Robert De Niro gets green light for London hotel
Planning permission has been granted by Westminster City Council for the development of an 83-bedroom boutique hotel by Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro.
The Wellington hotel, situated in Covent Garden, went before Westminster's planning committee on 16 August. The venue will be a joint venture between De Niro, Capital & Counties (Capco) and BD Hotels. The star already operates the Greenwich hotel in New York with partners Ira Drukier and Richard Born of BD Hotels.
The group submitted plans three months ago for a hotel to be developed behind the historic façade of six adjacent buildings (three of which are Grade II-listed) bounded by Wellington, Tavistock, Burleigh and Exeter streets.
It will include two restaurants (a 150-cover ground floor restaurant with a 120-cover overflow dining room and a second 100-cover restaurant on the lower ground floor), a spa and a 64-cover private members' club.
The hotel has been described as "a homely yet arty brick-built hub for moneyed hipsters looking to stay in a grand but relaxed New York home".
Westminster City Council deputy leader Robert Davis said: "This is one of the finest schemes we have considered for Covent Garden in years. The design is of the highest quality and it fits the bill as a Covent Garden building that meshes the new with the old. The hotel will attract visitors from all over the world."
De Niro said he was looking forward to starting the construction and to the completion of the hotel, "of which we will all be proud".
Ian Hawksworth, chief executive of Capco, added: "We are delighted to receive approval for this exciting project. It will be our first landmark hotel within Covent Garden and become an iconic venue for London."
Work will start next year, with an expected completion date of 2019.
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