Leicester Square has no shortage of celebrity in its glittering history, but it has a new claim to fame following the opening of Woods Bagot’s The Londoner hotel.

The building, designed and delivered for luxury operator Edwardian Hotels, boasts one of the world’s deepest habitable basements. With a depth of 31.5m, it hosts six subterranean levels including two cinemas and a ballroom. The Londoner has16 storeys in total. Woods Bagot won permission for the scheme in 2014, despite the objections of English Heritage and the Twentieth Century Society.

Digging deep on the 50m by 50m site at the south-west of Leicester Square was Edwardian’s solution to its need to accommodate 350 five-star rooms above ground and comply with planning rules that protect views of St Paul’s Cathedral from key locations across the capital. The firm says the project cost has been £500m, including the value of the land.

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