The Langham Hotel is one of the largest and best known traditional style grand hotels in London. It is the district of Marylebone and faces up Portland Place towards Regent's Park. It is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World marketing consortium. London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Marylebone (sometimes written St. ... Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. ... This article is about Regents Park in London. ...

The Langham Hotel was built between 1863 and 1865 at a cost of £300,000. It was then the largest and most modern hotel in the city, featuring a hundred water closets, thirty six bathrooms and the first hydraulic lifts in England. The opening ceremony was performed by the Prince of Wales. After the original company was liquidated during an economic slump, new management acquired the hotel for little more than half what it had cost to build, and it soon became a commercial success. In 1870 a former Confederate officer named James Sanderson was appointed general manager and the hotel developed an extensive American clientele, which included Mark Twain. It was also patronised by the likes of Napoleon III, Oscar Wilde, Antonin Dvorak, and Arturo Toscanini. Electric light was installed in the entrance and courtyard at the exceptionally early date of 1879, and Arthur Conan Doyle set Sherlock Holmes stories such as A Scandal in Bohemia and The Sign of Four partly at the Langham. Later celebrity guests included Noel Coward, Wallis Simpson, Don Bradman and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... Edward VII (Albert Edward) (9 November 1841–6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of the Commonwealth Realms, and the Emperor of India. ... For other meanings of confederate and confederacy, see confederacy (disambiguation) National Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God our Vindicator) Official language English de facto nationwide Various European and Native American languages regionally Capital Montgomery, Alabama February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861 Richmond, Virginia May 29, 1861–April 9, 1865 Largest... Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was a famous and popular American humorist, novelist, writer and lecturer. ... Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (April 20, 1808 - January 9, 1873) was the son of King Louis Bonaparte and Queen Hortense de Beauharnais; both monarchs of the French puppet state, the Kingdom of Holland. ... Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. ... Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák  listen (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer of classical music. ... Arturo Toscanini was featured on the cover of Time magazine on April 26, 1948 Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957) was considered by many of his contemporaries — critics, fellow musicians, and the public alike — as the greatest conductor of his era. ... Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 – July 7, 1930) was a Scottish author most famously known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction. ... Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes (1854–1957, according to William S. Baring-Gould) is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, created by British author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ... A Scandal in Bohemia was the first of Arthur Conan Doyles 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories to be published in The Strand Magazine. ... The Sign of Four (1890) was the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ... 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. ... Wallis, Duchess of Windsor and the Duke of Windsor on their wedding day Bessie Wallis Warfield, more widely known as Wallis Simpson and later The Duchess of Windsor (June 19, 1896–April 24, 1986) was the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII of the... Sir Donald George Bradman (August 27, 1908 - February 25, 2001) was an Australian cricket player who is universally regarded as the greatest batsman of all time, and one of Australias greatest popular heroes. ... Haile Selassie Haile Selassie (Power of Trinity) (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) was the last Emperor (1930–1936; 1941–1974) of Ethiopia, and is a religious symbol in the Rastafarian movement. ...

The Langham was hard hit by the Great Depression and the owners attempted to sell the site to the BBC, but Broadcasting House was built on the other side of the road instead. During World War II the hotel was used in part by the Army and then damaged by bombs and forced to close. After the war, it was occupied by the BBC as ancillary accommodation to Broadcasting House, and the corporation purchased it outright in 1965. The ballroom became the BBC record library and programs such as The Goon Show were recorded there. In 1980 the BBC unsuccessfully applied for planning permission to demolish the building and replace it with an office development designed by Norman Foster. In 1986 it was sold to Ladbroke Group for £26 million, which purchased the non-US Hilton business in 1987 and eventually reopened the hotel as the Langham Hilton in 1991 after a £100 million refurbishment. New owners extended the hotel and carried out other refurbishments between 1998 and 2000. It has nearly five hundred rooms and suites. Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, a mother of seven children, age thirty-two, in Nipomo, California, March 1936. ... Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... Broadcasting House is also the name of a BBC Radio 4 programme. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII or World War Two), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... DVD of The Last Goon Show of All, aired by the BBC in 1972. ... Land use is the pattern of construction and activity land is used for. ... Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters, Ipswich, was one of Fosters earliest commissions after founding Foster Associates. ... Hilton Group plc LSE: HG. is a British based leisure company. ...

Although the subject of hauntings and ghosts is controversial, the ghost stories about the Langham Hotel deserve a mention.

Guests and staff at the hotel have claimed that at least five ghosts make regular appearances in this hotel.

One of the active spirits is said to be a silver-haired Victorian with blank staring eyes. He is said to be the spectre of a doctor who reportedly committed suicide after murdering his new wife on their honeymoon.

The Langham has another guest who has stayed around in ghostly form. He is supposed to be a German officer who killed himself by leaping from the room's window just prior to the start of World War 1. A variation of this is that he is the ghost of a German prince.

The most infamous room, and still available for those hearties who do not believe in ghosts, is room 333. In this room, a BBC newscaster had woken up in the formerly dark of night and saw a fluorescent ball which began to take a human shape before his eyes. He could see through the figure to objects on the other side of the room. And when he asked the ghost who they might have been, the ghost began to float toward him with arms outstretched. The newscaster leaped out of bed and ran out of the room.

When the man found the night concierge, they returned to the room together only to find the ghostly figure leaning over the bed where he had just been sleeping.

The upper floors of the building are apparently haunted by a butler, dressed smartly, carrying a tray. It has been speculated that he is not a butler, but an early radio presenter wearing a dinner jacket.

Variations of these tales are told by tour guides on ghost walks and sightseeing tours and have been metioned on several websites that deal with haunted hotels.

External link

• Official site