The Chancery Rosewood hotel in London names Boris Messmer, once of the Maybourne Riviera, managing director

Boris Messmer will take over as managing director of The Chancery Rosewood, in London, on 1 February 2027. The appointment was announced on 12 November 2026 on behalf of Qatari Diar, the hotel’s owner and developer, and of the hotel itself. A Claridge’s, Berkeley and Connaught alumnus, he has been running The Florentin in Frankfurt since 2024.

A new managing director on 1 February 2027

Boris Messmer will oversee all of the hotel’s operations. The announcement highlights two priorities: the guest experience and relationships with guests, partners and the Mayfair neighbourhood.

The hotel belongs to Qatari Diar, which developed it, and is run under the Rosewood brand, already present in the capital with the Rosewood London, bought by the American firm Gencom.

Michael Bonsor steps aside after the opening

He succeeds Michael Bonsor, who led the hotel throughout its development phase and through its opening on 1 September 2025.

Michael Bonsor will take up a new role within Rosewood. Details of the position will be announced later in November.

Claridge’s to the Connaught: the Maybourne years

Boris Messmer began his career at the Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg. In London, he joined the team that reopened the Savoy, then moved to The Dorchester.

He joined Maybourne in 2015 as Front of House Manager at Claridge’s, in charge of welcoming guests, before becoming its Director of Rooms, responsible for accommodation. He then served as Hotel Manager, running day-to-day operations, at the Berkeley and then the Connaught, two more of the group’s London addresses (see our guide to Claridge’s).

From the Riviera to The Florentin in Frankfurt

In 2021, he became managing director of the Maybourne Riviera, the Maybourne group’s first address in France.

Since 2024, he has run The Florentin in Frankfurt, Germany, an Althoff Collection hotel formerly known as Villa Kennedy.

144 suites in the former American embassy

The Chancery Rosewood occupies the former United States embassy at 30 Grosvenor Square, a Grade II listed building designed by the architect Eero Saarinen. Its restoration was entrusted to David Chipperfield and its interiors to Joseph Dirand.

The hotel has 144 suites, the restaurants Serra, Jacqueline and Tobi Masa, GSQ, the Eagle Bar and its two terraces, Upper East and Upper West, as well as the Asaya spa. It is also home to a floor of art galleries.

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