Elizabeth
Hotel
Address: 37 Eccleston Square Victoria
Zip Code: SW1V 1PB
City: London
Country: UK
Tel: +44 207 828 6812
Fax: +44 207 828 6814
Url: http://www.elizabethhotel.com/
Email: info @ elizabethhotel.com The
Elizabeth Hotel is a friendly, privately owned, forty-bedroom
establishment, with English character and charm, which offers
relatively simple but thoroughly clean, comfortable accommodation and a
good English breakfast at moderate prices.
The atmosphere of the Hotel, with many
fine prints portraying historic
figures such as Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, King Charles I and II
(the latter with Nell Gwynne), Queen Victoria, St Thomas More, Sir Francis
Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Nelson and Wellington, is
essentially non-commercial.
Furnishings having been kept as close as
possible to those of a London
house in the mid nineteenth century, although there have been some
changes to the buildings over the years.
The two staircases are decorated with
hand finished mezzo-tint
engravings, etchings and traditional copper plate engravings after
Turner, Gainsborough, Reynolds and Landseer. There are also scenes from
Shakespeare and in the hotel bedrooms, picturesque views of seats of
Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain.
On the lower Ground floor of the Hotel an
interesting collection of
formal miniature portraits is in contrast to some amusing, original
'Spy' cartoons.
In a quiet position this private
forty-bedroom Hotel overlooks the
large gardens of a stately square, close to Belgravia, only a few doors
away from one of the residences of the late Sir Winston Churchill, and
within walking distance of Buckingham Palace.
Eccleston Square is ideally situated for
all districts of London,
including Chelsea, Piccadilly and Westminster, as well as the main
shopping centres, theatres and cinemas. Access to the motorways and
major routes out of town is most convenient.
With easy travel communications to both
the West End and the City, the
hotel is also suited to the requirements of business executives.
There are many pubs of character in the
neighbourhood together with a
variety of good restaurants, which serve meals at reasonable prices.
The London Tourist Board nearby can give
advice on all aspects of
seeing the Capital, in addition to providing general information on travel
within the British Isles. A well- known school of language is
located in the square.
One of the main features of London is its
historic squares, some of
which are noted for their architectural merit. Many were built in times
when houses, streets and terraces needed to be impressive, as - perhaps
more so than today - pedestrians used to observe and enjoy their
surroundings.
In the sense of a residential quarter,
the 'square' is essentially an
English institution, as distinct from the French 'Place', the Italian
'Piazza' and the German 'Platz.' Three such London squares are those
known as Eccleston, Warwick and St. George's in the district of
Pimlico, formerly the Five Fields beyond Buckingham Palace but now the
neighbourhood leading south up to the banks of the River Thames.
Eccleston Square is situated within the
neighbourhood of Pimlico,
formerly South Belgravia and takes its name from the Cheshire village
of Eccleston, part of the ancient and extensive lands in that county
belonging to the Grosvenor family, the present head of which is the 6th
Duke of Westminster.
At 37 Eccleston Square, which became the
original part of the Elizabeth
Hotel, between 1887 and 1899, whilst the house was in turn occupied by
various closely connected members of the English aristocracy (The
Bathursts, the Methuens, the `a Courts and finally Prince Louis, a
friend of Lord Methuen) many glittering social events were hosted
involving royal personages (Prince Louis' wife Princess Victoria being
a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria) as well as important members of the
naval and military establishments.
In fact it is highly probable that Edward
VII, when Prince of Wales,
would have visited the Battenburgs, to whom he was related at the time
they were living at 37 Eccleston Square. Prince Louis was father of The
Earl Mountbatten of Burma, HRH Prince Philip's uncle. Prince Philip The
Duke of Edinburgh, himself visited 37 Eccleston Square in 1948 (the
Elizabeth Hotel has a photograph of that occasion).
The above account briefly relates some of
the colourful past that
Eccleston Square has enjoyed and this fine building establishment,
having stood here for over half of the nineteenth century, throughout
the Zenith of the British Empire, and now during the 1990s will soon
continue on into the twenty first century. A fitting ending to this
historical note perhaps is a quote from 'The Small House at Allington'
(1864) by the English novelist Anthony Trollope.
The attractive gardens and a tennis court
are available for the use of
residents.
A well furnished lounge with a colour
television, a pleasant breakfast
room and a lift are provided for the guests.
Full English breakfast is served daily at
no extra charge, and for any
early departures the Hotel offers a self-service Continental Breakfast.
Tea and Coffee facilities in the rooms.
At a local sports centre facilities
include an indoor swimming pool.
Having established a wide reputation, the
Elizabeth Hotel welcomes at
moderate prices not only British visitors, but also guests from
countries all over the world, a large number of whom are introduced by
personal recommendation.
Comfortable Single, Double, Twin and
Family Rooms are available, most
with bath and/or shower and W.C. Rooms without private bath, shower or
W.C are supplied with good facilities nearby, which can be used at any
time.
All of our 41 bedrooms and Apartments
benefit from the following remote
control television, direct dial telephone with voicemail, digital safe,
hairdryer, hospitality tray, complimentary toiletries, air
conditioning. |
