Landmark London Hotel, Marylebone Road 1977

Originally opened on July 1, 1899, as the “Hotel Great Central,” it was one of London’s iconic railway hotels, built to serve passengers arriving at the adjacent Marylebone Station. Envisioned by Sir Edward Watkin, a railway visionary, the hotel was designed by Colonel Sir Robert William Edis in an opulent, eclectic style. Its most striking architectural feature was a vast central courtyard, unique in London at the time, designed to bring light and air into all 700 original bedrooms. This courtyard later evolved into the hotel’s breathtaking Winter Garden, a soaring eight-story glass-roofed atrium that remains the heart of the hotel and a popular spot for afternoon tea.

Over its long history, the Landmark London has witnessed a diverse array of events. It hosted a “Welcome Back from Prison” breakfast for the Suffragettes, including Emmeline Pankhurst, and served as a military convalescent home during the Second World War. It even housed the headquarters of the British Railways Board for many years, earning it the nickname “The Kremlin” among railway staff.

In 1993, after a significant restoration, the building reopened as a hotel, initially as “The Regent, London,” before being acquired by the Lancaster Landmark Hotel Company in 1995 and renamed The Landmark London.