St. Ermin's Hotel
| St. Ermin's Hotel | |
|---|---|
The garden courtyard entrance | |
| Hotel chain | Autograph Collection |
| General information | |
| Type | Built as a mansion block, then converted to a hotel |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne revival |
| Address | 2 Caxton Street |
| Town or city | London |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°29′57″N 0°8′5″W / 51.49917°N 0.13472°W |
| Construction started | 1887 |
| Completed | 1889 (as a mansion block) |
| Opened | 1899 (as a hotel) |
| Owner | Tei-Fu Chen and Oi-Lin Chen |
| Management | St. Ermin's Operating (UK) Limited |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Edwin T. Hall; John Priestley Briggs |
| Designations | Grade II listed building |
| Website | |
| www.sterminshotel.co.uk | |
St. Ermin's Hotel is a four-star central London hotel adjacent to St James's Park Underground station, close to Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and the Houses of Parliament. The Grade II-listed late Victorian building, built as one of the early mansion blocks in the English capital, is thought to be named after an ancient monastery reputed to have occupied the site pre-10th century. Converted to a hotel in 1896–1899, it became a noted haunt of the British intelligence services from the 1930s onward, notably being the birthplace of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), and the liaison point between Cambridge Five double agents Philby and MacLean and their Soviet handlers. St Ermin's is now part of Marriott Hotels' Autograph Collection. The hotel is owned by the family of Tei-Fu Chen, founder of Sunrider International.