The Guoman Tower Hotel, built near Tower Bridge in the Brutalist style, has twice been voted the ugliest building in London, once in a BBC poll (2006) and once by our own Time Out (2005). Inside though, it’s not a bit shabby and its location right on the river gains it more brownie points.
It should come as little surprise that when it comes to London hotel secrets and quirky facts, there's quite a few to pick from. But most of them are relatively recent. Although London has been around for almost two millennia, its hotels are a fairly recent feature of the city’s history, and didn’t appear until the nineteenth century. Rich country landowners visiting for the season would rent a property, single men might stay at a gentleman’s club and those less well-off would make do with a lodging house. But with the railway came London’s first large hotels – and with those came all manner of quirky feats, facts and feasts for those who love a good bit of gossip. Sadly, we’re not able to repeat many of the more salacious things we’ve gleaned but we are able to share these titbits with you. So read on for our selection of London hotel secrets and quirky facts.
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