Next we visited The Bar at The Athenaeum Hotel & Residences in Piccadilly. This is a 5 Star hotel that has been refurbished as a ’boutique’ hotel with apartments. Built in 1849, it was a gentlemen’s club in 1864 and in the Thirties, it was rebuilt in Art Deco style. In 1971 it was modernised by the Rank Organisation and had a star-studded couple of decades as a hotel filled with Hollywood greats, Elizabeth Taylor had an apartment here. So, as a nod to this, The Bar has a continuous loop of film clips where the ‘leading man’ sweeps the ‘leading lady’ off her feet – for the romantics rather than the feminists?! We spent most of the time trying to name the films and the actors, very entertaining. Watch the video and see who you can recognise…..sorry if we’ve breached any copyright??

But back to the hotel and bar, the access to the hotel is typically elegant with a retracting stair lift for wheelchair users………

The Telegraph says of the new Bar and Restaurant:

‘In a bold new move, the food throughout, including room service and breakfast, is courtesy of the Galvin Brothers’ restaurant and catering business. It’s slick, high quality, enjoyable and aimed at all budgets: you can have a burger for £12 or caviar for £170’.

We can testify to this as snacks such as Gentleman’s Relish on Toast and a Scotch Egg were very reasonable (under £10) and tasty. They also serve a good afternoon tea from £29.50 but we were there for the cocktails and the extensive range of whiskies. I had a Strawberry Julep (£14) and my companion insisted on Hibiki Harmony Japanese Whisky (£14) which was served over one piece of distilled water ice – says something when drinks are more expensive than the food! Less expensive tipples are available! Both went down far too easily so we had two more.

Strawberry Julep Went Down Too Well

Japanese Hibiki Whisky With One Large Distilled Water Ice Cube, Classy!

The Bar is in the basement so it is dark but I could still read the menu with glasses, the floor is smooth and flat and the acoustics are good.

The Bar at The Athenaeum Features Food From the Galvin Brothers

The disabled toilet is located at the entrance to the bar and they were very proud to show us the facilities – well lit, with space to manoeuvre and all the grab bars.

Very Proud to Show Off The Disabled Toilet at The Athenaeum

Five Grab rails, Well Lit & Plenty of Space

Basin & Mirror at Wheelchair Height . Well Designed & Decorated

The best part however was the friendliness of the staff. From the doorman who operated the accessible lift, to the manager who showed us the disabled toilet and the extremely knowledgeable bar staff. Especially one barman who told us all about the history of Japanese Whisky. We’ll find out if any of the bedrooms are accessible and review the Galvin Restaurant at a later date.

The Athenaeum Bar gets 3 BBS Ticks and may get nominated as Best Bar at The BBS Awards. If you have a nomination or review to add or just want to highlight good stylish, disabled access get in contact

Blue Badge Style

We Re-Define Disability With Style

The Bar, Athenaeum Hotel, London

The Bar, Athenaeum Hotel, London

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