DUKES London – the martini, the courtyard and Ian Fleming

In a quiet courtyard off St James's Street, a hotel of 90 rooms that has received guests since 1908, and a bar where Ian Fleming is said to have settled on James Bond's drink.

The martini at Dukes Bar is mixed at your table, and there is a limit of two per guest. There is no music. It was here, so the story goes, that Ian Fleming settled on the drink his hero would order – a vodka martini, shaken, not stirred – and the bar's signature remains the Vesper.

The bar belongs to DUKES London, a hotel of 90 rooms and suites at 35 St James's Place, a courtyard off St James's Street in the City of Westminster, which has been receiving guests since 1908.

01Cleveland Court

The close was once known as Cleveland Court, after Cleveland House, the London home of the Duchess of Cleveland, a mistress of Charles II. In 1801 Henry Thomas Austen, brother of Jane Austen, had offices here. According to Luxury London, the site was occupied by a small inn until 1885, after which the building housed London chambers for the sons of aristocratic families. In 1908 it opened as a hotel.

Edward Elgar was a regular in the early years. Diana, Princess of Wales, is said to have had a table permanently reserved for afternoon tea in the drawing room, and several members of the royal family have stayed.

02Dukes Bar and the Vesper

Dukes Bar lies just inside the front door, to the right. Martinis are made at the table with gin and dry vermouth from a north London distillery, and the two-drink rule is taken seriously: the Vesper, with its generous measure of spirits, is not a drink to hurry.

03The rooms and the Duke of Clarence Suite

The rooms are cosy in scale. Superior rooms have marble bathrooms, and the original lift still has its bench seat. At the top of the house, the Duke of Clarence Suite is a penthouse with a balcony looking towards Clarence House.

There is a drawing room with wingback chairs, where afternoon tea is served, and a small cigar garden.

04GBR

The hotel's restaurant, GBR – the Great British Restaurant – replaced the former Thirty Six. In 2022 it was led by the chef Nigel Mendham, with a menu on which any dish can be ordered as a starter or a main course.

05St James's around the courtyard

St James's Palace stands a few minutes away, on a site where a leper hospital stood until 1532. Green Park, Piccadilly and Jermyn Street are all within a short walk, and The Stafford is a neighbour on the same street. The whole city is in VERA PI's guide to London, and more great hotels are collected on metromode.co.

06Making the most of a stay

Take a seat in Dukes Bar early in the evening and order the Vesper, then stop at two. Book afternoon tea in the drawing room, and if the occasion calls for it, ask about the Duke of Clarence Suite and its balcony.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.