Tower Hotel, London

The Tower Hotel
The Tower Hotel, with Tower Bridge Quay in the foreground
Map
General information
LocationLondon, England
Opening19 September 1973
ManagementGLH Hotels
Technical details
Floor count14
Design and construction
Architect(s)Renton Howard Wood Partnership
DeveloperTaylor Woodrow
Other information
Number of rooms801
Number of suites18
Parking80 Spaces
Website
The Tower Hotel

The Tower Hotel is a large hotel situated on the north bank of the River Thames, on the east side of Tower Bridge, in London.

The hotel was designed by the Renton Howard Wood Partnership, constructed by Taylor Woodrow for owners J. Lyons & Co., and opened in September 1973 by the Constable of the Tower of London, Sir Richard Hull.[1] It was built in a Brutalist style[2] and was voted the second most hated building in London in a 2006 BBC poll.[3]

J. Lyons operated the hotel until July 1977 when it was sold for £6.5m to EMI Leisure.[1][4] In 1980, EMI Leisure properties, including the Tower Hotel, were sold to Trusthouse Forte. The hotel was later acquired by the Thistle Hotels group.

The hotel has 801 rooms, as well as 19 meeting rooms with capacity for up to 600 people. It also has a gym, restaurant, coffee bar, and licensed premises. The hotel is owned by Singapore-based GuocoLeisure which briefly shifted the hotel into a separate luxury brand called Guoman Hotels, now GLH Hotels.[5]

It is frequently used for roof top filming due to its high level view of a skyline including Tower Bridge, Tower of London and the river.[citation needed]

The nearest London Underground station is Tower Hill. Tower Gateway DLR station is also nearby.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Bird, Peter. "Tower Hotel London". J Lyons & Co. Archived from the original on 13 March 2005. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  2. ^ Astragal (16 July 2015). "Stars vie to get their hands on ugly hotel". The Architects’ Journal. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  3. ^ Lawyer, Gudrun (2006). "Eyesore or Icon: Colliers Wood voted London's most hated building". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 January 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  4. ^ EMI Annual Report 1977, p.39. Retrieved: 4 February 2016[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ Ruddick, Peter (11 June 2013). "Guoman Hotels brand to be 'retired' as Guoman Hotel Management is rebranded as glh". Big Hospitality (now RestaurantOnline). Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2021.

51°30′24″N 0°04′26″W / 51.50667°N 0.07389°W / 51.50667; -0.07389