Hilton is to become the operator of Admiralty Arch, which will be run under its Waldorf Astoria brand.
Owner Prime Investors Capital, the business of Spanish entrepreneur Rafael Serrano, chose Hilton over 11 other brands. The 100-room hotel on The Mall, SW1, is due to open by 2022.
Serrano agreed to buy the building in 2015 on a 250-year lease from the government’s cabinet office, paying an initial £60m with the intention of investing a further £100m in the conversion.
Admiralty Arch was completed in 1910, having been commissioned by Edward VII in memory of Queen Victoria. As well as a centre for the cabinet office it was a centre for wartime intelligence meetings and an outpost for the Royal Navy. It has views down the Mall to Buckingham Palace and across Trafalgar Square.
Serrano said: “We have appointed a team of talented experts with the experience and knowledge to capture the spirit of this magnificent building. We have created a detailed plan to transform Admiralty Arch into an extraordinary hotel, residences and private members club. And one of the most important decisions we have made is to select and appoint the operator to whom we will entrust the management and running of this hotel.”
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