Originally known as the Michael Fowler Hotel, it had 38 guest rooms and two penthouse suites.

[2] Entrepreneur Chris Parkin took over management of the hotel in October 1990 and bought the building from the Government in 1992.

The hotel's weight was transferred from 17 columns to a giant steel grid, bolted on to railway bogies to allow the move, then hydraulic jacks were pushed up between the grid and the bottom of the hotel, and the columns were cut to transfer the weight.

[7] The hotel was wheeled on 8 sets of parallel rails 80 metres along Cable Street on 14–15 August 1993.

[10][11] The wheels were then turned 90 degrees, and the building pushed 40 metres across the road on 21 August on another set of rails[10] to a point where it was joined to new foundations, and recommenced operation as a hotel.

Although comparatively new, the hotel was to have been demolished to make way for the much larger structure of the National Museum.