and if you’re coming here, don’t expect to be wowed.

on a london-​pitstop and opted for the familiar. first stayed here in the early 90s. and many visits to the city since. the Cadogan is a small hotel that’s had quite a bit of notoriety. it was here that Oscar Wilde was arrested and another resident, Lily Langtry was the mistress of Berty (Queen Victoria’s son), the future Edward VII.
it’s in knightsbridge, an area i know best in central london. and hyde park, chelsea, and kensington are a short walk. so are harrods, peter jones, harvey nichols and loads of choices for drink and eat. so before you book at the new IN hotel or a ⁴⁄₅ star chain, look here. the Cadogan is very comfortable, very British and the breakfasts, VERY good!

I stayed at the Cadogan in January, when London was in the grip of the coldest winter in 20 years and we all felt the icy blast of the first global recession in history. On a Friday evening, there was no-​one in the ground floor bar except me and a portly American financier who drank Jamesons and told me fancy five-​star places like this were finished. Golf clubs were finished too, he said, as were spa resorts. He asked me what I did for a living and said that was finished.
He drained his glass and left me to my thoughts. If he was right, it seemed to me that there were few better places to drink a final toast to quality than this Victorian gem. Things could be worse. I thought of poor Oscar Wilde arrested at the Cadogan in 1895 and cast into Reading Gaol. Yes things could be a lot worse.
I slept well in a sumptuously appointed de luxe double room, enjoyed a munificent breakfast and went on my way with a spring in my step. My joie de vivre was due either to the restorative powers of a fine hotel or the fact that, in the spirit of the age that was closing, I had just run up a hefty bill that somebody else would pay.

Had afternoon tea here. What a great deal! It was buy one get one half off for weekdays. I LOVED every sandwich and every dessert. The tea was so smooth and luxurious. The staff were extremely attentive.
I wish we had more sandwiches.
The ambiance of the drawing room was a very classic and historical feel. It was a bit dark in here and had a cozy feel despite the amount of space they had. High ceilings, luxurious curtains, and great comfortable vintage looking chairs to relax in.