A Travel Magazine by Kiwi Collection

Hotel Spotlights

Inside the Remarkable Rebirth of London’s Old War Office

For more than a century, the walls of The OWO have held London’s secrets. Built in 1906 as the headquarters of Britain’s War Office, this imposing Edwardian landmark stretches across an entire block of Whitehall, directly opposite Horse Guards Parade, where the King’s Household Cavalry still mounts guard. Once the nerve center of Britain’s military and political life, its corridors were walked by Sir Winston Churchill, military leaders and spies whose stories would become the stuff of legend.

Today, those same corridors lead somewhere rather different: to Raffles London at The OWO, which opened in 2023 as the brand’s first UK property. Grand offices have become suites, historic passageways lead to award-winning restaurants and a building once devoted to affairs of state has been transformed into one of London’s most intriguing addresses. The history hasn’t been erased; it has simply been given a new chapter—and guests are invited to discover it.