From now on, Scotland Yard would no longer refer only to the once most elite police force of the world. The name would be used to signify a new brand of luxury hotels, the first of which is to be housed in the original home of London’s Metropolitan Police Service which policed most of the city in the 19th century.
The Abu Dhabi-headquartered $5.8 billion-in-revenues LuLu Group, owned by one of the wealthiest Indians in the Middle East, retail billionaire M.A. Yusuff Ali, has made a $170 million agreement with London-based property developer Galliard Homes to create a luxurious five-star hotel at 1-5 Great Scotland Yard in London’s Whitehall.
A new brand called The Great Scotland Yard to form part of its Signature hotels portfolio would be created by hotel operators, the Steigenberger Hotel Group.
The luxury hotel would be custom built with unspecified number of luxury rooms in the 92,000 sq ft space and would also house two bars, restaurants, a library, lobby and private meeting, entertaining and dining rooms. While the construction work is nearly half completed with the work on the interior decoration slate dot begin in March next year, the hotel is scheduled to open in early 2017.
The building, red brick and stone building is one of the iconic buildings in London as it was the headquarters of the famed Scotland Yard Police Station. It was the original home of London’s Metropolitan Police Service and policing of the entire city of London was controlled from this building for most part of the city in the 19th century. The building later housed the British Army’s recruitment centre.
Many of the most famous police investigations in recent history of the world were conducted from this building. The cases, some colourful and others gruesome, included the crimes such as the unsolved serial-killer Jack the Ripper case in 1888 and the grisly murder case of Plaistow Marshes in 1864.
Scotland Yard also took centre stage in many of the novels by Charles Dickens and in Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series. Reference to the Scotland Yard first headquarters have also been made in several films too.
This heritage building also was the place where British Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener famously exhorted Britain’s potential World War 1 recruits in 2010 when this building served as the recruitment office of the British Army and the headquarters of the Royal Military Police. Till as recent as 2004, the building housed the library of the Ministry of Defence.
Apart from the building at 1-5 Great Scotland Yard in London’s Whitehall an adjoining Grade II Listed Victorian town house will be incorporated into the hotel which would be transformed into a suit for entertainment.
To retain the iconic stature and the heritage of the building and thereby increase its attractiveness for visitors, the external Imperial façade as was created by Edwardian would be kept intact but t he interior would be lushly redesigned and redecorated according to a communiqué by Galliard Homes.
Twenty14 Holdings, the new hospitality arm of the Lulu Group, signed the deal. The hospitality wing of the group would focus on acquisition and management of assets around the globe. Twenty14 Holdings already has assets in the Middle East, UK and India which is worth over $272 million.
The primary operational sector of the group is hypermarkets, supermarkets and grocery outlets in the Middle East, India and parts of South East Asia. However the group, recently stepping into the hospitality arena, already runs Hyatt and Marriott Hotels in southern India and a Sheraton Hotel in Oman while its first hotel in Dubai’s Business Bay is to open later this year.
(Source: www.forbes.com)
The Abu Dhabi-headquartered $5.8 billion-in-revenues LuLu Group, owned by one of the wealthiest Indians in the Middle East, retail billionaire M.A. Yusuff Ali, has made a $170 million agreement with London-based property developer Galliard Homes to create a luxurious five-star hotel at 1-5 Great Scotland Yard in London’s Whitehall.
A new brand called The Great Scotland Yard to form part of its Signature hotels portfolio would be created by hotel operators, the Steigenberger Hotel Group.
The luxury hotel would be custom built with unspecified number of luxury rooms in the 92,000 sq ft space and would also house two bars, restaurants, a library, lobby and private meeting, entertaining and dining rooms. While the construction work is nearly half completed with the work on the interior decoration slate dot begin in March next year, the hotel is scheduled to open in early 2017.
The building, red brick and stone building is one of the iconic buildings in London as it was the headquarters of the famed Scotland Yard Police Station. It was the original home of London’s Metropolitan Police Service and policing of the entire city of London was controlled from this building for most part of the city in the 19th century. The building later housed the British Army’s recruitment centre.
Many of the most famous police investigations in recent history of the world were conducted from this building. The cases, some colourful and others gruesome, included the crimes such as the unsolved serial-killer Jack the Ripper case in 1888 and the grisly murder case of Plaistow Marshes in 1864.
Scotland Yard also took centre stage in many of the novels by Charles Dickens and in Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series. Reference to the Scotland Yard first headquarters have also been made in several films too.
This heritage building also was the place where British Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener famously exhorted Britain’s potential World War 1 recruits in 2010 when this building served as the recruitment office of the British Army and the headquarters of the Royal Military Police. Till as recent as 2004, the building housed the library of the Ministry of Defence.
Apart from the building at 1-5 Great Scotland Yard in London’s Whitehall an adjoining Grade II Listed Victorian town house will be incorporated into the hotel which would be transformed into a suit for entertainment.
To retain the iconic stature and the heritage of the building and thereby increase its attractiveness for visitors, the external Imperial façade as was created by Edwardian would be kept intact but t he interior would be lushly redesigned and redecorated according to a communiqué by Galliard Homes.
Twenty14 Holdings, the new hospitality arm of the Lulu Group, signed the deal. The hospitality wing of the group would focus on acquisition and management of assets around the globe. Twenty14 Holdings already has assets in the Middle East, UK and India which is worth over $272 million.
The primary operational sector of the group is hypermarkets, supermarkets and grocery outlets in the Middle East, India and parts of South East Asia. However the group, recently stepping into the hospitality arena, already runs Hyatt and Marriott Hotels in southern India and a Sheraton Hotel in Oman while its first hotel in Dubai’s Business Bay is to open later this year.
(Source: www.forbes.com)
