Turn Your Kids Into Little Royals At Hotel Café Royal

Far be it from me to encourage any family to book expensive flights to London simply to stay a few nights at Hotel Café Royal. There are many beautiful hotels all over the planet, and some might even be within driving distance, but I’ll tell you something these other hotels definitely do not have: A little care package for family stays approved by an actual royal nanny herself. You know what this means, of course. You can dress your children up like Prince George or Princess Charlotte or Prince Louis and cosplay as a royal family in tasteful cardigans and pressed button down shirts for a truly luxurious stay at the Hotel Café Royal.

And your children will thank you for it.

A special destination in London’s best neighborhood.

Hotel Café Royal is a 5-star hotel perfectly situated in the heart of the extra posh cross-section of St. James, Mayfair, and Soho, coincidentally a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace itself. From the moment you step into the hushed lobby, lit with a 700 pound Murano glass chandelier, you’ll be transformed. Everything smells so terrific you’ll want to take a moment to sit and revel in the tastefully grouped arm chairs tucked away in every dimly lit corner.

Be sure to book afternoon tea like me and Princess Diana.

Hotel Café Royal is part of the Set collection, and has been visited throughout it’s more than 150 year history by the likes of Oscar Wilde, David Bowie, and even Princess Diana, who visited the hotel for its famous afternoon high tea service in the exquisite Oscar Wilde room (just like I did). I like to think she polished off all of her scones with clotted cream and jam too. This is the quintessential high tea we all imagine in a gleaming, rococo-era tea room, complete with a piano player, champagne, and waiters who perform their service like theater. Even sitting on my own in my well-loved sweater with a magazine on my lap, I felt pampered.

Kids aren’t just welcome, they’re treated like little royals.

In an effort to make families feel as welcome as possible, Hotel Café Royal has teamed up with Norland Nanny Louenna Hood to curate the Tiny Traveler Program, which can be requested upon booking. This includes specially crafted trunks Nanny Louenna helped design with an eye to making kids and parents feel as cozy and relaxed about traveling as an actual royal. These trunks are age-specific and include things like games, special snacks and drinks, toys (like a double-decker bus), and best of all, fluffy little Hotel Café Royal robes and slippers for kids as well as their trademark Ziggy the bear (named after their Ziggy cocktail bar where David Bowie retired his Ziggy Stardust character with a huge party decades earlier) all tucked away to cuddle as they drift off to sleep. Just imagine them dreaming in British accents.

It’s worth noting that families can book interconnecting two- and three-bedroom family rooms and suites, with private entrance hallways for quiet and privacy in the heart of London. I’m starting to think the royals would actually be jealous.

Advice from a royal nanny on how to travel with kids, courtesy of Hotel Café Royal.

I spoke to Nanny Louenna, who tells me that she worked as a royal nanny for 20 years (although no word on which family, because “discretion is everything!”). She did, however, have some helpful tips for traveling parents: “I advise sticking to their usual eating and sleeping routine — a tired or hungry child won't be a happy one. If you are relaxed about sleeping in an unfamiliar environment, then your little one will be too. Bring their bed toys for comfort and stick to their bath and bedtime routine.” She also noted that parents should utilize Guest Relations at the hotel for their stay to help plan excursions or even ahead of arrival, explaining that “they will ensure everything you need is placed in your room upon arrival, such as cots, changing mats, bottle sterilizers, white noise machines, baby bath tubs, and more.”

How much does it cost to stay at Hotel Café Royal?

Hotel Café Royal is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a real bucket list kind of place to stay. Prices start at $800 per room per night and go up from there, so you really need to plan out your visit as the truly special occasion it deserves to be.

But between the sumptuous suites with full marble bathrooms, the incredible Akasha spa located in the lower level where guests can dip in a warm, blue-lit pool, enjoy a traditional Hammam, a steam room, or a hot tub, and the option to have a chauffer-driven Rolls Royce, Range Rover or Mercedes-Benz or Mercedes-Benz V-Class, perfect for families, there’s almost too much to recommend it. On a personal note, the service at the hotel was something entirely different from anything I’ve experienced. Formal but friendly, present but never obtrusive. As hushed and elegant as the lobby.

Plus no judgment from the server when I absolutely devoured my champagne and signature cheesecake at their Cakes & Bubbles dessert-themed restaurant or lingered over my elegant breakfast every morning in the dining room. Those eggs... you have to try them to believe them.

Is Hotel Café Royal really worth it for families?

Hotel Café Royal is a singular kind of property that many of us will only experience once, and it really is a place you’ll want to share with your family. The location for visiting London can’t be beat, with the tube so close to your front door and so much of the heart of the city within a short walk. Everyone in the family will feel pampered, cared for, fed, and dare I say it?

Royal.