Largest London hotel to open despite recession

Despite the drop in UK visitor numbers due to the recession, and the difficulties faced by many hotel operators, the thousand-room Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel will be opened next year as planned.

The new property will be the largest hotel built in a generation, featuring 1,021 guest rooms in a heart-shaped building clad in glass, situated at Westminster Bridge’s southern end.

When the £350 million hotel project is completed early in 2010, it will open onto a new pedestrianised and landscaped area adjacent to the former Greater London Council (GLC) headquarters. It will also contribute to the transformation of the roundabout dominated by one of the most unpopular buildings in London – the concrete “overspill” office of the GLC, which has been empty and subject to vandalism for over two decades.

London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, will officiate at Tuesday’s topping-out ceremony of the four-star hotel, held on the roof terrace of the 15-story structure. From the rooftop terrace, there are views of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, and from the penthouse suites, guests will be able to see Wembley stadium – on a clear day.

The inevitable questions remain, however, about the wisdom of such an investment during the current recession.

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