Known for its extravagant Christmas decor and lavish interiors, private members club Annabel's is going all out to impress for its grand reopening next week, with a celebration of the painter Gustav Klimt.
The Mayfair-based club, beloved of royalty, reopened The Garden outdoor area last month, but will welcome back guests for indoor dining and socialising on 17 May with an 'immersive art experience' highlighting the Golden Period of the Austrian painter.
Annabel's luxurious premises will get the Klimt treatment with some of his most well-known works, including Danaë, The Kiss and Medicine recreated around the club until the end of May.
Even the cocktail menu will get a Klimt revamp, with drinks named after the painter's works.
The whole Annabel's club, located on Berkeley Square, has been turned into a walk-through Gustav Klimt painting.
On arrival, well-heeled guests will walk under a 'Tree of Life' archway, one of Klimt's most recognisable paintings.
A Tree of Life sculpture will be on show in the club's reception area, and throughout the rest of the building, 'interpretations' of Klimt's work will also be on show for guests to admire.
Annabel's has put together a drinks menu themed around Klimt's and his many mesmerising works, in hues of gold, to keep with the Golden Period theme.
One of the cocktails, named The Judith, consists of Hennessy Cognac, Galliano L’Autentico, Lemon Foam and Smoked Paprika.
Ahead of the exhibition, Annabel's enlisted models to recreate some of Klimt's celebrated works, bringing the art to life in tasteful portraits taken around the club.
The London destination has been a high society hot spot since it opened its doors in 1963, named the wife of owner Mark Birley, Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart.
The couple later split, but the splendour of Annabel's remained, hosting the cream of the crop, from the Rolling Stones to royalty.
The Queen even made an appearance at the prized club in 2003, where she had a dry martini in what is thought to be her only visit to a nightclub ever.
Her former daughter-in-law Princess Diana was a regular at Soho haunt, and the tradition of grand guests follows Annabel's to this day.
The all-day, all-night club counts a select clientele, with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, singer Ellie Goulding and stylish Alexa Chung have favoured the Mayfair destination.
It's also a hot concert haunt, and big jazz names have performed within its walls, from Ray Charles to Ella Fitzgerald.
Tina Turner also had a show at Annabel's, while more recently, it was Lady Gaga who delighted fans with a performance at the listed building.
Until 2018, the club was located at 44 Berkeley Square, but it then relocated two doors down, to number 46.
In 2007, business Tycoon Richard Caring, who owns other select location The Ivy, bought Annabel's in a deal that was thought top be worth £90million.
The select club is one of the capital's prized jewels and every one wants in: the waiting list is numbering in the thousands.
The members' club's bathroom is one of the most Instagram-friendly loos in London, and has pink onyx basins carved in the shape of oyster shells, complete with gold swan taps to greet you as you walk in.
Along with Murano-glass light fittings, there’s a carpet of silk peonies on the ceiling, it's perfect fodder for the Instagram feeds of the one per cent.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
