Yes. Drinks House 247 delivers alcohol to hotels across London 24 hours a day, usually within 30 to 45 minutes inside the M25. Give the guest's full name, the hotel and the room number. The driver hands the order to the guest or to reception, and whoever receives it must be 18 or over and may be asked for ID.
Hotels are one of the most common delivery addresses in London. Visitors arrive late, want a bottle in the room without paying minibar prices, or someone wants to send champagne to a friend celebrating in town. It works, but a hotel is not a front door, so a few details decide whether the order reaches the right person quickly.
Treat the order like a letter to someone in a large building. The driver can only hand over what the address makes clear.
Usually not. Many London hotels do not let delivery drivers into the lifts or corridors, for their guests' security. The normal handover is at reception or the concierge desk: either the guest comes down, or the hotel takes the order up. Some smaller hotels and serviced apartments are happy for the guest to meet the driver in the lobby, which is often the quickest option late at night.
If you are the guest, the simplest approach is to order to yourself, keep your phone on, and walk down to the lobby when the driver calls.
This is where age checks come in. Under our Challenge 21 policy, alcohol is only handed to someone who is 18 or over, and the driver may ask for photo ID from whoever signs for it. If a member of hotel staff accepts the order on the guest's behalf, the driver has to be satisfied that the person receiving it is an adult, which in practice at a staffed reception desk is straightforward.
What a driver cannot do is leave alcohol unattended, hand it to a guest who appears to be under 18, or deliver to someone who is visibly intoxicated. If none of those apply, a hotel delivery is no harder than a home one.
| Situation | What to do | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| You are staying at the hotel | Order in your own name with your mobile number; meet the driver in the lobby | Have photo ID ready if you look under 25 |
| Surprise for a guest already checked in | Use their booking name and room number; add a gift note | Reception may call the room first to confirm the guest is in |
| Guest arrives later in the day | Ask the hotel in advance whether they will hold it; time the order for after check-in if not | Some hotels will not accept items for guests who have not arrived |
| Drinks for a function or private room | Deliver to the events or concierge team with the event name and organiser's number | The hotel may charge corkage or restrict outside drinks in its event spaces |
Hotels are private premises and set their own rules. Receiving a delivery for your own room is generally accepted. The rules usually tighten in public areas: bars, restaurants and function rooms may not allow drinks bought elsewhere, or may charge corkage for opening them. If you are planning anything beyond a bottle in the room, a quick call to the front desk avoids an awkward moment.
Serviced apartments and short-let buildings vary more. Some have a 24-hour concierge, some have a key-safe and nobody on site. For those, the guest needs to be available to receive the order in person.
Inside the M25, typical delivery is 30 to 45 minutes, day or night, 365 days a year. Two timing points are specific to hotels:
Champagne takes around three hours to chill properly in a fridge, and hotel-room minibars are often too small for a full 75cl bottle. If the bottle is for drinking straight away, ask reception for an ice bucket: twenty minutes in ice and water does the job.
This is the classic London gesture: a birthday, an anniversary, a proposal weekend, a colleague closing a deal. To make it land well:
Yes. Give the guest's full name, the hotel's address and the room number. The order is usually handed over at reception or the concierge desk, and the recipient must be 18 or over.
Usually not. Many London hotels do not let drivers into the lifts or corridors, so the guest meets the driver in the lobby or the hotel takes the order up.
Yes, as long as the person receiving it is an adult. Under Challenge 21 the driver may ask for photo ID from whoever accepts the order.
Typically 30 to 45 minutes inside the M25, 24 hours a day. Orders for guests who have not yet checked in may wait at the front desk until they arrive.
See how London alcohol delivery works, check the areas we cover, or browse champagne gifts and champagne and flute sets for a room surprise. For ordering after dark, see late-night delivery, and more answers on our questions answered page.
Deliveries are to over-18s only under our Challenge 21 policy. Please drink responsibly.
