Rafael Serrano Acquires Lease of Admiralty Arch to Make a Luxury Hotel

Luxury hotels give a lot of importance to its location but can you ever beat the Admiralty Arch that forms a majestic gatehouse from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace? 

It has been one of the top landmarks of London for exactly a century now and the government has now decided to give it away to be developed as a five star luxury hotel. The building was commissioned by King Edward VII and was completed in 1912. It was built to house the offices and residences of British Sea Lords but had become dilapidated over the years due to lack of proper maintenance. The building is large enough to house a 100 room luxury hotel complete with royal and presidential suites, a ballroom, spa and fine dining restaurant.

The Developer Will Preserve the Period Features of the Building

The Admiralty Arch was put up for sale last year and has been acquired on a 99 year lease by London based firm Prime Investor Capital for a consideration of £60million. The man behind the firm is none other than the Spanish developer Rafael Serrano who is responsible for the glitzy Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge. According to the purchase agreement the developer will preserve the Grade I listed building’s period features. In the 100 year history of the building it has never been made accessible to the public but now as a hotel almost 100,000 people are expected to visit it annually.

Serrano Will Keep This Hotel Simple and Elegant

The Bulgari hotel created by Mr. Serrano which opened this June has become the most expensive hotel in London with cheapest rooms starting at £850 a night. However many people find the hotel to be brash and tasteless and even call it the Vulgari. They hope that going with the history of the building he will keep this hotel simple and elegant. Some people also consider the price of £60million too less as six bedroom housed in the locality are listed for as much as £30million. It is an eight storey structure with 147,300 square feet of covered space. Over 100 million pounds will be required to transform the building into a luxurious hotel. The project should take off after the final go-ahead by the Westminster City Council. It will be some time before you can hope to stay in the building with majestic views.