Hotel Cecil, London

Designed by architects Perry & Reed in a "Wrenaissance" style, the hotel was the largest in Europe when it opened, with more than 800 rooms.

[1] The hotel provided accommodation and the base for Gandhi’s South African delegation campaigning for Indian rights in the Transvaal in 1906.

"[4]A green plaque was affixed just inside the outer Strand entrance to the building in March 2008, proclaiming: The Royal Air Force was formed and had its first headquarters here in the former Hotel Cecil 1 April 1918.

The Strand range of the hotel remains (now occupied by shops and offices, including those of Interbrand), with, at its centre, a grandiose arch leading to the separate Shell Mex House behind.

After Shell Mex relocated, the block became known as 80 Strand and is occupied by a number of companies including AIMIA and Pearson PLC subsidiaries Financial Times, Penguin Books, Dorling Kindersley and Rough Guides.

The Strand façade of the Hotel Cecil
The former river front; the hotel is on the left of the image
Nightview of Hotel Cecil from Waterloo Bridge by Francisco Sancha ( La Esfera , 1914)