Christmas at Raffles London at The OWO is going silver this year. The hotel inside the former Old War Office on Whitehall has teamed up with Parisian silversmith Christofle for the festive season. From December, the Maison’s ornaments will hang on two Christmas trees in the grand hallway and lobby, and a dramatic spiralling chandelier will take over above the Grand Staircase.
The partnership doesn’t stop at the lobby. There’s a cookie on a silver platter when you arrive, a vanilla cake on room service, a Yule log for the Heritage Suites and a bedtime story waiting on your pillow. If you’ve been looking for an excuse to book a very grown-up Christmas night in London (or a very indulgent one with the family), this might be it. Here’s everything we know so far.
Two silver trees and a chandelier dressed for the season
The big moment comes the second you walk in. The hotel says both trees in the grand hallway and lobby will be decorated entirely with Christofle ornaments and silver décor. Given that this is one of the most dramatic entrances in London, all marble and Edwardian Baroque grandeur, that’s a lot of sparkle in one room.
Look up, too. The Italian chandelier that usually hangs above the Grand Staircase is being swapped out for the season. In its place goes a spiralling chandelier shaped like a fir-tree cone, which sounds like the kind of thing you’ll want to stand under for a few minutes before you even think about checking in. Insta-worthy doesn’t quite cover it.
The ‘Under the Tree’ ornaments
Christofle creates new Christmas ornaments every year, and its theme for 2026 is “Under the Tree”. The Maison’s own listing for the 2026 ornament, called Sous le sapin, depicts a small procession of gifts under a tree, including a rocking horse and drum, a star and ribbon, as well as skates, a bell and a nutcracker. It comes in silver-plated or gilded versions, finished with an ivory ribbon and a silver- or gold-toned bead.
The hotel hasn’t said exactly which designs will hang on its trees, but that’s the mood of this year’s collection: nostalgic, a bit storybook, and very, very shiny. Christofle has been making silver for the world’s tables, hotels and palaces since Charles Christofle founded the house in Paris in 1830. That’s almost two centuries of practice at making things gleam.
Cookies, cake and a Yule log worth staying in for
This is where it gets dangerous. All the festive bakes come from pastry chef Yazid Ichemrahen, and each one arrives on Christofle silver or china.
Guests checking in for a festive stay will be welcomed with a soft cookie of dried fruits and grand cru chocolate, served on a signature Christofle silver platter. It’s a small thing, but there’s something about being handed a cookie on a silver platter after battling through December crowds on Whitehall that feels exactly right.
For the in-room dining menu, Ichemrahen has made a seasonal signature cake that is unapologetically, completely vanilla. Think soft vanilla biscuit, a creamy filling infused with two vanillas (Madagascar and Tahiti) and vanilla whipped cream, all presented on fine Christofle chinaware. Ordering cake to your room in a dressing gown is surely what the festive season is for.
The real showstopper is the Christofle Yule log, but it’s reserved for guests in the Heritage Suites. It pairs almond sponge with vanilla cream, hazelnut praline and salt flower, and is topped with chocolate foam and an almond crisp; it is also served on Christofle chinaware. If you were wavering over the suite upgrade, consider this your sign.
A bedtime story and the Malmaison table
At the end of the evening, guests will find a bedtime story for the holidays waiting on their pillow. According to the hotel, it celebrates the craftsmanship and festive magic the two houses share. It’s a lovely touch, and a natural follow-on from the hotel’s recent Gruffalo afternoon tea and storybook family stay, which brought an audio story into guest rooms for younger visitors. Raffles London clearly likes ending the day with a story.
Throughout the season you’ll also spot two of Christofle’s best-known collections around the hotel: Malmaison silverware and Malmaison Impériale porcelain. If you’ve ever lingered over a beautifully laid table and wondered whose cutlery it was, now you’ll know.
Olivier Thomas, managing director at Raffles London at The OWO, said the partnership brings Christofle’s design into the lobby décor, the food presentation and the in-room experience all at once, rather than just one corner of the hotel.
Why Christofle, and why London
The festive takeover grows out of a bigger, global partnership between Raffles and Christofle that puts the silversmith’s tableware into selected Raffles hotels around the world. Raffles has said that a bespoke Raffles x Christofle dining experience launched at Raffles Boston in December 2025. It moves to London from July to December 2026, then on to Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris from January to June 2027 and Raffles Singapore from July to December 2027. That dining programme is separate from the new festive décor and in-room treats, but it explains why the silver is already very much at home here.
For Christofle, London is familiar territory. Hamdi Chatti, the Maison’s CEO and president, said the collaboration lands “in the heart of a capital where our Maison has long had a strong presence, notably through our flagship at Harrods.” So if the ornaments win you over, you know where to go shopping the next morning.
The OWO, if you haven’t been yet
If you haven’t stayed at Raffles London yet, the building alone is worth the trip. It’s the Grade II* listed former Old War Office, an Edwardian Baroque landmark on Whitehall, and it was the first Raffles hotel in the UK. Its past is properly cinematic: Raffles notes the building’s links to British intelligence history, including Second World War interviews and briefings for Special Operations Executive candidates and work connected to Operation Mincemeat. Sleeping under the same roof as all that history, with a silver tree glinting downstairs, is about as festive-London as it gets.
The hotel has 120 rooms and suites, five restaurants and two bars, including three signature dining experiences by chef Mauro Colagreco. There’s also a 678 sqm double-height ballroom and a 2,510 sqm spa spread across four floors, created in partnership with Guerlain and Pillar Wellbeing. Somewhere to recover after all that cake, then. The wider OWO development also houses 85 Raffles-branded residences, plus more restaurants and bars beyond the hotel itself.
Good to know
The Christofle trees, chandelier and festive treats run through December 2026. The welcome cookie is for guests arriving for a festive stay, the vanilla cake is on the in-room dining menu, and the Yule log is only for guests in the Heritage Suites. The hotel hasn’t shared prices or specific festive packages yet, so it’s worth asking exactly what’s included when you book.
You can book a stay through Raffles London at The OWO, and browse the ornament collection over at Christofle.
