The Berkeley

very high network kind of people that went there.

There was a saying because it was owned by the same Maybourne group hotels, which included Claridge's, Berkeley, and also the Connacht.

They used to say that people go to Claridge's to be seen, but they went to the Connacht to be private.

So you got to meet people like Anna Wintour, you know, The editor of Vogue and stuff like that, people like that, very high profile, looked after a few statesmen.

Right.

The Diversity Award, well, to be honest with you, you know you have in every hotel you have Employee of the Month and you have Employee of the Year.

So within... three hotels, which was Connacht, Claridge's and the Berkeley, but the Connacht was closed at the time for refurbishment.

There was all this top award, which is called CIP, which was Cherishing Individual Personalities.

Yeah, I had a really beautiful hotel night away, which was actually really fun because obviously I don't ever stay in hotels in London, 'cause I live in London, so why would I stay in hotels? And it was great.

We got, I got invited to the Berkeley, which is in Knightsbridge, and it's beautiful.

There's a swimming pool on the roof.

I was literally living-

No judgment here.

No judgment.

And like I said, like it was just really interesting to see like, obviously I don't think things like that happen at the Berkeley, but, um-

They might.

He left in the middle of twenty twenty-five, launching an advisory firm called Wild Origins, which has been talked about, uh, several times.

But bigger news as of this week is that he stepped away from it to pursue a new adventure as CEO of a new hotel operating company backed by Constellation Hotels, the Luxembourg-based investment group that owns hotels such as The Berkeley and The Emory in London, amongst many others.

The backstory here is interesting.

For more than a decade, those three properties were managed by Maybourne.

But in July, the two sides split.

One took Claridge's and the Maybourne name.

The other, Constellation, kept The Berkeley and The Emory, plus a pipeline that includes hotels in Paris and Marrakech, amongst other locations.

That left Constellation with three of London's best hotels, and once Maybourne's management contracts wind down, no one to run these iconic properties.

Yeah, I've never been to London.

But they talk about the owner of The Connaught and The Berkeley have hired Neil Jacobs, who left Six Senses back in 2025.

Um, and after 13 years, he had started his advisory firm called Wild Origins, which was very successful-

Yes

Um, he put someone in charge of Wild Origins, and now he's gonna build out those brands of Constellation Hotels.

Yeah.

Um, and it's a Luxembourg-based investment group that owns, like, I think I'm saying it right, The Connaught, The Berkeley-

Yeah

And let's face it, their old pals in the horsey set aren't in a rush to put them up.

So there's only one option, and let's just say it isn't The Berkeley.

We stayed at the bail hostel, which was a stupid place.

A bail hostel in Camden, North London.