Millennium Bailey's Hotel

The Bailey's Hotel London
Facade on Courtfield Road
Location in Kensington
General information
Location	140 Gloucester Road, Kensington, London, England
Coordinates	51°29′38″N 0°10′58″W / 51.49389°N 0.18278°W / 51.49389; -0.18278Coordinates: 51°29′38″N 0°10′58″W / 51.49389°N 0.18278°W / 51.49389; -0.18278
Management	Millennium Hotels
Technical details
Floor count	5
Design and construction
Architect	Aldin and Sons
Developer	Sir James Bailey
Other information
Number of rooms	212
Number of restaurants	2 (and a bar)
Website
Official site

The Bailey's Hotel, is a historic hotel in the Kensington district of London. The postal address is 140 Gloucester Road, but the main entrance is on Courtfield Road, opposite Gloucester Road tube station. It was established in 1876 and named after its original owner, Sir James Bailey (1840-1910), Member of Parliament.

Bailey's Hotel was one of the earliest privately built hotels in London, built between 1874 and 1876 by Aldin and Sons under the command of MP Sir James Bailey. He erected the hotel in an upmarket location so as to attract London’s aristocracy and wealthier inhabitants and to be easily accessible through Gloucester Road tube station. When completed the hotel also included nine stables to host a carriage service from the hotel.

In 1877 Bailey extended Bailey’s Hotel along Courtfield Road and in 1881 replaced the stables with a garden and additional buildings, which today houses the Bombay Brasserie restaurant. In 1883 Bailey installed new bedrooms and built a new elevator and installed electric lights in 1890.

By the 1890s Bailey's Hotel was one of the more successful hotels in London with over 300 rooms, and was popular with international guests. An American tourist guide published in 1891 mentioned the "cosy, homelike atmosphere, which is enhanced by the rich and substantial surroundings" (all for $1 a night at the time).Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor spent his last days in bed at the hotel before dying of pneumonia on 4 June 1895. At the peak of its success, Bailey sold the hotel to Spiers & Pond Limited in 1894, but remained as Managing Director for several years, as he was elected a Member of Parliament for Walworth, Newington, and was knighted in 1905.

By 1914 Bailey's Hotel faced stiff competition, with some fourteen hotels in eighteen buildings in close proximity. It survived, though, and during World War II was hit by an incendiary bomb, causing a major fire and damage, and again on 8 March 1941. A further fire broke out in the staff quarters in 1945, damaging the ceilings and floorboards, which meant the building had to be evacuated at a time when it was being used as a provisional hospital.