The Goring, London’s last family run luxury hotel and part of the capital’s hospitality scene since 1910, will wait a while to reopen.

The family said the hotel will open its doors for overnight stays, drinks in the bar, and garden and veranda dining, on September 4, with its Michelin-starred Dining Room opening a few weeks later. Presumably once the dust has settled and staff are confident with post-lockdown service.

“At 10am on Friday 4 September, the trumpets will sound and the doors will be majestically opened by to red liveried footmen,” said an announcement.

“There may be masks covering smiles and a few more white cotton gloves than before but nothing will stop our guests seeing the twinkle in the eyes of the wonderful staff at The Goring. From Friday 4th we will be ready when you are…”

Why wait? A source told Harden’s: “We’ve decided to wait until early September in order to make sure we get the reopening right.

“We want to offer our guests the proper Goring experience and if that means biding our time a little longer to make sure we make the grand reopening as fabulous as possible that’s what we’ll do.” Fair enough.

Explaining the decision in a wider announcement, a company statement read: “Since 1910 some very well-known guests have chosen The Goring, not just for our delicious food but also no matter how secret or important the conversation might be, it could never be overheard.

“It is likely we won’t be able to seat quite as many guests as before but there will be no change in our professional yet friendly service, the atmosphere and the memorable experience our guests have come to expect.”

The hotel is crafting an app on which all the hotel’s services can be navigated: from checking in and out, to ordering from the restaurant and bar menus.

However, in true Goring style, single-use paper menus will be offered to those who would prefer.