The phrase “fitting a quart into a pint pot” perfectly summarised the dilemma facing hotel operator Edwardian Hotels when it decided to build its flagship hotel in one of London’s most famous destinations. Edwardian reckoned it needed 350 bedrooms to make the Londoner scheme viable. However, the south-west corner of Leicester Square is in the line of one of St Paul’s Cathedral’s viewing corridors, which keeps the sight of the cathedral clear from 13 points around London, including Greenwich Park to the south and Alexandra Palace in the north. This restricted the £300m project to eight storeys, meaning 350 bedrooms would fill the entire building – a challenge since planners stipulated the Odeon cinema formerly sat on site had to be integrated into the new scheme. 

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