The site

Hope House was built at 116 Piccadilly in 1849–1850 by Henry Pelham-Clinton, the 6th Duke of Newcastle. The name Athenaeum first appears around 1864 when the house was bought by the Junior Athenaeum Club.

Current building

The site was redeveloped in 1937, with the construction of an art deco apartment block, the Athenaeum Court.^[2]

Hotel conversion

In 1971, The Rank Organisation purchased the Athenaeum Court, gutting and rebuilding it and reopening it as The Athenaeum Hotel in 1973. Through Rank's direct links to Hollywood the hotel attracted guests including Steven Spielberg, Marlon Brando, Harrison Ford, Lauren Bacall, Liza Minnelli and Warren Beatty. Rank encouraged the stars of its films (including Elizabeth Taylor) to take up residence at the hotel whilst working on projects in England. The Hollywood Reporter observed that there were more movie stars to be seen in London's Athenaeum than in the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel.

For over twenty years Sally Bulloch was the Executive Manager.^{[3][lower-alpha 1]}

The current General Manager Joanne Taylor Stagg took over in 2019 ^[4]

In 1992, the Athenaeum was purchased by Ralph Trustees Limited, a family-run business who also own The Grove in Hertfordshire and the Runnymede Hotel & Spa near Windsor. More recent celebrity guests include Kim Kardashian and Mel B.