The royal touch leads landmark London hotel into debt driven by decorating costs

The Goring, the hotel chosen by the Duchess of Cambridge to spend her last night as a single woman, has slumped to a £1.3m loss.

The Belgravia establishment, also a favourite of Lady Thatcher, slipped into the red after spending over £3m on refurbishments last year. It is not certain whether the cash would have been spent before after the Duchess and her family stayed at the hotel prior to the Royal Wedding in April last year.

Accounts published over the weekend showed revenue at the hotel jumped from £9.6m to £11.1m. The result is the second consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth at the family–owned establishment.

In the directors’ report signed off by Jeremy Goring, the company said: “The results for the year and the financial position at the year end were considered satisfactory by the directors who expect to see continued revenue growth for the foreseeable future, once the present economic circumstances improve.”

The loss before tax came in at £1.3m after a £551,772 profit the previous year.

During the year to March 2012 the Goring spent £3m on “renewals of furniture and equipment”. The sum compared to £478,468 the previous year.

The Goring, which is just a few minutes walk from Buckingham Palace has long been a favourite of the Royal Family. It can trace its history back to 1910 when it claimed to be the first hotel in the world to have en-suite bathrooms and central heating in every room. In the First World War it was used a base of operations for Allied commanders.

The hotel was also a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who used to hold annual receptions in the hotel on behalf of charities she supported.

The hotel is currently run by Jeremy Goring, the fourth generation of his family to lead the hotel.

The Goring declined to comment.