Corinthia's London hotel welcomes first visitors

One year away from opening its doors to the first guests, the IHI Corinthia Hotel in London has been welcoming selected members of the London establishment for tours of the £270 million development.

Senior directors of Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Coutts and Credit Suisse together with invitees from Harrods and the Prince’s Regeneration Trust, were taken on a tour of the project by Corinthia Group Chairman Alfred Pisani, who then hosted them to lunch on site prepared in a temporary kitchen by Massimo Riccioli, the celebrated chef owner of La Rosetta Restaurant in Rome, Italy. He has agreed to become the chef patron of the specialty restaurant at the hotel once it opens.

The Corinthia Hotel & Residences in London is scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2010.

The project, near Whitehall in the heart of London, was taken in 18 months ago. The 40,000 square metre site was entirely stripped down, partially demolished and is now being rebuilt and fitted out.

The hotel will have panoramic viewsover Trafalgar Square, the River Thames and all of the major sights of Whitehall. It will feature 300-bedrooms including 45 suites, some of which will be located on duplex floors inside historic turrets and serviced by private lifts and private terraces.

A 3,000 square metre spa, unique in its design and scope, will complement the hotel.

There will also be 12 ambassadorial apartments, the largest one occupying over 1000 square metres. They are being developed at the luxury end of the market, for eventual use as prime residences in central London.