Strand Palace Hotel

The hotel was built after Exeter Hall was demolished in 1907. It opened in 1909 [2] and was refurbished in the Art Deco style during the 1930s,[3] but has now been modernised.

Strand Hotel Limited was incorporated on 31 October 1907, with some 4,000 shareholders. Created by the Salmon & Gluckstein families, it was established to fund the building of the Strand Palace Hotel. J. Lyons & Co. acquired shares in this enterprise in 1922, and also bought the adjoining Haxells family hotel in order to expand and improve the Strand Hotel.[2]

After extensive redevelopment, the hotel became an art deco showcase, and re-opened in 1928, with 980 bedrooms. The same year, some not-so-prominent changes were being made behind the scenes. Two secondhand coal-fired steam boilers, salvaged from World War I battleships, were installed in the boiler house. The rear of the property was occupied by the Winter Garden Restaurant. The Winter Garden Restaurant had a large domed ceiling and could seat over 500 guests, which were served by over one hundred staff. Due to its large number of bedrooms, the hotel became popular with American forces before they were sent into action in World War II. Indeed, the hotel was, in fact, commissioned as an official U.S. rest and recuperation residence.

Once again, the hotel became an important social venue, as Londoners and war-weary soldiers jived and jitterbugged long into the night. Over the years, many of these service personnel have returned to relive memories, and today their families and relatives still visit the Strand.

The post-war era saw the Strand Palace Hotel implement a number of improvements. The introduction of private bathrooms in all guest rooms in 1958 reduced the overall number of rooms at the hotel to 786. The increased number of bathroom facilities meant that oil-fired boilers had to be installed, in order to cope with the demand for hot water.

In 1968, the front hall and ground floor restaurants, including the Winter Garden, were redesigned, and the first computerised billing system in London was installed. The revolving doors and other parts of the foyer designed by Oliver Bernard were removed in this redesign, but were of such fine quality and historic interest, that the curators at the Victoria and Albert Museum requested them for their collection in 1969. The pieces were dismantled and stored in the museum's Battersea depot. The doors were exhibited in 2003 in the museum's major exhibition 'Art Deco: 1910–1939', following reconstruction.[4]

The Strand Palace hotel photographed on 25 August 1981

In 1976, Forte bought the lease of the Strand Palace Hotel from the Lyons Hotel Group. Over the next ten years, minor refurbishment took place throughout the hotel. In 1985, a more in-depth refurbishment was undertaken on all floors of the new hotel and this included new furniture, new bathrooms and a redecoration of the bedrooms.

London and Regional Properties took over the hotel in 2006. They contracted Michael Gallie to delivered an updated floor plan, online the external elevations, and much of the area referencing, contributing to what the hotel is today.

• Hotel website