Originally opened in 1885 as the Metropole Hotel, its location close to the Palace of Westminster and government offices in Whitehall meant it was commandeered in both world wars.

[1] The hotel opened in 1885, with an 88-page brochure which claimed:[2] That the hotel’s location is particularly recommend it to ladies and families visiting the West End during the Season; to travellers from Paris and the Continent, arriving from Dover and Folkestone at the Charing Cross Terminus; to Officers and others attending the levees at St James; to Ladies going to the Drawing Rooms, State Balls, and Concerts at Buckingham Palace; and to colonial and American visitors unused to the great world of LondonThe hotel was the venue for the annual dinners of the Aero Club and the Alpine Club for several years, and acted as the gathering point for competitors in the first London to Brighton run in 1896.

[3] The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII entertained guests at the hotel on various occasions,[4] having a reserved box in the ballroom and using the Royal Suite, thought to have been the first floor rooms with bowfronted windows fronting Whitehall Place.

[2] The night before the British Expeditionary Force embarked for France on the outbreak of the war in August 1914, its two Commanders-in-Chief in the conflict, Field Marshals John French and Douglas Haig, both stayed in the building.

[2] Having stood unoccupied since 2004, in 2007 the Metropole Building and the adjoining 10 Whitehall Place were acquired for a sum of £130 million by a consortium owned equally by Malta's IHI plc and two of its principal shareholders, the Libyan Foreign Investment Company and Nakheel Hotels of Dubai.

[14] In a nod to its past, the official announcement of the James Bond movie Skyfall was made at a press conference held at the Corinthia Hotel in November 2011.

[16] The film's press junket and photocall were also later held at the hotel, with star Jennifer Lawrence dressed in a Versace gown that attracted media attention.