The Grand Dame of Park Lane...

 Luggage label from 1929 (via)

Until the 1730s, the site on which the hotel now stands was described as meadows and ‘swampy meads’. The first building on the site was a large detached house located on the south side of Upper Grosvenor Street. The house passed through several owners, including the Duke of Cumberland and The Duke of Gloucester. The property changed hands again in 1806 when Lord Grosvenor purchased Gloucester House (as it was then known) and in 1808, he re-named it Grosvenor House. It remained the Grosvenor family’s London home for over 100 years. 

Grosvenor House facade c1800 (via)

At the outbreak of the First World War the house was put at the disposal of the Government, and occupied by the Food Controller’s Department until 1920. It was then put up for sale and purchased by a commercial speculator by the name of Mr. A. O. Edwards. It was Edwards who built what is now the Grosvenor House Hotel. The architect was L. Rome Guthrie, with external elevations by Sir Edwin Lutyens.  Work began in April 1927 and was completed in the spring of 1929. Not everyone approved of Mayfair’s new landmark. In a letter to The Times, it was described as an insult to the good taste and aesthetic judgement of the citizens of the metropolis.

The Grosvenor House Hotel (via)

The hotel opened its doors to the public on the 14th May, 1929. A press release announced the standard set by Grosvenor House begins with better food, wines, services and private accommodation than has so far been achieved, and it ends with a diversity of social and recreational amenities.  In addition, the hotel was the first in London to have a bathroom and running iced water to every bedroom.

26 September 1929 - Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer

I’ve read that Queen Elizabeth II learnt to skate on the Grosvenor House Hotel ice rink. I have no way of knowing if that little piece of information is correct. The hotel certainly housed an ice rink until 1934 when it was converted into a banqueting space.

Grosvenor House Hotel Advertising Postcard c1930s

World War II brought dramatic changes to the hotel. The Great Room became home to the Officers’ Sunday Club. The hotel was also used briefly used as an annexe to the Immigration Section of the US Embassy; and in 1943, the hotel became the largest US Officers’ mess, serving 5.5 million meals in two years.

A 92 bedroom extension was added to the hotel in 1956. This was only made possible after the death of Baron Bruno Schröder, who had acquired the lease of 35 Park Street in about 1910, and refused to give it up. He remained in his house until his death in 1943, when permission to demolish the building was finally given.

Several major events took place in the 60s including a concert performed by The Beatles. In 1963 the hotel was acquired by Trust Houses who spent £500,000 on refurbishments.

While considering what to contribute to this week's Sepia Saturday, I remembered this photograph taken at the Grosvenor sometime in the 1980s. 

I'm at the front on the right as you look at the picture sitting next to my husband (he with the snazzy red bow tie). We have absolutely no recollection of the names of the people sitting with us. We were introduced on the night but didn't meet them again, which was often the way with these events. The only reason we can safely say the photograph was taken at The Grosvenor is because it is in one of their photo sleeves. We can't even remember what the occasion was other than to say it was probably a Ford Motor Company dinner.  My only abiding memory from the night is of being mightily impressed by the exterior of the building. 

More recent years have seen a great many changes at The Grosvenor. It was purchased by The Royal Bank of Scotland in 2001 to be managed by Marriott International and rebranded the Grosvenor House a JW Marriott Hotel.  It underwent a four-year renovation and restoration costing £142 million, reopening in 2008. In 2010, the Indian financial services group Sahara India Pariwar purchased the hotel from Royal Bank of Scotland for £470 million.  

An announcement in the press on March 2nd, 2015 brings the story more or less up to date; Deloitte was today appointed to handle the administration of Sahara Grosvenor House Hospitality Limited, which owns the long leasehold, on behalf of Bank of China. The underlying operating lease with Marriott, which operates the hotel, is unaffected by the appointment and the hotel continues to trade as normal. The rest of the newspaper article is available here

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday 290; Hotels - Illustrations - Design

That concludes our tour of the 'Grand Dame of Park Lane'. It’s now time to pack your overnight bag for a visit to Sepia Saturday.