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The ’Westbourne Suite’ takes its name
from the river Westbourne – one of
London’s hidden rivers – which flows
underneath the hotel. Originating in
Hampstead Heath, this brook used to
flow into the Thames. It entered Hyde Park
at what is now the Serpentine – which
was formed in 1730 by building a dam
across the Westbourne on the wishes of
Queen Caroline, wife of George II,
to beautify the royal park.
The hotel’s origins
The building was designed by the famous
architect Richard Seifert (1910 – 2001),
who was prolific during the 60s and 70s.
No other architect (even Sir Christopher
Wren) is responsible for as many buildings
in London. Seifet’s unapologetic modernism
was typical of the optimism of the 1960s.
The Rank Organisation, founded in 1937,
was riding high in the Sixties - a huge
British entertainment conglomerate with
sprawling business interests from film-
making to flour-milling. Rank conceived the
tower to host their own company offices.
However, London’s acute lack of hotel
rooms in the booming Sixties prompted
the Government to encourage new hotel
building with a £1,000 per room grant.
This prompted a rethink, and Rank
opened Seifert’s new tower as the
Royal Lancaster Hotel in 1967.
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