
/ About
The Landmark London opened in 1899 as the Great Central Hotel, the railway hotel built to serve Marylebone Station, and its eight-storey Victorian atrium — today the Winter Garden — remains one of the most extraordinary interior spaces in London. Sixteen real Canary Island palm trees rise through the glass-roofed atrium while the hotel's restaurants and bars occupy its ground level; above, the original balcony galleries stack upwards towards the clock tower. The whole building is a member of Leading Hotels of the World.
The hotel's event floor sits at ground level and runs to eleven spaces, from the grand Victorian Marble Ballroom with its original marble columns and adjoining Champagne Room through to the more intimate Empire Room (redesigned in the 1990s in the soft Edwardian palette that earned it the original title of the Ladies' Room) and the wood-panelled Drawing Room, which retains three carved stone fireplaces bearing the Great Central emblem and a concert grand. At the top of the building, on the fifth floor, the Tower Suite is a newly refurbished private dining room with a glass roof that frames views down through the atrium and up to the Victorian clock tower — a genuinely rare vantage point over the space below. The Mirror Bar, accessed from the hotel lobby, operates as a late-night cocktail destination lined in mirrored panels and antique plasterwork friezes.
For private DJ events the hotel holds a music licence and late licence. The event floor sits on the ground level of the atrium building, with load-in from Marylebone Road. Every space carries the hotel's in-house catering and a dedicated events team; the Tower Suite is the stand-out choice for an intimate seated dinner with music, while the Drawing Room and Empire Room both offer the scale and acoustic enclosure for a more immersive evening.
/ Rooms Available
Grand Ballroom
Exclusive HireThe hotel's principal event space occupies 610 square metres on the ground floor and is available as a single room or divided into two independent halves via a soundproof partition. Victorian architecture — crystal chandeliers, rose and cream plasterwork, tall draped windows — gives the room a grandeur that suits major private celebrations. Capacity runs to 600 standing or 504 for a seated dinner. When sub-divided, Grand Ballroom I or II each accommodate up to 300 standing or 240 seated.
Marble Ballroom
Exclusive HireThe largest of the hotel's Victorian original spaces, the Marble Ballroom runs to 478 square metres across one uninterrupted floor and is defined by a double row of original marble columns, grand fireplaces, and high ceilings flooded with natural daylight. A Champagne Room adjoins as a natural reception or pre-dinner space. The room holds 500 standing or 408 for a seated dinner; dinner-dance configurations work for up to 348 guests. The scale and acoustic volume suit full production DJ rigs for significant private celebrations.
Drawing Room
Exclusive HireA ground-floor room lined in original dark-wood panelling with three carved stone fireplaces, a moulded plaster ceiling, and floor-to-ceiling sash windows giving onto the hotel's garden courtyard. The room takes its current character from a careful restoration of the Great Central Hotel's original gentlemen's withdrawing room and holds a concert grand piano as a permanent feature. At 254 square metres with a clear span and no internal columns, it offers the acoustic and spatial conditions to support a full DJ setup alongside seated dinner for up to 180 guests.
Empire Room
Exclusive HireOriginally the Ladies' Room of the Great Central Hotel, the Empire Room was redesigned in the late Victorian period with the soft feminine palette — high ceilings, pale walls, tall draped windows, blue-medallion carpet — that remains today. At 222 square metres it sits between the Tower Suite and the ballrooms in scale: seated dinner for up to 168, or dinner-dance configurations for up to 120. Two marble fireplaces anchor the far end; mirrored panels along both side walls double the apparent depth. The room connects via a foyer to both the Drawing Room and the hotel lobby.
Tower Suite
Exclusive HireA newly refurbished private dining and event room on the fifth floor, with a glass roof that looks directly down into the Winter Garden atrium and upward to the Victorian clock tower. The suite comprises three interconnected spaces — the main dining room, a reception antechamber, and a private service room — and seats up to 36 guests around one table. A marble fireplace and north-facing arched window bring natural light into a room that feels genuinely removed from the rest of the hotel. Available for exclusive private hire from early evening.
/ Perfect For
/ Features
AV Equipment
- – Sound System
- – PA System
- – Projector
Catering
- – In-House Luxury Dining
- – Private Bar
- – Bespoke Menus
- – Sommelier Service
- – Canape Service
- – Cocktail Programme
Licensing
- – Full Alcohol Licence
- – Music Licence
- – Late Licence
Venue Specs
- – Air Conditioned
- – Wheelchair Accessible
- – Dedicated Events Team
- – Cloakroom
- – Wi-Fi
- – Load-In Access
/ Getting Here
Marylebone (1 min) · Baker Street (5 min)
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