The Park Tower Knightsbridge Hotel is a luxury 5-star

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 ref ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is situated at 101

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

near

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

, in the Belgravian district of the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

History

The hotel was designed by

Richard Seifert Richard Seifert (born Reubin Seifert; 25 November 1910 – 26 October 2001) was a Swiss-British architect, best known for designing the Centre Point tower and Tower 42 (previously the NatWest Tower), once the tallest building in the City of ...

and was officially opened on 21 June 1973 as the Park Tower Hotel by Prime Minister

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

. It has a close similarity to the tower of

Elmbank Gardens The Charing Cross Complex - now styled as Elmbank Gardens (but sometimes popularly referred to as the Charing Cross Tower), is a multi-use commercial complex in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow, Scotland. Best known for its signature 14-storey t ...

, an office block in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

which Seifert's practice designed around the same period.

Sheraton Hotels Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Ce ...

acquired the management contract for the Park Tower, along with the Skyline Hotel at Heathrow Airport, from Canadian-based Skyline Hotels on May 14, 1977, and the hotel was renamed the Sheraton Park Tower. When

Starwood Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. was one of the largest companies that owned, operated, franchised and managed hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties. It was acquired by Marriott International in 2016. ...

acquired Sheraton, they moved the hotel from their Sheraton division to

The Luxury Collection Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company was founded by ...

, but somewhat confusingly kept the Sheraton name on the hotel for many years. The hotel was finally renamed in 2013, for its 40th anniversary, becoming The Park Tower Knightsbridge. It is owned by

Mahdi Al Tajir Mohammed Mahdi Al Tajir ( ar, محمد مهدي التاجر) (born 26 December 1931) is a Bahraini- Emirati businessman based in the United Kingdom. He was the first United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United Kingdom and non resident ambassa ...

, an Emirati businessman and former diplomat.

References

External links

Hotels in London Richard Seifert buildings Knightsbridge Hotel buildings completed in 1973 1973 establishments in England The Luxury Collection {{UK-hotel-struct-stub