St. James’ Court, A Taj Hotel. Palatial Luxury In The Shadow Of The Palace.

Andy Mossack reviews St. James’ Court, A Taj Hotel and finds it a right royal residence.

It seems back in 1897, a certain Major Charles Pawley knew a thing or two about hiding gems. Following his acquisition of the St James’ Court land which at that time contained long-abandoned alms houses, he began developing it into a courtyard surrounded by eight high-end redbrick townhouses, each one six storeys high.

He had a reputation for building design following his military service with the Royal Engineers and set about establishing his luxury haven for Establishment guests, a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace, and hidden away from the great unwashed of London.

No expense was spared in appointing master craftsmen to lavish his new oasis with the finest architectural frills of its time. Culminating with a cherub adorned Victorian fountain and a majestic frieze carved out of the brickwork featuring characters from Shakespeare’s plays. Still reputed to be the longest of its kind in the world.

Pawley’s rather fitting legacy forms what is now St. James’ Court, A Taj Hotel and 51 Buckingham Gate luxury apartments. Still hidden behind those giant gates, the eight townhouses standing tall around the courtyard with those cherubs still frolicking in the fountain.

This storied estate has been a jewel of Taj Hotels since 1982. A luxury hotel brand supported by the very deep pockets of the giant Indian family-owned Tata conglomerate who began their own empire in 1903 with the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Bombay – now Mumbai. India’s first luxury hotel.

All of this background leads me to my memorable return visit to St. James’ Court, A Taj Hotel to test out some recently renovated Premium Courtyard rooms. It’s a property I first reviewed back in 2018 when its charm and heritage status had me hooked from the moment I set eyes on it. So, this reunion was long overdue.

The sheer size of this property makes it something of a landmark in this quiet corner of St. James’ still one of London’s most prestigious addresses. This estate is so vast, by the time they’ve completed any renovation I’ve no doubt it would be time to start it all over again.

My room was a Premium Junior Suite with a Courtyard view, one of the newly refurbished guestrooms created by interior designer Sue Freeman. There is renovation work underway throughout one of the eight townhouses; however, it is so discreet there is very little guest disturbance apart from a diversionary corridor adventure to get to my room.

It was well worth getting the step count in though. An elegant 44 square metre oasis of space awaited overlooking Pawley’s beautiful historic courtyard and fountain. Freeman’s pale greys interspersed with lime green and purple soft furnishings made it akin to a contemporary townhouse setting. A king bed dominated the bedroom area with a large flat screen TV opposite.

In the separate lounge section, a deep comfy settee and armchair encircled a coffee table and just adjacent to another flat screen TV, a work desk gratefully adorned with power sockets of all types and a bar with a kettle, Nespresso machine and real milk in a jar from a local dairy. The stylish bathroom had a rain forest walk-in shower with Molton Brown toiletries, a back-lit makeup mirror with a hair dryer within easy reach and fluffy towels and robes.

Taj has invested heavily in authentic Indian healing and wellbeing rooted in Ayurvedic practices, and you can find its J Wellness Circle brand in most of its hotels. At St. James’ Court, A Taj Hotel the J Wellness Circle lies around the basement level and naturally needed exploring.

All the standard facilities are free for guests to use. These include the large vitality bathing pool which is too shallow for swimming but is more or less a giant jacuzzi with various power jet stations. The sauna cabin and marble-lined steam room were both excellent as was the relaxation area where I spent some quiet time on a comfortable bed sipping cucumber-infused water.

A full list of traditional Indian wellness therapies are available together with Taj’s collaboration with UK lifestyle brand Temple Spa which offers contemporary Mediterranean wellness products.

A well-equipped fitness suite can be accessed via the room keycard for anyone keen to lose a few calories before attempting any of the restaurants upstairs which include the Michelin starred Quilon Indian restaurant, which was my venue later for dinner, the House of Ming for Chinese fine dining, and the all-day TH@51.

After an epic meal at Quilon and a very restful sleep dreaming of the Shakespearean frieze characters etched below my window, I was up and ready to tackle the breakfast buffet at TH@51.

This was a sumptuous buffet fit for a Maharajah, set looking out on Pawley’s court where in the summer there is outdoor dining. Lots of waiting staff speaking silently into discreet microphones promised a well-drilled breakfast team.

Bakery-fresh breads and pastries, fresh fruits and a host of hot and cold choices, including some Indian favourites, to suit every taste. Guests were also invited to pick one freshly cooked choice from the kitchen as part of the buffet breakfast which also included a couple of traditional Indian dishes.

St. James’ Court, A Taj Hotel delivers everything you would expect from this iconic Indian luxury hotel brand. Mind you, within such a spectacular setting in one of London’s most exclusive addresses, you really shouldn’t expect anything less. I reckon Charles Pawley would be so proud his hidden gem is still just that.