The London Hilton on Park Lane is a
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
situated on
Park Lane
Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from ...
, overlooking
Hyde Park in the exclusive
Mayfair district of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. It is tall, has 28 storeys and 453 rooms including 56 suites and a
Michelin starred restaurant
Galvin at Windows on the top floor of the hotel.
History
The hotel opened as the London Hilton on 17 April 1963. It is a concrete-framed building, designed by
William B. Tabler, an American architect who designed numerous Hilton hotels. The building was the first skyscraper hotel to be built in London, containing more than 500 bedrooms and six restaurants.
On 24 August 1967,
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
met
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the Hilton and
subsequently went to
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
with him in order to
meditate.
On 5 September 1975, the London Hilton was the target of an
IRA
Ira or IRA may refer to:
*Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name
*Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name
*Iran, UNDP code IRA
Law
*Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
bomb which killed two people and injured 63 others.
During the 1990s, the
Pools Panel
In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may encou ...
met each Saturday in a meeting room in the hotel.
A fire broke out in the hotel on 1 July 2011. There were no fatalities or injuries, and damage was limited to a few of the lower floors.
The London Hilton Park Lane served as the Olympic Family Hotel during the
2012 London Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, hosting members of the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
and other dignitaries attending the 2012 Games.
The hotel is also the site of the death of
the Cranberries
The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...
lead singer
Dolores O'Riordan on 15 January 2018, aged 46. She had drowned in her room's bathtub after drinking an excessive amount of alcohol.
On 28 November 2022,
Trader Vic's
Trader Vic's is a restaurant and tiki bar chain headquartered in Emeryville, California, United States. Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. (December 10, 1902 in San Francisco – October 11, 1984 in Hillsborough, California) founded a chain of Polyn ...
Worldwide announced the closure of their oldest running location inside of the London Hilton Park Lane. This sparked an online campaign try and revert the decision made by the Hilton, due to the valuable Polynesian interior that predated the hotel. The campaign was hosted by an Instagram page
and a petition. Many celebrities became involved with the campaign, including presenter
Jonathan Ross, and filmmaker
Edgar Wright
Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...
who both made statements in support of keeping the restaurant open - the restaurant closed on December 31, 2022, with no comment from the Hilton regarding the campaign.
Gallery
File:The London Hilton on Park Lane 1.jpg, London Hilton on Park Lane
File:Reception, London Hilton on Park Lane.jpg, Reception at London Hilton on Park Lane
File:View from 27th floor at London Hilton on Park Lane.jpg, View of Buckingham Palace and other London landmarks from the 27th floor of London Hilton on Park Lane
File:Executive Lounge, London Hilton on Park Lane.jpg, Executive Lounge at London Hilton on Park Lane
See also
*
London Hilton bombing
On 5 September 1975 a bomb exploded in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, London, killing two people and injuring 63.
Bombing
Ten minutes before the explosion, the ''Daily Mail'' newspaper received a warning by telephone. Having bee ...
*
Hotels in London
This article describes the hotels in London, England.
History
Before the 19th century, there were few, if any, large hotels in London. British country landowners often lived in London for part of the year but they usually rented a house, if the f ...
*
Tall buildings in London
St Paul's Cathedral, built in 1710, was the tallest building in London at until it was overtaken in 1963 by the Millbank Tower at , which in turn was overtaken by the BT Tower which topped out at tall in 1964. In the 1960s and 1970s several ...
References
External links
The official hotel webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Hilton on Park Lane
Hilton Hotels & Resorts hotels
Hotels in the City of Westminster
Hotel buildings completed in 1963
Hotels established in 1963
Skyscrapers in the City of Westminster
Skyscraper hotels in London