Opening 1991 Number of rooms 93 Number of restaurants 1 | Management Oetker Collection Number of suites 43 | |
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Location Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge, London | ||
The Lanesborough is a 5-star hotel on Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge, central London, England. Operated by the Oetker Collection, the hotel is reputedly the most expensive hotel in London. The building was originally a hospital. It is in neoclassical style and is listed Grade II*.
Contents
Opposite are Hyde Park and Apsley House, the London home of the Dukes of Wellington. The hotel is next to Hyde Park Corner tube station.
History
St George's Hospital was opened in the original Lanesborough House in 1733. By the 1800s the hospital was falling into disrepair. Lanesborough House was demolished to make way for a new 350-bed facility. Building began in 1827 under architect William Wilkins. The new hospital was operational by 1844, serving continuously as a hospital until transferred to Tooting, south London in the 1970s, leaving the Hyde Park Corner premises vacant in 1980. The Duke of Westminster took up an option to buy the building for £6,000 (its value in the nineteenth century).
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts refurbished and re-opened the building as a hotel in 1991. Furniture was supplied by Arthur Brett and Sons. Ten years later the management contract passed to Starwood's St Regis operation as its first and only hotel in England. The hotel left Starwood in November 2014 and is currently managed by the Oetker Collection.
The Lanesborough was closed for renovation in December 2013 and re-opened in 2015.
Restaurant
In 2009, The Lanesborough announced the launch of ‘Apsleys – a Heinz Beck Restaurant’. Chef Heinz Beck was the winner of three Michelin stars for his cuisine at La Pergola in Rome, Italy. ‘Apsleys – a Heinz Beck Restaurant’ began service on September 7, 2009, and was awarded its first Michelin star on 20 January 2010. This is the current fastest time for a new London restaurant to get one, in less than 5 months.
The dining room was subsequently rebranded as Céleste, and was again awarded a Michelin star.
Afternoon tea
There have been complaints that the prices for afternoon tea are rather high, but the hotel has received an Award of Excellence from the UK Tea Council.