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Twenty quirky facts about The Langham.
The Langham (est. 1865) was an icon of its era and remains true to its former glories to this day
The Langham is one of an elite group of London hotels with a deep sense of history as our old black and white photos of the hotel illustrate.
And it’s also famous for serving a historic afternoon tea – which is still winning awards for best London afternoon tea even today. Here we recap “20 tales of the Langham” which the hotel has kindly provided to us and which will give you a further sense of its vivid past:
No.1
Room 333 allegedly has a ghost – a German Prince who threw himself off a balcony through unrequited love.
No.2
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle mentioned The Langham in several of his Sherlock Holmes stories.
No.3
Oscar Wilde was a frequent visitor to the hotel, as were Mark Twain, Toscanini and Dvorak.
No.4
The Langham was the first hotel in London to install air-conditioning
No.5
In 1904, a room at The Langham cost 9 shillings (45 pence) and a suite cost £1.9s Od (£1.45). Hot baths were 1$ 6d (12.5p).
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The old dining room at The Langham
No.6
The American journalist Henry Stanley stayed at The Langham while preparing his journey to search for Dr. Livingstone in Africa.
No.7
In 1879 The Langham was the first hotel in London to be lit by the newly-invented electricity.
No.8
The Duke of Windsor entertained Mrs Simpson at The Langham during their courtship.
No.9
In 1937 the Eve of coronation six-course dinner was priced “unusually steep” at 15 shillings (75 pence)!
No.10
The hotel suffered bomb damage at the start of the second World War and after 25 years of sitting vacant, welcomed a new owner in 1965 — the BBC.
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The Langham stood proud even after being bombed in 1940
No.11
The Langham was the first hotel in the world to install hydraulic lifts.
No.12
The Langham re-opened in 1991 as The Langham Hilton. TV and Radio celebrity Gloria Hunniford cut the ribbon declaring the hotel open.
No.13
The part of the hotel housing the Concierge Club was originally a Barclays Bank and the wall clock in The Langham Spa reception is from the bank.
No.14
In 1991, Diana Princess of Wales was the first member of the Royal family to visit the hotel.
No.15
It cost £300,000 to build the hotel.
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Staff at The Langham in 1910
No.16
In the James Bond film “Golden Eye”, The Langham became the Grand Hotel, St. Petersburg.
No.17
When the hotel originally opened it had 600 bedrooms but only 36 bathrooms.
No.18
In June 2000 The Langham Hilton completed a £15 million project and opened the Concierge Club and Langham Health Club & Spa.
No.19
The wrought Iron “LHs” on the hotel staircases appear to be wrong way round. This is because they were meant to be seen from the lifts, which were originally see-through cages.
No.20
Edward Sacher, who built the famous Hotel Sacher in Vienna, based the design of his hotel on his experiences of seeing The Langham being built.
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Rooms at the Langham today come equipped with all the mod-cons
While the above list is not as extensive as the 100 Savoy “firsts” it nevertheless helps you see how The Langham can rightly claim its place among the very oldest London hotels, in the company of the capital’s other historic hotels like Brown’s, the refurbished Savoy and the Goring.
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Photo credits: The Langham Hotel (Langham Hotels International).
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