The Berkeley

The Berkeley is a 5-star hotel located in Knightsbridge, London, owned and managed by the Maybourne Hotel Group. Essentially residential in character, the hotel is a sequence of connected rooms and suites with a comfortable and familiar scale and ambiance. Our work covers the refurbishment and redesign of the existing hotel and its facilities, the extension of the hotel’s north block and the insertion of a new hotel - The Emory - into the Berkeley site.

RSHP’s work on the Berkeley began in 2016 with a glazed honeycomb entrance canopy and the transformation of public areas at the ground floor. The hotel’s iconic Blue Bar retained its memorable interior, while the Caramel Room was developed into the elegant Collins Room which now extends towards the street, flanked by glazed pavilions, and illuminated by the glass canopy and walls that reflect light throughout the day.

Further additions to the hotel were three glass pavilions on the hotel’s corners which provide wrap-around terraces that create an immersive indoor-outdoor experience, and the redesigned heated rooftop pool with stunning views of Knightsbridge’s red brick buildings, the crescents of Belgravia, and the vast expanse of Hyde Park.

Throughout the works, the Berkeley remained operational with the various additions carefully woven into existing building to make a greater whole, reinvigorating the hotel for the future. The back-of house-operations were renovated with new MEP and plant enclosures, improved ventilation systems and a rooftop extension. RSHP also reinstated the facade on Old Barrack Yard and introduced new glazing on the ground floor, courtyard balconies with pop-out window screens, and a glazed corridor linking The Berkeley with The Emory.

A key change was removing two bays from The Berkeley’s brick Hyde Park-facing facade and installing full height windows and a stone facade in keeping with the main building. This unlocked the site as a dual hotel destination and enabled The Emory to stand as a jewel along Knightsbridge, completing the city block.