Built as private residences on St. James’s Place in the 17th century, the several structures that make up what is now The Stafford London have changed hands quite a few times. In fact, it was formerly Richmond Club Chambers, Green’s Private Hotel, and St. James’s Palace Hotel. In 1912, The Stafford opened its doors to guests who can book a room or suite in any of the hotel’s three charming buildings: the main house, the mews house, and carriage houses, where the English nobility’s thoroughbreds lived.
Though the hotel has been around for quite a lot—two world wars, the Titanic’s demise, and the longest-reigning monarch’s coronation—The Stafford London’s guest rooms and suites are a masterclass in charismatic contemporary design with jewel-toned tufted quilts, geometric-inspired wallpaper, and unique patterns at play in nearly every nook and cranny.
There is hardly a more coveted New York address than one on Park Avenue, and the circa 1931 Waldorf Astoria is proof. However, the Art Deco landmark that served as five-star living quarters to such A-listers as Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor wasn’t always on its famous block on Park Avenue. The original 13-story Waldorf Hotel was constructed on the site of William Waldorf Astor’s mansion at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street in 1893, and, four years later, his cousin, John Jacob Astor IV (who died aboard the Titanic), built his own hotel, the Astoria Hotel on a neighboring site. In 1929, the hotel owners demolished the building because the general elite was headed northbound, so they sold the site to what would later house the Empire State Building. A different team of developers, builders, and investors bought the Waldorf Astoria name and brought it up from Park Avenue to 50th Street.