Rubens – a palace itself – is across from Buckingham Palace. Image by Harrison Shiels
Emerging into London’s Paddington Station after a 15-minute, non-stop trip from the airport on the affordable and accessible Heathrow Express train is an exciting moment. The bright, stylish station and all the Brits bustling about it boost your sleepy senses after an overnight, transatlantic flight from the States. There is no mistaking you are in “Jolly Old” when you spot the traditional London black cabs lined up like limos.
My morning excitement went over the moon when the cab driving me to my hotel seemed to be dropping me off at Buckingham Palace! “The King lives across the street, which is useful when we run out of sugar or milk,” joked Vincent Castronovo, general manager of Rubens at the Palace – a Red Carnation brand Hotel – as we sipped, of course, tea. “We are the closest hotel property to the Palace. Since the 1700s, our building here has catered to the servants of Buckingham Palace. Dignitaries attending events at the Palace would stay here. Now, our hotel guests get to see and feel it all. During afternoon tea, it’s immersive – they enjoy a better than 4k view of the Palace.”
Indeed, the Rubens front entrance and dining room window are not more than 40 feet from functioning portions of Buckingham Palace, including a working entrance, the King’s Gallery, and the Royal Mews.
“The Royal Mews is the original horse stables and the carriages for the monarch are kept there on display. They were in use for the jubilee and the coronation and we have rooms that look right over and into the Mews,” Castronovo explained.
“The Mews is a fabulous tour that sometimes gets overlooked. The tea on your lips is still warm as you cross the street from the hotel and enter,” added Malcom Hendry, who has been managing director of the Red Carnation Rubens at the Palace Hotel and its royal rooms for 23 years.
“And the King’s Gallery allows you to view beautiful artwork and see what’s inside the palace,” Castronovo countered. “When dignitaries are going to the palace to receive their OBEs and Knighthoods from the King, they use that back entrance to Buckingham Palace just across from The Rubens.”
I bought a ticket to The Royal Mews and The King’s Gallery, walking right in without a reservation…and into the elegant Buckingham Palace gift shop between them. I was not, however, given the same access to the Palace’s private entrance as Hendry has.
“I have been in the Palace on a few occasions and to garden parties. It is a real privilege to go behind the scenes and see the residences. I met Prince Charles and his father and his mother, Her Majesty. When you run the hotel across the road from Buckingham Palace, you get opportunities like that which come along,” Hendry, with gratitude, allowed.
King Charles has now launched an initiative to make Buckingham Palace more accessible to his subjects and visitors.
“The Palace has opened its doors for years now, but King Charles, last year, opened the State Rooms and the iconic East Wing – the part of the palace with the famous central balcony – which allows people to enter the front gates facing the Royal Mall and walk across the iconic forecourt where you see the Changing of the Guard and the bands.”
Easy access to the festive and colorful Changing of the Guard is another benefit of staying at Rubens. People pile in after trekking to the palace hours early on mornings the event is staged. But at the suggestion of the concierge, I just walked out of the hotel along the palace wall for two blocks directly to the front gates 10 minutes before “showtime.” The parading marching bands and music made the Changing of the Guard much more fun and festive than I had expected, as were the doormen and the smiling staff members of Rubens, a traditional, posh hotel.
Michael Patrick Shiels and all guests get a Rubens Royal welcome. Image by Harrison Shiels
“We always look forward to welcoming Americans – they are our number-one percentage of guests. They arrive as first-time guests, then leave as friends and come back again,” said Castronovo, whose mother and grandparents worked in the hotel and hospitality industry. He started his hotel career in housekeeping.
By this point, we had moved our conversation and libation from tea to beer in the hotel’s New York Bar, adjacent to its Curry Room Indian restaurant, by chef Arun Kumar. Castronovo said he feels welcomed when visiting America, as the King and Queen are expected to do in 2026, for, ironically, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“America is a lovely story tell: grand and exciting. Americans don’t do things by half. There is history everywhere on a big scale: Detroit is the Motor City…Memphis has music. It’s on my bucket list to go to all 50 states.”
If London is on your wander list, Red Carnation operates six exciting luxury hotel options in historic, stately buildings throughout London, including The Milestone, which is nearly adjacent to Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace and close to the epic Harrods department store. Yes, there are red carnations in the lobbies in homage to the company’s heritage, and with historic hotels on three continents, the sun never sets on the Red Carnation’s empire.
Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at MShiels@aol.com His new book: Travel Tattler – Not So Torrid Tales, may be purchased via Amazon.com Hear his radio talk show on WJIM AM 1240 in Lansing weekdays from 9 am – noon.
