Regent Palace Hotel, Glasshouse Street 1976

The Regent Palace Hotel was once one of the largest and most stylish hotels in central London, standing proudly on Glasshouse Street, just off Piccadilly Circus, in the heart of the West End.

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🏨 Overview

• Name: Regent Palace Hotel

• Address: Glasshouse Street, London W1

• Opened: 1915

• Closed: 2006

• Architect: Henry Tanner Junior (for J. Lyons & Co.)

• Capacity: Over 1,000 bedrooms, making it the largest hotel in Europe at the time of its opening

• Location: City of Westminster, moments from Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus

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🛎 Origins and Design

Built for J. Lyons & Co., the same catering empire behind tea shops and the Trocadero, the Regent Palace was designed to provide affordable luxury for the middle classes. Despite its size, the hotel was renowned for:

• Stylish Art Deco interiors (remodelled in the 1930s)

• In-room sinks with shared bathrooms—a compromise between comfort and cost

• Grand dining rooms and public lounges catering to tourists, theatre-goers, and business travellers

At its peak, the Regent Palace offered a glimpse of modern convenience, with central heating, telephones, and a vast staff.

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💃 Wartime and Cultural Role

The hotel remained open throughout both World Wars, and during the Second World War, it became a popular venue for Allied servicemen, offering dances, entertainment, and affordable accommodation. It was an integral part of Soho and Piccadilly’s nightlife and post-war social scene.

The Regent Palace also appeared in literature and popular memory as a place associated with wartime romance, mystery, and the bustle of city life.

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🏗 Decline and Closure

By the late 20th century, the hotel was showing its age. Its outdated facilities and rigid room formats made it difficult to compete with newer chains. It finally closed in 2006, and the building was acquired for redevelopment.

Although the structure itself was not fully demolished, much of the original interior was gutted and replaced, with only parts of the external Art Deco façade and structural frame retained.

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🏢 Today

The site of the former Regent Palace Hotel has since been transformed into part of the Quadrant 3 development—a mixed-use office, retail, and restaurant complex. The new building incorporates elements of the original hotel, particularly on the Glasshouse Street façade, which has been sympathetically restored.