Strand Palace Hotel

The Strand Palace Hotel stands on the north side of the Strand in the City of Westminster, close to Covent Garden, Aldwych, Trafalgar Square and the River Thames. Built after Exeter Hall was demolished in 1907, it opened in 1909 and was later refurbished in the Art Deco style during the 1930s. The Salmon and Gluckstein families created Strand Hotel Limited with about 4,000 shareholders to fund its construction. J. Lyons & Co. acquired shares in 1922 and expanded the hotel by buying the adjoining Haxells family hotel. A single room with breakfast cost five shillings and sixpence in the 1920s. The hotel became an Art Deco showcase after extensive redevelopment and reopened in 1928 with 980 bedrooms. The Winter Garden Restaurant at the rear had a large domed ceiling and could seat over 500 guests, served by more than one hundred staff. In 1946, a notable incident occurred when Neville Heath was found standing over the body of Pauline Brees in a hotel room. After the war, private bathrooms were installed in all guest rooms in 1958, reducing the total number of rooms to 788. The front hall and ground floor restaurants were redesigned in 1968, and the first computerised billing system in London was installed. Revolving doors and parts of the foyer designed by Oliver Bernard were removed and later donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1969. Trust Houses Forte bought the lease in 1976, followed by minor refurbishments over the next decade. In 1985, a more thorough refurbishment updated furniture, bathrooms and bedroom decorations. London and Regional Properties took over in 2006 and worked with Michael Gallie on updated floor plans and external elevations.