The Dorchester is a leading luxury hotel on Park Lane in Mayfair, London, overlooking Hyde Park. It has a reputation for the rich and famous staying there. Jump to: navigation, search A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis and especially for tourists. ... Park Lane is a major road in Central London, England. ... Mayfair is an area in the City of Westminster London, named after the fortnight-long May Fair that took place there from 1686 until it was banned in that location in 1764. ... Jump to: navigation, search The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Serpentine, viewed from the eastern end. ...

The Dorchester Hotel opened on 18 April 1931. It was created by Sir Malcolm McAlpine and Sir Frances Towle. In 1929, they bought the old Dorchester House, a large 19th century building, and quickly had it demolished. Sir Owen Williams was commissioned to design the new hotel. In the new ediface, the use of reinforced concrete allowed the creation of large internal spaces without support pillars. Jump to: navigation, search April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Reinforced concrete at Sainte Jeanne dArc Church (Nice, France): architect Jacques Dror, 1926–1933 Reinforced concrete (Ferro concrete) is plain concrete in which reinforcement in the form of rods, bars (rebars) or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the naturally brittle concrete. ...

In World War II, its modern construction gave the hotel a reputation of being a very safe building. Cabinet Ministers such as Lord Halifax and Duff Cooper stayed there during this time. General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in 1942 and stayed on the first floor (now the Eisenhower Suite). Winston Churchill had a wall built to add privacy to his balcony and it still exists today. Diners at the Dorchester from cultural circles during this period included Cyril Connolly, T. S. Eliot, Harold Nicolson and Edith Sitwell. Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that... Alternate meanings in cabinet (disambiguation) A Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, known as Lord Irwin from 1926 until 1934, (1881-1959) was a British Conservative politician. ... Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich (February 22, 1890 - January 1, 1954), known universally as Duff Cooper, was a British diplomat, Cabinet member and acclaimed author. ... Jump to: navigation, search Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS, PC (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Cyril Connolly (10 September 1903 - 26 November 1974) was an English man of letters. ... Jump to: navigation, search T.S. Eliot (by E.O. Hoppe, 1919) Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965) was an American-born poet, dramatist, and literary critic, whose works like The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land and Four Quartets, are considered major... Sir Harold Nicolson (November 21, 1886-May 1, 1968) was a British diplomat, author and politician. ... Edith Sitwell (September 7, 1887 – December 9, 1964) was a British poet and critic. ...

In 1988, the hotel closed for two years for a major refit. The hotel was completely updated and the Promenade, Grill Room and the Oliver Messel Suite were meticulously restored, to reopen in 1990. Jump to: navigation, search 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Well-known actors have often favoured the hotel and past guests include: Julie Andrews, Kim Basinger, Warren Beatty, Yul Brynner, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Cruise, Judy Garland, Charlton Heston, Nicole Kidman, James Mason, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Peter Sellers. Other famous guests have included: The Beatles, Cecil Beaton, Noel Coward, Marlene Dietrich, Duke Ellington and Somerset Maugham. Julie Andrews as Maria, with the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music. ... Kim Basinger On the cover of Playboy, February 1983 Kim Basinger (born December 8, 1953 in Athens, Georgia) is a notable American film actress who entered the profession after great success as a model. ... Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beaty (born March 30, 1937 in Richmond, Virginia), now known as Warren Beatty, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director. ... Yul Brynner Yul Brynner (July 7, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was a American actor born Yul Borisovich Bryner in Vladivostok, Russia who appeared in many movies and stage productions. ... Richard Burton (November 10, 1925 – August 5, 1984) was a Welsh actor from the late 1940s through the 1980s. ... Jump to: navigation, search Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Taylor, DBE, (born February 27, 1932) is an Academy Award winning actress. ... Jump to: navigation, search Tom Cruise as seen on a poster for the 2001 film Vanilla Sky Tom Cruise (born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV July 3, 1962 in Syracuse, New York, USA) is an American Scientologist, actor and producer who has starred in a number of top-grossing movies. ... Jump to: navigation, search Judy Garland, circa 1943. ... Jump to: navigation, search Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923, although the year is usually given as 1924), is an American film actor noted for heroic roles, and his long involvement in political issues. ... Jump to: navigation, search Nicole Mary Kidman (born June 20, 1967) is an Academy Award-winning American-Australian actress, producer and singer. ... James Mason in North by Northwest. ... Jump to: navigation, search Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947 in Thal, Styria, Austria) is an Austrian-American actor, Republican politician, bodybuilder, and businessman, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California. ... Peter Sellers Richard Henry Sellers (September 8, 1925 – July 24, 1980), better known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian, talented comic actor, and performer on The Goon Show (a long-running BBC radio show, 1951-1960). ... Jump to: navigation, search The Beatles were a British pop and rock group from Liverpool. ... Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (January 14, 1904 – January 18, 1980) was an English fashion and portrait photographer. ... Noël Coward Sir Noel Peirce Coward (spelling his forename Noël with the diaeresis was an affectation of later life, and Peirce is the correct spelling) (December 16, 1899 - March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ... Jump to: navigation, search Marlene Dietrich in the 1920s Marie Magdalene Marlene Dietrich (December 27, 1901-May 6, 1992) also known as Maria Magdalena Dietrich was a German actress, entertainer and singer. ... Jump to: navigation, search Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz composer, pianist and bandleader. ... W. Somerset Maugham as photographed in 1934 by Carl Van Vechten. ...

See also

• List of famous hotels

Jump to: navigation, search The following is a list of famous hotels by location. ...

External links

• Dorchester Hotel official website
• History