King David Hotel
The King David Hotel ( , ) is a 5-star hotel in Jerusalem and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Opened in 1931, the hotel was built with locally quarried pink limestone and was founded by Ezra Mosseri, a wealthy Egyptian Jewish banker. It is located on King David Street in the centre of Jerusalem, overlooking the Old City and Mount Zion.
Northumberland Avenue
The Hotel Metropole was designed by Frederick Gordon and constructed between 1883 and 1885. Prince Albert, later King Edward VII, was a regular visitor to the hotel, entertaining guests in its Royal Suite.
It had become one of the most popular hotels in London by the turn of the 20th century, being described by the War Office in 1914 as "of world-wide reputation", and was the original location of the Aero Club and Alpine Club. In 1936, it was leased to the Government for £300,000 (now £) to provide temporary accommodation for various departments. During World War II, room 424 was used as the headquarters of MI9, the principal section of military intelligence supporting Allied prisoners of war. The hotel continued to be operated as a government building after the war, and began to be used by the Air Ministry in 1951. The building was sold by the Crown Estates in 2007 and reopened in 2011 as part of the Corinthia Hotel London.
The Hotel Victoria opened in 1887, its name commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria held that year. It held 500 bedrooms and was the second largest hotel in London of its type on opening, overrunning its budget by around £520,000 (now £). The hotel was self-powered, generating its own electricity from dynamos. It was bought by Frederick Gordon in 1893, giving him a monopoly on all hotels on Northumberland Avenue. A refurbishment was started in 1911, though delayed due to the First World War, which resulted in a new annexe, the Edward VII Rooms. It closed in 1940 and was used by the War Office in need of extra accommodation. The War Office bought the building outright in 1951, renaming it the Victoria Buildings. It was subsequently renamed Northumberland House.