The Kimpton Fitzroy London is a historic five-star hotel, located on Russell Square, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. From its opening in 1900 until 2018, it was known as the Hotel Russell.
History
<section begin="architecture" />The Hotel Russell was built in 1898 by the architect Charles Fitzroy Doll and opened in 1900. It is distinctively clad in decorative thé-au-lait ("tea with milk") terracotta and was based on the Château de Madrid near the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.
Its restaurant, which was originally named after the architect but is now called Fitz's, is said to be almost identical to the RMS Titanic's dining room, which he designed.[1] Also in the hotel is "Lucky George", a bronze dragon on the second floor stairs. An identical copy was on the Titanic.[1]
Known for its palatial design, the hotel's fixtures and fittings included an ornate Pyrenean marble staircase and an interior sunken garden. Each room was fitted with an en-suite bathroom, a great innovation at the time.[2]