Around 120 firefighters across 20 fire crews were called to reports of a fire at the near £700-room-a-night Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in William Street, Knightsbridge, shortly before 4pm.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the fire is believed to have “spread across a vertical facade for plants and vegetation” to several floors but was quickly extinguished.
In total, 36 guests, including singer Robbie Williams the Mirror reports, were evacuated, along with 250 members of hotel staff.
London Ambulance Service reported no injuries as a result of the blaze.
LFB said it quickly received more than 40 reports of a serious fire in central London, which sent a huge plume of black smoke spiralling into the sky over the city, visible “for miles around”.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The brigade was called at 3.55pm and the fire was declared under control by 9.51pm. Crews from Chelsea, Kensington, Hammersmith, Battersea and numerous other London fire stations were in attendance.
In a statement, Mandarin Oriental said: “To the best of our knowledge, all Mandarin Oriental guests have been accounted for and we are contacting guests who were not in the hotel at the time.
“All colleagues are safe and accounted for. Hotel guests are being accommodated at other hotels in the vicinity. We would like to express our appreciation to everyone who has conveyed their concern about this sad incident.
“It is too early at the present stage to assess the full extent of the damage. A full investigation is under way and will take time to complete. The fire did not extend to the residences at One Hyde Park.”
LFB station manager Pam Oparaocha said: “The smoke from this large fire was very visible across central London this afternoon and we received a number of emergency calls.
“Firefighters worked extremely hard in exceptionally hot conditions to bring the fire under control. Crews wearing breathing apparatus carried out search and rescue operations throughout the inside of the building.
“Firefighters are likely to be there throughout the night and, once the fire has been brought under control, fire investigators will take over to establish how the blaze started.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan took to Twitter to thank the fire service for their efforts.
“Thank you to the @LondonFire firefighters and staff for their hard work to control today’s hotel fire in #Knightsbridge - and to all emergency services, local businesses and residents for their support,” he said.
Footage posted to Instagram, the Mirror reports, appears to show ex-Take That singer Williams escaping the blaze via a fire exit. It is understood Williams is in London for Sunday’s Soccer Aid charity match, in which he will captain one of the teams.
Fellow singer and former Neighbours actor Holly Valance was also caught up in the drama, tweeting with a video: "This is just terrible #mandarinoriental just minutes ago. Went up in seconds!"
The 12-storey venue, which was featured in Channel 4’s A Very British Hotel, had just completed the most extensive restoration in its 115-year history to position the historic hotel as one of the best in the world.
The £695-room-a-night hotel includes 40 suites across its 12 floors, including one within the turrets of the hotel, as well as the Dinner by Heston Blumenthal restaurant.
