Combining old world glamour with a new world gaming experience, the iconic Clermont Club casino in London is ready to reopen its doors later this year, after being closed for the past two years. Mayfair’s prestigious club was founded back in 1962 by entrepreneur John Aspinall, in a time when casinos had just become legal in the UK.
It wasn’t long until this club became the place to be in London, attracting most of the rich and famous people of that period, like Ian Fleming, David Frost or Peter Sellers, lords and even the Duke of Devonshire.
Nestled in a charming Palladian mansion in Berkeley Square, designed by the renowned architect William Kent, the Clermont Club has a lovely red brick facade that became synonymous with gaming and fun among London’s elite. In time, the club went through a few periods of financial difficulties and switched hands several times.
It was acquired by the UK gaming operator Rank Group, which sold it in 2006 for £31m to Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan and his company Guoco Leisure. Quek even launched a new hotel brand with its name inspired by the Clermont Club, but he shut down the club in 2018 after a few years of operating losses.
Luckily for us, in 2019 the Clermont was purchased for £23 million by another gaming company, Mayfair Casinos Ltd, that also operates Leicester Square’s Horizon Casino. Since then, the club went through a lengthy refurbishment and it now promises to set new standards in hospitality, taste and luxury, with a modern twist on the traditional glamour.
The Clermont Club spreads across three floors, with six gaming rooms and a private gaming library on its top floor.
It’s still a challenging time for the industry, especially with the current situation in the world and so many travel restrictions around. While casinos look for a way to recover, online casinos are seizing the opportunity to grow their platform base where they are able to offer a secure playing environment and even retain the personal touch with live dealer casino games, although some seem to have been taken off the menu.
But the grand reopening of the Clermont Club is already generating a lot of buzz and we’re pretty sure that once this whole pandemic is over everyone will want to go out, socialize and relax. Mayfair Casinos Ltd. aims to offer a complete sensory and social experience at the Clermont, that will attract both its nostalgic high-end clientele and young gamers who want a more authentic casino experience.
