Jimi Hendrix Suite – Cumberland Hotel, London
Jimi Hendrix’ favourite hotel was the Cumberland Hotel in London, which he often referred to as his ‘home away from home’. The hotel would also become the site of his death, after he took an overdose of barbiturates, dying on the morning of the 18th of September in 1970.
The Cumberland Hotel is currently listed as a luxury hotel, with a large reception area that is decorated in marble and glass, covered with lime-tinted lighting. It wasn’t always so prestigious, and back in the 1970s was a lot simpler and was more appealing to the rock stars of the day seeking a simple room to relax in after touring or playing a concert.
In the case of Jimi Hendrix, one of his closest friends and confidants told press that the hotel was where Jimi would take various young ladies in order to keep them away from other young ladies that he was seeing at the time. Although nothing is provable at this point, his friends have speculated that the stress of his lifestyle at that time was unsustainable for him, and led to his frequent, and eventually fatal, drug use.
Brown’s Hotel, London
One of the oldest hotels in London, Brow’s Hotel, was established in 1837, by James and Sarah Brown. The hotel has a total of 115 rooms, and 33 suites.
The hotel has had a number of famous guests over the years, including historian John Lothrop Motley, well-known Victorian writers Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Bram Stoker. One of the most well-known events to ever take place in the hotel was the first ever telephone call made in the entirety of Europe, when the hotel hosted Alexander Graham Bell. The hotel has also hosted a number of European royals over the years, including Empress Eugenie, and Elizabeth, Queen of the Belgians.
The Brown’s Hotel is best known for its traditional Victorian era style, fused with a contemporary feel. The bedrooms were designed by Olga Polizzi, and combine modern features with traditional furniture, with each room being individually decorated.
The hotel features several restaurants, including The Restaurant at Brown’s, which was previously called The Albemarie, which is an informal A La Carte restaurant that serves seasonal British cuisine. The Brown’s English Tea Room serves afternoon tea and light snacks and has done so since the middle of the nineteenth century. The hotel also features The Donovan Bar, which was named after British photographer Terence Donovan. The bar is lined with over 50 of his black and white prints, furnished with wooden floors, and has black leather seating and dark country check banquettes. The bar is known for hosting a number of celebrities over the years, particularly those in the literary world, such as Stephen King, Agatha Christie, and Rudyard Kipling visiting on more than one occasion.