Lancaster London to revert to original Royal Lancaster name in August
The 416-bedroom, four-AA-star Lancaster London hotel is set to revert to its original name, the Royal Lancaster, on completion of an £80m refurbishment.
Set to relaunch in August, improvements across the hotel began in 2013. As well as a new £15m lobby with a café and cocktail bar, £2.5-3m is being spent on overhauling the Lounge bar and Park restaurant overlooking Hyde Park to give it a “horse and country” feel, with leather and tweed details. The restaurant will also expand from 90 covers to 140.
The hotel originally opened in 1967 as the Royal Lancaster, but changed its name in 2009 to reflect its central London location.
“It’s like a new hotel from the inside out,” said general manager Sally Beck. “The hotel has been a four-star hotel all of its life. We will really be more of a five-star standard when we’re complete.”
Beck became general manager in 2014, and has since surveyed the hotel team, suppliers and guests about the property’s name. She said nearly 85% wanted to revert to the old name.
“It’s an appropriate time to bring back the Royal Lancaster,” she explained. “We turn 50 at the end of this year, so our anniversary year will be the year we bring back the ‘Royal’.”
All bedrooms will also be completely refurbished. Beck added: “We’ve made so many more rooms connecting, giving us much more flexibility. We’ve been painstaking in the detail and the thought that we’ve put into the guest rooms.”
The hotel is also planning to offer guests Handy phones on arrival – mobile phones with free internet access, unlimited local and international calls, destination-specific content and on-the-go hotel concierge service.
Lancaster London is a member of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts Lifestyle Collection.
