Great Scotland Yard to become £100m five-star hotel

16 December 2013 by
Great Scotland Yard to become £100m five-star hotel

Great Scotland Yard in London's Whitehall, which is set to be turned into a £100m, five-star hotel, could be operated by American hotel operator Andre Balazs.

Galliard Group, the developer of the 235-bedroom property, said it wanted to create a hotel of the quality of the Mercer in New York or Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, both owned by Andre Balazs Properties, a company renowned for running trend-setting hotels.

Don O'Sullivan, managing director of Galliard Group, said: "We want to create a world-class hotel of the quality of the Mercer or the Chateau Marmont; a place renowned for exceptional service, destination dining and leisure, and outstanding luxury and quality."

Initial news of the development of the site, which was occupied by the original headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, suggested that the hotel would be operated by the Morgans Hotel Group under the Hudson brand. After the Metropolitan Police vacated the building, it was occupied by the Ministry of Defence.

Due to open in 2016, the hotel promises one of the "most luxurious and expensive" VIP suites in London, with rooms available for £10,000 a night. Galliard has acquired a 125-year lease on the building at 3-5 Great Scotland Yard and intends to complete the seven storey, 92,000 sq ft hotel by 2016.

Basement cells and interview rooms, where military police and British intelligence interrogated prisoners during World War One and World War Two, are to be transformed into VIP private dining rooms.

Other features will include a grand entrance foyer, winter garden lounge, signature restaurant, cocktail bar and lounge, second lounge, library, 120-seater main conference room/ballroom, and meeting rooms.

The current building has a five-storey red brick and stone façade with arched main entrance, raised ground floor with high ceilings, ornate pediment and tall windows with feature brick and stone detailing. It will be extended with two new levels of basement and two new floors above the existing roof level including a top storey with a period-style Westmorland slate-clad mansard roof and "ecological features".

An adjoining Edwardian office building at No.1 Great Scotland Yard will be incorporated into the new hotel and this space will be used to create the proposed VIP suite. Arranged over several floors, this VIP suite will link into the main hotel but will have its own private street entrance. It suite will include a VIP bedroom suite on its own private floor complete with walk-in dressing rooms, day room and a spa-style main bathroom with living room, media room and other entertaining on other levels.

Stephen Conway, chief executive of Galliard Group, said: "Our vision is to create one of London's most outstanding five-star hotels. It really is a blue-chip building, with grand architecture, a fascinating history and large dramatic interiors. The street is quiet and tranquil yet on the doorstep of London's most famous landmarks including Trafalgar Square, No.10 Downing Street, the Mall and Buckingham Palace."

New Hudson hotel from Morgans Hotel Group to be located on Great Scotland Yard >>

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