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Grafton Hotel

Coordinates: 51°31′27″N 0°08′16″W / 51.5242°N 0.1379°W / 51.5242; -0.1379
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Exterior of the hotel in 2022

The Grafton Hotel at 130 Tottenham Court Road in Fitzrovia, London, is part of the Edwardian Hotels group. In a partnership with Radisson Hotels, it is branded as the Radisson Blu Edwardian Grafton Hotel.

The hotel was built in the Edwardian era and has 330 rooms.[1] The building was designed by the architect William Howard Seth-Smith, FRIBA, and upon opening was furnished by Maple and Co.[2][3] Shortly before opening, the hotel was advertised as being run on "popular lines".[2]

During World War II, the hotel was used as the temporary headquarters for the Ministry of Food.[4] From October 1939 to April 1940, Albert Meems, "one of very few German agents who successfully moved in and out of the UK during the Second World War without being detected",[5] made four visits to London and always stayed at the Grafton Hotel.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Grafton hotel, London hotels, GREATER LONDON hotels, England hotels, UK hotels, Central London hotels, Discounted London hotels - Dilos Holiday World". Dilos.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b "The Grafton Hotel". The Times. No. 39576. p. 7.
  3. ^ "Mr. W. H. Seth-Smith". The Times. No. 44953. 24 July 1928. p. 18.
  4. ^ Alan Haworth; Dianne Hayter (22 April 2015). Men Who Made Labour. Routledge. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-135-39047-1. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  5. ^ Archives, The National. "News - German Intelligence Agents and suspected Agents".
  6. ^ Joshua Levine (22 November 2011). Operation Fortitude: The Story of the Spies and the Spy Operation That Saved D-Day. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-7627-7735-8. Retrieved 27 January 2017.

51°31′27″N 0°08′16″W / 51.5242°N 0.1379°W / 51.5242; -0.1379