GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET COURT HOUSE, just by the London Palladium, may not sound too attractive as a superior boutique hotel but that is what it is about to become. The court, whose intimates have included Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Oscar Wilde is due to open its doors on the 1 November 2004 as the Courthouse Hotel Kempinski with 116 rooms. The Grade II listed building retains much of the splendour of the original, including a number of quirky features. The Bar”s private tables are actually inside three of the original prison cells. Silk, the hotel”s fine dining restaurant, is the old Number One court where the Judges bench, witness stand and dock take centre stage. Elsewhere in the hotel, glimpses of former use can be seen ” such as the iron bars that separate the lobby from The Bar. Facilities include a private cinema with over 100 seats, a roof top terrace, conference suite, business centre and health spa, boasting a pool, treatment rooms, gym, steam shower and solarium. The Courthouse Hotel”s cuisine ranges from traditional afternoon teas served in the Waiting Room, modern Italian in the Carnaby Brasserie, to Italian, Oriental, Indian and Asian grazing dishes in Silk.
http://www.kempinski.com