Langham Hotel, London facts for kids
| The Langham, London | |
Quick facts for kids  |
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| Hotel facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | 1c Portland Place, Regent Street, London, England |
| Coordinates | 51°31′04″N 00°08′37″W / 51.51778°N 0.14361°W |
| Management | Langham Hospitality Group |
| Owner | Great Eagle Holdings |
| No. of rooms | 380 |
| Total floor area | 8 |
The Langham, London, is a famous 5-star hotel located in London, England. It stands in the Marylebone area, on Langham Place. The hotel faces Portland Place and is close to Regent's Park. It is known for its long history and luxurious style.
Contents
History of The Langham Hotel
How Was The Langham Hotel Built?
The Langham Hotel was designed by John Giles. It was built by Lucas Brothers between 1863 and 1865. The building cost a lot of money at the time. When it opened, it was the biggest and most modern hotel in London. It had many bathrooms and the first hydraulic lifts in England.
The hotel officially opened on June 10, 1865. The opening ceremony was attended by the Prince of Wales. After some early money troubles, new owners took over. The hotel quickly became very successful.
Who Stayed at The Langham Hotel?
In 1867, an American, James Sanderson, became the manager. He helped the hotel become popular with American visitors. Famous guests included the writer Mark Twain and the wealthy financier Hetty Green. Many other important people also stayed there, such as Napoleon III, Oscar Wilde, and musicians like Dvorák and Sibelius.
The hotel was one of the first places to get electric lights in 1879. The famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle even used the Langham as a setting for parts of his Sherlock Holmes stories, A Scandal in Bohemia and The Sign of Four.
Throughout the 20th century, the Langham remained a favorite spot. Members of the royal family, like Diana, Princess of Wales, visited. Important politicians such as Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle also stayed there. Other notable guests included the writer Noël Coward and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.
The Langham During World War II
The hotel faced difficulties during the Great Depression. Later, during World War II, it was partly used by the British Army. The hotel was damaged by bombs and had to close for a time. After the war, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) used the hotel for its staff. The BBC bought the building completely in 1965.
One BBC employee who stayed at the Langham was Guy Burgess. He was part of a spy group called the 'Cambridge Five'. He secretly gave information to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. There's a story that he once tried to break down his hotel room door with a fire extinguisher!
Changes and Renovations
When the BBC owned the hotel, some parts changed. The beautiful Palm Court became a library. The restaurant turned into a staff bar. In the 1980s, the BBC tried to tear down the building to build new offices, but this plan was not approved.
In 1986, the BBC sold the hotel to the Ladbroke Group. The hotel then reopened in 1991 as the Langham Hilton after a huge renovation.
In 1995, a company from Hong Kong, Great Eagle Holdings, bought the Langham. The new owner made more improvements between 1998 and 2000. Even more renovations happened from 2004 to 2009. These changes helped restore the hotel to its original grand look. Great Eagle Holdings then used the "Langham" name for many of its other hotels around the world.
The Langham Hotel Today
Today, The Langham is a five-star hotel. It has 380 rooms. The beautiful Palm Court has been restored. It has been serving afternoon tea since 1865. The hotel also has a business center and 15 event rooms, including a large ballroom.
A new hotel restaurant called Mimosa is set to open in 2024. Next to the hotel, you can find The Wigmore, a British tavern by chef Michel Roux Jr.. The hotel also hosts "The Good Front Room," a popular cooking residency. This started after Dom Taylor won the "Five Star Kitchen" TV show. There is also Artesian, a cocktail bar, and a private dining room.
In 2019, the hotel opened its own cooking school called Sauce by The Langham.
A Meeting of Famous Writers
On March 19, 2010, a special plaque was put up at the Langham. It remembers a meeting that happened there in August 1889. Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Joseph Marshall Stoddart met at the hotel. Stoddart asked Wilde and Doyle to write stories for his magazine. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote The Sign of Four, which was published in 1890. Oscar Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray, published in 1890.
The Langham in Movies and Books
The Langham Hotel has appeared in several movies and books.
- In the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995), the hotel's outside was used to look like a hotel in Russia.
- It was also seen in Michael Winterbottom's film Wonderland (1999).
- The hotel appeared in the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie Winning London (2001).
- It was featured in Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006).
- The Langham's restaurant is the main setting for the cooking drama film Burnt, starring Bradley Cooper.
- As of 2023, the Palm Court at the Langham is where the reality TV cooking show Five Star Chef is filmed.
- A scene from the book "Prima Regola: Non Innamorarsi" by Italian writer Felicia Kingsley takes place in the Palm Court.
- In the 2024 book "Lucky" by Jane Smiley, the main character stays at The Langham hotel in London.
See also
In Spanish: Langham Hotel (Londres) para niños
