St. James’ Court, A Taj Hotel has completed the final stage of a multi-year transformation across the property and its sister address, Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences, unveiling a redesigned arrival experience, a new signature bar and a significantly expanded private members’ club in the heart of Westminster.
Set on Buckingham Gate, moments from Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Park, the hotel has long been one of the capital’s most characterful luxury addresses for business travellers. The latest restoration, led by Conran and Partners, the architecture and interior design practice founded by Sir Terence Conran, brings fresh life to the ground and first floors, from the entrance and lobby through to a vibrant new social centrepiece, 1897 – The Bar.
The studio, which previously worked on Taj The Chambers and the TH@51 restaurant and bar, has introduced a brighter, more expressive design language that references the property’s late 19th-century townhouse architecture while creating what the hotel describes as a calmer, more modern guest journey through colour, texture, craftsmanship and detail.
From the moment guests step inside, the redesign aims to create a greater sense of occasion. The entrance opens into a brighter space defined by pale stone finishes, soft metallic details and a striking sculptural overhead installation, before the lobby moves from lighter, urban tones towards a warmer reception area. The eye is drawn towards 1897 – The Bar and, beyond it, the courtyard, long one of the hotel’s most exceptional offerings and now visible from arrival.
Named after the year the red-brick townhouses that house the hotel were built, 1897 – The Bar introduces a sophisticated new social destination framed by deep green tones, polished surfaces and courtyard views. Open to residents and non-residents alike, it offers pre-dinner cocktails, tequila-led serves, bar snacks and late-night drinks, while new whisky and cigar lounges strengthen the hotel’s appeal as a discreet address for relaxed meetings and evening entertaining.
For corporate guests, the first-floor event rooms have been reimagined as a more integrated, versatile setting for meetings, dinners, receptions and multi-room events, with improved street-level access, natural daylight and concealed integrated screens allowing spaces to move from daytime meetings to evening occasions.
The Ballroom, the hotel’s showpiece venue, has been sensitively restored with a softer, lighter feel. Its domed trellised ceiling, crystal chandeliers and gold-accented wood-panelled walls remain, making it a striking setting for gala dinners, weddings, conferences and presentations.
The investment comes amid a wave of high-profile renewals across London’s luxury hotel scene, from the landmark transformation of The Imperial Bloomsbury to the arrival of St. Regis in Mayfair and new top-floor suites at The Athenaeum overlooking Green Park.
Taj The Chambers, part of Taj Hotels’ global network of invitation-only private members’ clubs, has been significantly expanded, giving members greater scope to meet, work, dine and entertain. A new first-floor extension adds a second boardroom, a members’ lounge and a private dining room, while a glass-roofed terrace overlooking the courtyard offers one of the hotel’s most singular settings for private events and member gatherings.
The London expansion strengthens the club’s wider international story, with Taj The Chambers continuing to form a distinctive part of the brand’s luxury positioning at landmark hotels worldwide, including the newly opened Taj Hessischer Hof Frankfurt.
The completed phase follows a significant programme of investment across Taj’s London estate in recent years, complementing a dining, wellness and social collection that includes TH@51, House of Ming, the J Wellness Circle spa and the Michelin-starred Quilon at Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences.
