St James's is about to get a luxury hotel makeover worth planning a trip around. Dukes London, the intimate hotel at 35 St James's Place whose bar famously inspired Ian Fleming's vodka martini in Casino Royale, is closed for renovation and will relaunch in the second quarter of 2027 as Dukes London, Minor Reserve Collection.
The 85-key property has been taken on by Minor Hotels, the group behind Anantara and Avani, working with Dubai-based partner Seven Tides. Chairman and founder William E. Heinecke has talked up the hotel's heritage and its place in London's character — high praise from a company with a global luxury portfolio. The redesign is in the hands of Russell Sage Studio, and guests can expect 13 executive suites plus five signature suites, each themed around notable past guests of the hotel. That's a smart move for a property whose guest list has included film stars, Bond creator Fleming himself, and reportedly members of the royal family over the years.
Good news for martini pilgrims: Dukes Bar never closed. The wood-panelled saloon, where bartenders mix tableside from a trolley and the Martinis have been served since 1908-era traditions took hold, has traded through the works. What's genuinely new is The Delany Drawing Room, a second bar and lounge with a conservatory and a secluded garden, positioned as the whisky counterpart to the martini bar — its list runs to 160 different whiskies, with Champagne and cocktails alongside, plus afternoon tea service.
There's food news too, and it's serious. Minor has brought in The Wolseley Hospitality Group, the operator behind grand café institutions The Wolseley and The Delaunay, to run a new on-site restaurant. For anyone who has queued for Vienna schnitzel under The Wolseley's chandeliers, that alone could be reason to book.
Why does this matter for travellers? St James's is one of London's quietest luxury pockets — minutes from Piccadilly, the Royal Academy and Green Park, but far calmer than Mayfair. Dukes has always traded on discretion over scale, and the reopening keeps that identity while adding the polish of a major group. If you've ever wanted to order your martini 'shaken, not stirred' at the source of the legend, you'll be able to do it in smarter surroundings from mid-2027. Until then, Dukes Bar remains open and accepting reservations — worth a detour even without a room key.
