Infiltrate the Stafford's Wine Cellars

Your author has written about the Stafford Hotel in Mayfair before, when he visited their famous American Bar, but the hotel has another special secret. Below an old stable yard lies their 350-year-old stone wine cellar, created by Lord Francis Godolphin and, the hotel claims, home to between 18,000 and 20,000 bottles, making it one of the most complete wine collections in London.


The wines include Château Lafite Rothschild 1961 and 1976, a Château Leoville Poyferre 1978, and 'approximately 800 labels', all watched over by Master Sommelier Gino Nardella. If you are lucky, you might be able to persuade him to take you on a tour of the hotel's $1m collection, and very special guests might even get invited to dine down here.

The cellars were, your author understands, also used during the Second World War to shelter during air raids, and a collection of memorabilia from that period is also held in the cellar, as a memorial of that time.

For more information on the cellars, click here.