The Portland Hospital in London is a private facility located on Great Portland Street, in the West End area of London and is renowned as one of Europe’s premier private maternity hospitals.
It’s recognised as a top-tier and exclusive birthing location, with a clientele list that boasts names like Victoria Beckham, Megan Markle, Molly-Mae Hague, and most recently, Michelle Keegan, who just welcomed a baby girl, Palma Elizabeth Wright.
Michelle and husband, Mark Wright, welcomed their daughter, announcing the gorgeous news on 12 March 2025. They shared their baby girl’s beautiful name alongside an adorable black-and-white photo of them holding hands with their newborn. They wrote: “Together we have a new love to share… Our little girl. Palma Elizabeth Wright. 06.03.25.”
For the average new mum, giving birth at the Portland will cost a minimum of £15,000, reports OK!.
When the hospital was spotlighted on BBC’s Five Star Babies in 2018, Chinese ‘it-girl’ Liu Hui anticipated spending closer to £30,000 on the entire experience.
Other celebrity clients include Dani Dyer, Jools Oliver, Liz Hurley, and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
But what can you anticipate if you choose to welcome your little one at this exclusive London hospital, and would you pay premium for the ultimate pampered birthing experience?
The Portland has 36 private rooms and suites available to the 1,600 women who give birth there every year, the cheapest of which is £1,200 a night.
The more luxurious rooms cost £1,800 and feature a separate lounge area and en-suite bathroom.
Bathrooms are kitted out with Molton Brown toiletries and 24-hour room service is available, as well as extra beds for partners.
There are a handful of super-deluxe suites reserved for VIPs and royalty that cost upwards of £2,100 per night. By comparison, an executive suite at The Ritz Hotel in London seems an absolute snip at £900 per night.
The private hospital offers new mums a celebratory post-birth meal of champagne, lobster, and foie gras, if desired.
Babies are pampered with £3,500 Moses baskets from luxury furniture brand Dragons of Walton Street, as well as £14,000 four-poster Little Duchess cots.
At no point do the new mums share a ward and, following the birth, they are whisked into private rooms, complete with a bed for their partner to stay in, too.
They are then cared for round the clock by midwives who can feed their new babies in the hospital’s nursery if the mum needs some sleep.
Each of the rooms has en suite bathrooms and is fully stocked with slippers and Molton Brown toiletries.
A physiotherapist will also visit the mother after birth to offer support and suggest required postnatal exercises.
The hospital’s 10 chefs are then on hand to prepare something off their luxurious menu that changes seasonally and is tailored to each woman’s individual dietary requirement.
The hospital boasts a ‘hotel experience’ for its clients and the kitchen staff are headhunted straight from London’s Dorchester hotel.
Don’t expect much change from £10,000 either. The cheapest of births at the Portland (natural and midwife-led) are expected to total close to this.
An epidural, available on demand at a minute’s notice, costs £995 (plus £85 for each top up), while an induction is £630 and a forceps delivery costs an extra £138.
A consultant-led package, with planned C-section, costs in the region of £20,000 depending on how many nights the mother chooses to stay afterwards, while Portland Hospital CEO Janene Madden says some patients “spend £500,000.”
There are reported to be 50 full-time midwives and nursery nurses on duty at all times, happy to change nappies and ‘check in’ on newborns while their exhausted parents try to get some sleep.
Upon leaving the hospital, new mums are given a goodie bag believed to contain an invitation to a professional mother and baby photoshoot, more champagne and luxury toys.
It’s the mystery surrounding the secret underground entrance that has parents-to-be stumped though.
As described in Finding Freedom, a book about Meghan and Harry’s married life, the hospital prides itself on its privacy and security.
On an expensive residential street at the rear of Portland Hospital, there’s a metal garage door, reserved for VIP patients who want to protect privacy. Entering via here gives a private access beneath the hospital and away from prying eyes.
“Portland Hospital offered not only state-of-the-art care but also an underground entrance where blacked-out SUVs driving in and out were the norm,” the book reports.
According to the biography, Meghan “never considered” giving birth at the Lindo Wing, where Kate Middleton had delivered all three of her children, as she “wanted something more discreet.”
However, Lily Allen, who gave birth at the Portland Hospital in 2011, questioned the hospital’s discretion and security. In an interview with The Guardian, the pop star revealed that a tabloid journalist had somehow learned her baby’s sex and weight “when the placenta was still in me”.
In contrast, Jess Wright, who gave birth to her first child at the hospital, shared a heartwarming picture with herself and husband William Lee-Kemp holding their baby’s hand. She gushed over her son, writing in the caption: “We will hold your hand forever”, before revealing she welcomed her baby son.
Molly-Mae Hague also delivered her first child at Portland Hospital on January 23, 2023. She announced her baby girl’s arrival on Instagram alongside a stunning black-and-white snap of herself and ex-boyfriend Tommy Fury with their new daughter.