The Crown Estate has sold a 125 year lease of the Café Royal block, located at the southern end of London’s Regent Street, to Alrov Group who plan to transform the block into a luxury 160-bedroom hotel.
The development will also include 1,500 sq m of “prime Regent Street retail space” and will involve the retention of several Grade One listed rooms, including the famous Grill Room, a favourite haunt of Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, James McNeill Whistler and other famous artists.
David Shaw Head of Regent Street Strategy and Development, The Crown Estate said: “The Quadrant development’s potential for regenerating the southern end of Regent Street has been reinforced today by Alrov’s commitment to develop the Café Royal in line with our proposals. We are delighted to be working with Alrov on this historic building.”
Georgi Akirov, Managing Director of Alrov’s Luxury Hotel Business said: “This is an exceptionally exciting opportunity to develop a world-leading hotel in one of the world’s leading tourism destinations and we are delighted to work with The Crown Estate. We are committed to developing buildings in a way that enriches the heritage of each site and to delivering beautifully designed, well managed luxury establishments. Alrov remain focused on building an international presence as we continue our search for top quality buildings in prime locations.”
As part of The Crown Estate’s commitment to environmental sustainability, a central energy centre will also be developed within the scheme using tri-generation. The first of its kind in central London, this will be fuelled in part by hydrogen, rather than diesel and will primarily service the Regent Palace Hotel and Café Royal blocks.
