Hotels in London
This article describes the hotels in London, England.
History
Before the 19th century, there were few, if any, large hotels in London. British country landowners often lived in London for part of the year but they usually rented a house, if the family did not have their own
A few hotels of a more modern variety began to be built in the early 19th century. For example, Mivart's, the precursor of Claridge's, opened its doors in 1812 but, up to the mid-19th century, London hotels were generally small. In his travel book North America (1862), the novelist Anthony Trollope remarked on how much larger American hotels were than British ones. But, by this time, the railways had already begun to bring far more short-term visitors to London, and the railway companies themselves took the lead in accommodating them by building a series of "railway hotels" near to their London termini. These buildings were seen as status symbols by the railway companies, the largest businesses in the country at the time, and some of them were very grand. They included:
- The Great Western Hotel at Paddington (now the Hilton London Paddingtonand the first of Britain's railway hotels, built-in 1854)
- The Midland Grand Hotel at St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel.)
- The Great Northern Hotel at King's Cross (recently restored as a boutique hotel)
- The Great Eastern Hotel at Liverpool Street (now the Andaz London Liverpool Street)
- The Charing Cross Hotel at Charing Cross station
- The Great Central Hotel at Marylebone (now The Landmark London)
- The Grosvenor House Hotel at Victoria
Many other large hotels were built in London in the
The upper end of the London hotel business continued to flourish between the two World Wars, boosted by the fact that many landowning families could no longer afford to maintain a London house and therefore began to stay at hotels instead, and by an increasing number of foreign visitors, especially Americans. Famous hotels which opened their doors in this era include the Grosvenor House Hotel and The Dorchester.
The rate of hotel construction in London was fairly low in the quarter-century after World War II and the famous old names retained their dominance of the top end of the market. The most notable hotel of this era was probably the London Hilton, a controversial concrete tower overlooking Hyde Park. Advances in air travel increased the number of overseas visitors to London from 1.6 million in 1963 to 6 million in 1974. In order to provide hotels to meet the extra demand a Hotel Development Incentive Scheme was introduced and a building boom ensued. This led to overcapacity in the London hotel market from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Construction then picked up again, but it was soon curtailed by the recession of the early 1990s and the reduction in international travel caused by the 1991 Gulf War.
The 1980s saw London (along with
One of the most expensive hotels in London is The Lanesborough. Originally a private address (Lanesborough House), in 1733 it was converted into St George's Hospital, and began life as a hotel in 1991.
Hotels in modern London
There is no official registry of hotel rooms in London, but the estimated number of hotel rooms in Greater London in 2010 was put at 123,000.
- Traditional purpose-built grand hotels such as the Ritz, the Savoy, and the Dorchester.
- Recent conversions of grand late 19th and early 20th-century office buildings into hotels such as One Aldwych and the Renaissance Chancery Court.
- Townhouse hotels.
- Modern purpose-built chain hotels.
List of Five-Star Hotels in London
There are no official bodies that rate hotels. The most widely accepted bodies are the AA[2] (in the past the RAC too) and the English Tourist Board. The ETB has recently changed its criteria to match that of the AA, to provide consistency. Many hotels remain self-rated.[3]
Hotel | Location | Rooms | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
11 Cadogan Gardens
|
Chelsea | 56 | Victorian boutique hotel, part of Relais & Châteaux |
41 Hotel | Westminster | 20 | Boutique hotel |
45 Park Lane | Mayfair | 46 | Opened in 2011, part of the Dorchester Collection |
Andaz London Liverpool Street
|
City of London | 267 | Victorian railway hotel built as Great Eastern Hotel; reopened 2000 |
The Athenaeum Hotel | Mayfair | 123 | Modern family owned and run hotel |
Baglioni Hotel | South Kensington | 67 | Occupies a group of Victorian houses |
Beaumont Hotel | Mayfair | 73 | Occupies a 1926 multi-story car park |
The Bentley London | South Kensington | 64 | Occupies Victorian buildings |
The Berkeley | Belgravia | 214 | Modern building; opened 1972. Rooftop pool. |
Blakes Hotel | South Kensington | 51 | Occupies a group of Victorian houses |
Brown's Hotel | Mayfair | 115 | Occupies eleven townhouses |
Café Royal
|
Piccadilly | 160 | Opened the first dessert restaurant in London in March 2016 |
Canary Riverside Plaza | Canary Wharf | 142 | Opened c. 2001 |
Capital Hotel | Knightsbridge | 49 | Privately owned townhouse hotel |
Carlton Tower Hotel
|
Knightsbridge | 216 | Modern, also known as Jumeirah Carlton Tower |
Charlotte Street Hotel | Fitzrovia | 52 | Modern - opened in 2000. |
The Chelsea Harbour Hotel | Chelsea | 160 | modern; overlooks the marina at Chelsea Harbour, part of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels |
Churchill Hotel
|
Marylebone | 440 | Modern opened in 1970. Built on 16th-century estate. |
Claridge's | Mayfair | 203 | London's most aristocratic hotel; founded 1812 and rebuilt 1898; Art Deco. |
The Connaught | Mayfair | 121 | Traditional grand hotel |
Corinthia Hotel London | Embankment | 283 | Modern luxury spa hotel |
Courthouse Hotel
|
Soho | 116 | Occupies a classical former magistrates court |
Covent Garden Hotel | Covent Garden | 58 | English country house style |
The Dorchester | Mayfair | 238 | Opened 1931; art deco exterior and "Georgian country house" rooms
|
Draycott Hotel | Chelsea | 35 | Occupies three 1890s houses |
Egerton House | South Kensington | 30 | The Red Carnation Hotel Collection |
Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane | Mayfair | 220 | Built-in 1970 as the Inn on the Park |
The Franklin Hotel | Knightsbridge | 35 | Reopened in 2016, spanning four Victorian houses; designed by Anouska Hempel |
The Goring | Victoria | 74 | Built 1910; traditional English style |
Grosvenor House Hotel | Mayfair | 494 | Built 1928; A JW Marriott hotel with the most rooms of any central London 5-star hotel. |
Halkin Hotel
|
Belgravia | 41 | Modern, styled as The Halkin by COMO |
Haymarket Hotel | St James's | 50 | Boutique hotel, part of Firmdale Hotels Group |
Ham Yard Hotel | Soho | 91 | Boutique Hotel, part of Firmdale Hotels Group |
Hempel Hotel | Bayswater | 40 | Currently closed |
Hotel Russell
|
Bloomsbury | 334 | Built in 1898 in French chateau style by Charles Fitzroy Doll |
InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel
|
Mayfair | 447 | Modern, built-in 1975 |
InterContinental London O2 | Canary Wharf | 453 | Modern, built-in 2016 |
Knightsbridge Hotel | Knightsbridge | 44 | Boutique Hotel, part of Firmdale Hotels Group |
The Landmark London | Marylebone Road | 299 | Victorian grand hotel; opened in 1899 as a railway hotel |
L'oscar London | Holborn | 39 | Boutique hotel opened in 2018 |
The Lanesborough | Knightsbridge | 95 | Grand hotel opened in 1991 in converted 19th century hospital. |
The Langham | Marylebone | 429 | London's largest hotel when it opened in 1865 |
Le Meridien Hotel Piccadilly
|
Mayfair | 266 | Traditional grand hotel |
London Hilton on Park Lane | Mayfair | 453 | Modern; London's tallest hotel |
London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square | Mayfair | 221 | Early 20th century neo-Georgian |
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London | Knightsbridge | 200 | Edwardian building opened in 1902 |
Marriott Canary Wharf | Canary Wharf | 348 | Built 2004; 301 rooms and 47 apartments |
Marriott County Hall Hotel
|
South Bank | 200 | Occupies part of the neo-baroque London County Hall. |
Marriott Grand Residence | Mayfair | 49 | Built 1926 |
Marriott London Park Lane | Mayfair | 157 | Built as apartments in 1919 |
The May Fair | Mayfair | 404 | Eclectic-luxury design |
M By Montcalm Shoreditch Tech City Hotel
|
City of London | 269 | M By Montcalm is a contemporary-style, 18-story hotel |
The Metropolitan | Park Lane
|
144 | Contemporary central London hotel by COMO. Park Lane location |
Milestone Hotel | Kensington | 62 | Built in 1884 as a private house |
The Montcalm London Marble Arch
|
Marylebone | 153 | 5 Star Hotel |
One Aldwych | The Strand | 105 | Early 21st-century interiors in an early 20th-century neo-baroque office building |
The Park Tower Knightsbridge Hotel
|
Knightsbridge | 181 | Modern |
Plaza On The River Club And Residence | Lambeth | 66 | |
The Prince Akatoki London | Marble Arch | 82 | Boutique hotel - opened in 2009, formerly The Arch, now part of Prince Hotels |
Radisson Blu Edwardian, Hampshire
|
Leicester Square | 124 | English country house style |
Radisson Blu Edwardian, Heathrow | Heathrow | 459 | Modern |
Rafayel on the Left Bank | Battersea | 65 | Eco-friendly boutique hotel on the south side of the river next to London heliport |
The Ritz London | St James's | 133 | Opened 1906; French chateau style building; called "the most romantic hotel in the world" by Sophie Loren.[4] |
Rosewood London Hotel
|
Holborn | 356 | Opened in the 1990s as Renaissance Chancery Court in a grand 1914 former office building |
Royal Garden Hotel | Kensington | 398 | Modern |
The Royal Horseguards Hotel
|
Whitehall | 140 | Grade 1 listed. The original building was constructed as a block of luxury residential apartments in 1884. |
Sanderson Hotel | Fitzrovia | 150 | Ian Schrage minimalist hotel |
San Domenico House | Chelsea | 19 | Occupies some Victorian houses |
The Savoy | The Strand | 267 | Traditional grand hotel; opened 1889; first in London with en-suite bathroom to all rooms. Closed in December 2007 for £100 million refurbishment. Reopened 2010. |
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane | Mayfair | 307 | Traditional grand hotel |
Sheraton Skyline Hotel at London Heathrow
|
Heathrow | 350 | Modern Style |
Sofitel St. James
|
St James's | 186 | Opened c. 2000 in a grand classical former bank headquarters |
Soho Hotel | Soho | 96 | Part of the Firmdale Hotels group |
Stafford Hotel | St James's | 80 | English country house style |
St Martins Lane Hotel | Covent Garden | 204 | 1990s Philippe Starck minimalism in a 1960s office block |
St. Pancras Renaissance
|
Kings Cross
|
245 | The Former Midland Grand Hotel |
Taj 51 Buckingham Gate | Westminster | 85 | Officially known as Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences |
Threadneedles Hotel | City of London | 69 | occupies a banking hall built in 1865 |
Trafalgar Hilton
|
Trafalgar Square | 129 | opened 2001; contemporary building behind a retained facade |
The Waldorf Hilton, London | The Strand | 303 | grand hotel built in 1908; |
Wellesley Hotel | Knightsbridge | 36 | Claimed itself to be the first 6 star London hotel when it opened. |
100 Queen's Gate Hotel London | London | 228 | Nestled in a historical building, opened in 2019, former DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel London - Kensington |
Other notable hotels
- One of the more unusual hotels is the Sunborn London, a floating hotel by the Excel center in East London and constructed specifically as a stationary floating hotel (it has no engine). The original yacht was sold to the Lagos government and has now been replaced with a larger yacht at the same berth.
- The 3-star 1,630-bedroom Royal National Hotel in Bloomsbury is the largest hotel in the United Kingdom by the number of rooms, with 1,271.
- The Hilton London Metropole Hotel in Paddingtonis the largest 4-star hotel in London and the United Kingdom. It has 1,058 bedrooms and extensive conference facilities.
- The Guoman Tower Hotel (formerly Thistle) near brutalist buildings in the city. However, others find its location by St Katharine Docks and the Tower of Londonas quite relaxing and scenic.
- The Regent Palace Hotel, which was located on the northern side of Piccadilly Circus, closed in December 2006. Notable as having been Europe's largest hotel in terms of room numbers (1028) when it opened on May 16, 1915.
- World's largest floating hotel will arrive in London in 2012.[6]
Events
After the
In November 2006, several hotels were subject to checks for radiation after former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with Polonium-210. Most seriously affected was the Millennium Mayfair where 7 members of staff were found to be contaminated with low-level radiation.
November 2006 was also the month Dhiren Barot was sentenced by a British court to serve at least 40 years in prison for planning to cause explosions in London Hotels amongst a list of targets which also included the New York Stock Exchange and the World Bank.
January 2007 saw the first use anywhere in the world of Cryonite technology[8] to kill bed bugs (freezes pests using a patented carbon dioxide snow) at a top London Hotel (unnamed).
In February 2010, a murder took place in the Landmark Hotel, one of the most expensive hotels in London.[9]
November 2014, a gas explosion caused 14 injuries at the luxury Hyatt Regency Churchill Hotel[10]
Facts
In March 2007 Westminster council released reports saying some of London's best known hotels had been considered a “serious danger to health” by environmental inspectors in previous years. The hotels were the Savoy, the Halkin, the Langham and the Dorchester.[11] The Langham received confirmation from Westminster Council that "everything was in good order" in May 2006, and the Dorchester disinfected their air conditioning system in response to legionella bacteria found in bedrooms.[12]
In March 2011, London Hotels were the 8th most expensive in the world.[13]
In February 2015 London was said to be the most expensive city in Europe for hotel rooms judged by advertised rates.[14]
See also
- Lists of hotels– an index of hotel list articles on Wikipedia
References
- ^ "growth of hotel rooms in London". 19 August 2009.
- ^ "Guide to AA ratings and awards".
- ^ "All London Hotels rated Five stars".
- ^ "The world's 9 most iconic hotels".
- ^ BBC Poll - Most Hated Building
- ^ "Login".
- ^ "drop in passenger numbers". 17 August 2006.
- ^ "bedbugs"
- ^ "Hotels". Condé Nast Traveler.
- ^ "14 injured after suspected gas explosion at London hotel". The Guardian. 22 November 2014.
- ^ "hotels are health hazzard". 26 March 2007.
- ^ Antony Barnett (25 March 2007). "Unwelcome guests in our luxury hotels". The Guardian.
- ^ "London hotels rank 8th most expensive in the world". BigHospitality.co.uk.
- ^ "Conference & Meetings World: London hotels overtake Zurich as most expensive in Europe". Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.