The Lanesborough

__NOTOC__The Lanesborough is a prestigious 5-star hotel on Hyde Park Corner in Knightsbridge, central London (postcode SW1), England.

The hotel is part of the [http://www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis/ St Regis Hotel & Resorts] chain, owned by the American company Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. The Lanesborough does not participate in the Starwood Preferred Guest program. It is reputed to be the most expensive hotel in London. The room with the highest rate is the "Royal Suite", costing up to £8,000 per night. The hotel also provides 24-hour private butler for each guest staying in a room. One amenity which the Lanesborough lacks is a pool unlike The Berkeley and the Savoy Hotel. The Lanesborough is known for hosting some of the most well-known people in the entertainment industry, politics and royalty. When Michael Jackson once stayed, the staff had to deal with large groups of fans surrounding the hotel. Also famous for it's afternoon tea under the guidance of the Head Pastry chef Graham Hornigold and Exe Head chef Paul Gayler.

Opposite the building are Hyde Park and the similarly stylish Apsley House, also known as No. 1 London, the former home of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Directly next to the hotel is Hyde Park Corner tube station.

History

St George's Hospital was opened in the old Lanesborough House on the site of the hotel in 1733. By the 1800s, the hospital was falling into disrepair. The old Lanesborough House was demolished to make way for a new 350 bed new facility for the hospital. Building began in 1827, designed by architect William Wilkins, and the new hospital was completed by 1844. The building was then used as a hospital until the second half of the 20th century. In the 1970s, St George's Hospital moved its operations to a site in Tooting, south London, finally closing down the Hyde Park Corner site in 1980. Rosewood Hotels and Resorts opened the Hotel in 1991. 10 Years later the management contract was taken over by Starwood, with its St Regis Brand, introducing their first hotel in London and still their only one in England.

See also

* Earl of Lanesborough.
* Kit-Cat Club, now the name of an exclusive women's club that meets at the hotel.

References

* [http://www.sgul.ac.uk/about/history.cfm History of St George's Hospital] from St George's, University of London
* [http://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/aboutourhistory.asp About our History] from the St George's Healthcare NHS Trust