Café Royal to be turned into luxury hotel

Source/Contact: Caterer Search, 14/04/2008

The Café Royal on London’s Regent Street is to be turned into a luxury hotel to form the centrepiece of a ₤750m overhaul of the area.  Israeli hotel company Alrov Group is set to announce that it has acquired the 125-year leasehold of the site for ₤90m from the Crown Estate, which controls the land and property, according to the Financial Times.  The scheme will involve the retention of Grade I listed rooms, including the famous Grill Room.  The Café Royal redevelopment forms part of the Crown Estate’s 1m sq ft Quadrant Scheme around Regent Street.  Last month, the Crown Estate said it was considering the sale of a stake in the project, either directly or though a real estate investment trust.