The Ariel Hotel
The Ariel Hotel during its time as a Holiday Inn
General information
LocationLondon Heathrow Airport, England
Coordinates51°28′52″N 0°26′01″W / 51.48124°N 0.43368°W / 51.48124; -0.43368
Completed1960
ClientJ Lyons and Co.
Design and construction
Architect(s)Russell Diplock & Associates
Website
heathrowariel.com

The Ariel Hotel is a circular hotel very close to London Heathrow Airport.

The hotel was built for J. Lyons and Co. in 1960, and designed by Russell Diplock & Associates. It was "Britain’s first significant airport hotel",[1] and the first hotel to be built at 'London Airport' (as it was known up to 1966), its completion being timed to coincide with the opening of the Oceanic Terminal (now Terminal 3).[2] It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 December 1960.[3][4]

According to a promotional fold-out brochure published by the hotel in March 1962, the hotel's name referenced the 1842 Aerial Steam Carriage monoplane design of William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow.[5] The brochure explained “In a sense the ‘Ariel’ is an ancestor of the great airliners… [and today] the name ‘Ariel’ is once more important in the world of flying. The Ariel Hotel, the first circular hotel in Europe, stands beside London Airport”.

The spiral staircase is an original design feature of the hotel

The hotel was built with 185 rooms, and its doughnut design allows it to offer dedicated single-bed rooms around the inside ring,[1] an unusual feature among Heathrow hotels.[6]

It was acquired in 1978 by the Forte Group as a Posthouse, and in 2001 it was bought by Bass/Six Continents which became the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) which put it in their Holiday Inn brand. After a couple of ownership changes, in 2015 the hotel was managed by the Redefine BDL Hotels (RBH) group who continued to run it as a Holiday Inn franchise.[2] As of 2023 the hotel operates under the Best Western brand to which it transferred around 2021. It is advertised as having 184 rooms.[7]

On 15 February 2020, the hotel became a temporary quarantine centre during the COVID-19 pandemic and was closed to the general public for around a month.[8]

As of October 2023, the website is not accepting bookings and is not recognised on the Best Western website. No explanation is provided.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Building of the month: Ariel Hotel, London Airport". c20society. July 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 "The History of Our Hotel". Holiday Inn Ariel - Hotel Hub. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  3. ↑ "Ariel Hotel". London Heathrow Ariel. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "New Ariel Hotel Nr London Airport 1961 (film clip)". British Pathe. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Henson & Stringfellow's Aerial Steam Carriage".
  6. ↑ "Best Western London Heathrow Ariel". England Rover.com. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Best Western London Heathrow Ariel Hotel". Best Western Hotels & Resorts. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Coronavirus: Heathrow hotel closed to public and guests removed after health officials designate it as quarantine centre for infected". The Independent. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
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