Ariel Hotel
51°28′52″N 0°26′01″W / 51.48124°N 0.43368°W / 51.48124; -0.43368
The Ariel Hotel is a circular hotel very close to London Heathrow Airport.
The hotel was built for J. Lyons and Co. in 1960, and designed by Russell Diplock & Associates. It was "Britain’s first significant airport hotel",[1] and the first hotel to be built at 'London Airport' (as it was known up to 1966), its completion being timed to coincide with the opening of the Oceanic Terminal (now Terminal 3).[2] It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 December 1960.[3][4]
According to a promotional fold-out brochure published by the hotel in March 1962, the hotel's name referenced the 1842 Aerial Steam Carriage monoplane design of William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow.[5] The brochure explained “In a sense the ‘Ariel’ is an ancestor of the great airliners… [and today] the name ‘Ariel’ is once more important in the world of flying. The Ariel Hotel, the first circular hotel in Europe, stands beside London Airport”.
The hotel was built with 185 rooms, and its doughnut design allows it to offer dedicated single-bed rooms around the inside ring,[1] an unusual feature among Heathrow hotels.[6]
It was acquired in 1978 by the Forte Group as a Posthouse, and in 2001 it was bought by Bass/Six Continents which became the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) which put it in their Holiday Inn brand. After a couple of ownership changes, in 2015 the hotel was managed by the Redefine BDL Hotels (RBH) group who continued to run it as a Holiday Inn franchise.[2] As of 2023 the hotel operates under the Best Western brand to which it transferred around 2021. It is advertised as having 184 rooms.[7]
On 15 February 2020, the hotel became a temporary quarantine centre during the COVID-19 pandemic and was closed to the general public for around a month.[8]
As of February 2024[update], the website is not accepting bookings until the end of April 2024. No explanation is provided.[7]
References
- ^ a b "Building of the month: Ariel Hotel, London Airport". c20society. July 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ a b "The History of Our Hotel". Holiday Inn Ariel - Hotel Hub. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "Ariel Hotel". London Heathrow Ariel. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "New Ariel Hotel Nr London Airport 1961 (film clip)". British Pathe. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Henson & Stringfellow's Aerial Steam Carriage".
- ^ "Best Western London Heathrow Ariel". England Rover.com. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Best Western London Heathrow Ariel Hotel". Best Western Hotels & Resorts. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Heathrow hotel closed to public and guests removed after health officials designate it as quarantine centre for infected". The Independent. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
External links
- Official site
- v
- t
- e
- 41 Hotel
- 100 Queen's Gate Hotel London
- Abbey Court Hotel
- Andaz London Liverpool Street
- Ariel Hotel
- The Athenaeum Hotel
- Baglioni Hotel
- The Bailey's Hotel
- Beaumont Hotel
- The Bentley London
- The Berkeley
- The Biltmore Mayfair
- Blakes Hotel
- Brown's Hotel
- Bulgari Hotel and Residences
- Canary Riverside Plaza
- Capital Hotel
- The Carlton Tower Jumeirah
- The Cavendish Hotel
- Charlotte Street Hotel
- Chiltern Firehouse
- Claridge's
- The Connaught
- Conrad London St. James
- Corinthia Hotel
- Courthouse Hotel
- Covent Garden Hotel
- The Dilly London
- The Dorchester
- Draycott Hotel
- Dukes Hotel
- Durrants Hotel
- Eccleston Square Hotel
- Egerton House Hotel
- Flemings Mayfair
- Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane
- Four Seasons Hotel Ten Trinity Square
- Franklin Hotel
- Goring Hotel
- Grange Holborn Hotel
- Grim's Dyke
- The Halkin
- Hazlitt's
- Hilton London Hyde Park
- Hilton London Metropole
- Hilton London Paddington
- Hotel Café Royal
- Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill
- Imperial Hotel
- InterContinental London Park Lane
- JW Marriott Grosvenor House
- Kimpton Fitzroy London Hotel
- The Landmark London
- The Lanesborough
- The Langham
- The Lensbury
- Lincoln Plaza London
- The London Edition
- London Hilton on Park Lane
- London Marriott Hotel County Hall
- M By Montcalm Shoreditch Tech City Hotel
- Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
- Marriott Canary Wharf
- Marriott London Park Lane
- The May Fair Hotel
- Milestone Hotel
- The Montcalm
- Novotel London Canary Wharf
- One Aldwych
- Park Lane Mews Hotel
- Park Plaza Westminster Bridge
- The Park Tower Knightsbridge Hotel
- Radisson Blu Edwardian Grafton Hotel
- Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire Hotel
- Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow Hotel
- Radisson Blu Edwardian Vanderbilt Hotel
- Rafayel on the Left Bank
- The Ritz London
- Rosewood London
- Royal Garden Hotel
- Royal Horseguards Hotel
- Royal National Hotel
- Sanderson Hotel
- San Domenico House
- Savoy Hotel
- Shangri-La Hotel At The Shard
- Sheraton Grand London Park Lane Hotel
- Sheraton Skyline Hotel London Heathrow
- Sofitel St. James
- Soho Hotel
- St. Ermin's Hotel
- St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel
- Threadneedles Hotel
- The Trafalgar St. James London
- Treehouse Hotel London
- The Waldorf Hilton