The Biltmore Mayfair  occupies a historically rich site at 44 Grosvenor Square, in the heart of London’s Mayfair. Though it operates today as a luxury hotel, its story stretches back over three centuries.
 
The site was first developed as a private residence in 1710, commissioned by Sir Richard Grosvenor as part of the Grosvenor family’s systematic development of their Mayfair estate.  Grosvenor Square itself was laid out in the 1710s–1720s as the centrepiece of this aristocratic quarter, and the houses around it were built for high‑ranking nobles, courtiers, and wealthy elites.
 
Early in its life, the house at what is now No. 44 is said to have been home to Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal (1667–1743), the long‑time mistress of King George I.  This connection places the building within the intimate social and political circle of the early Georgian court.
 
In the 1880s, the building became home to Oscar Wilde, who lived there while establishing himself as a leading literary figure in London.  Wilde’s residence links the address to late‑Victorian cultural life; he is associated with works written or circulated in this period, including The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890–91) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
 
Incredibly the current building is only 50 years old. The current hotel structure was designed by architect Richard Seifert and constructed between 1967 and 1969 for Grand Metropolitan Hotels as the Britannia Hotel.
 
Interesting facts...
After the battle of Waterloo Major Henry Percy rode and rowed for three days from the battlefield to bring news of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon to the British government assembled at this very house.