Sir Edward's aspirations proved to be overambitious (not for the only time as he was behind the Watkins' Tower, which was a failed attempt to outdo the Eiffel Tower), and after the Great Central ran into financial difficulties the site of the hotel was sold to Sir John Blundell Maple of the furniture company Maples, who opened his hotel in 1899.

The architect was Colonel Sir Robert William Edis and the style was eclectic and opulent.

The Ladies' Alpine Club rented rooms in the hotel and held its annual dinner there.

[1] In the 1920s the central courtyard became a winter garden, but the building's first period as a hotel was drawing to a close.

The building was purchased by a Japanese company in 1986 and restored and reopened as a hotel in 1993 as The Regent, London.