As anyone who's ever taken a staycation knows, the destination is just as important as the journey itself.
That is why when the Royal Family stays in London, they head to the Goring Hotel. In fact, it's the only hotel in the world with a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth, and Kate Middleton even stayed here the night before the Royal Wedding.
In other words? This place is as close to staying at Buckingham Palace as it gets.
The 106-year-old hotel - which has been run by the Goring family since its opening - has a storied history. German hotelier Otto Richard Goring began his career in Germany and managed his first hotel in London at just 24. He built the Goring in 1910, and the hotel has been passed from father to son ever since. According to a press release, it's the first hotel in the world to offer central heating and an en-suite bathroom in each bedroom, and in 1914, the hotel served as the command center for the Chief of the Allied Forces during World War I. Nicknamed an "annex to Buckingham Palace," Forbes writes that diplomats used to freshen up at the Goring before meeting with the Queen.
That being said, if you want to live like the Royal Family, you're going to have to bust open your piggy bank. The suite where Kate slept - appropriately named the Royal Suite - starts at about £8,400 a night, according to Pursuitist. The bathroom door in the Royal Suite is made with red Gainsborough silk - the same fabric used on the Queen's throne, Forbes writes. Green silk originally woven for the First Class Dining Room of the Titanic can be found on the room's walls.
You'll find luxe touches throughout the 69-suite hotel: The lobby of the hotel features detailed painted wallpapers that depict the Goring family as animals - and according to Pursuitist, Kate Middleton painted a few strokes on the unicorn!
This summer, the hotel will host a gin bar in its private garden - think that's how the Royal Family kicks back, too?
Take a look inside the hotel here:
h/t: Forbes
