The Langham Hotel
Styles Façade Solutions® (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) carried out London hotel facade cleaning at this imposing Grade II listed property using our Façade Gommage process. The Italianate façade’s eclectic Gothic details, including griffins, sphinxes, lions and lizards, required gentle, meticulous cleaning to reach every crevice.
Our specialist heritage-grade system projected fine powders under low pressure from a cabin-mounted boom, gently erasing dirt without the damage risked by abrasive water-based techniques. Carried out entirely from MEWPs, the process was scaffold-free, minimising disruption to staff and guests.
Completed in just six weeks, the restoration of The Langham successfully turned back the clock 150 years, returning this iconic London landmark to its former glory.
Solutions provided
A GRAND RETURN FOR LONDON’S FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT HOTEL
Built during the great hotel boom of the late 19th century, The Langham was designed by John Giles and opened by the then-Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. It was London's first purpose-built 'Grand Hotel', costing over £300,000 (over £48,000,000 at 2026 prices). It featured revolutionary amenities for its time, including hydraulic lifts and 100 water closets.
The hotel struggled during the Great Depression, and attempts were made to sell the building to the BBC prior to Broadcasting House being built at Portland Place. It was partially used by the British Army during the Second World War, until it was damaged by bombs and forced to close. The BBC occupied the building after the war, purchasing it outright from the estate in 1965.
After being denied planning permission to demolish and redevelop the site, the BBC sold the property in 1986. Following a £100 million refurbishment, The Langham reopened in 1991. The hotel was sold again in 1995, and further restorations and extensions costing an additional £80 million over the years, have helped return this 5-Star, Grade II listed hotel back to its original grandeur.
Styles Façade Solutions® in action at The Langham Hotel, London, using specialist access equipment to carry out the scaffold-free Façade Gommage cleaning process. Their careful, road-safe approach ensures minimal disruption to this Grade II listed building while restoring its historic stonework to its original condition.
GENTLE CLEANING FOR INTRICATE HERITAGE SCULPTURES
Due to the architectural characteristics of this imposing Grade II listed property, London hotel facade cleaning using our Façade Gommage cleaning process played a critical role in its restoration. Essentially Italianate in style, the façade is adorned with eclectic Gothic elements and sculptural details, including griffins and sphinxes below the heavy eaves cornices, as well as lions and lizards on the imposts of lower-storey window arches.
Fashioned from moulded cement on slate armatures, each of these intricate embellishments required the gentlest and most meticulous cleaning, reaching into even the most inaccessible crevices.
Projecting fine powders under low pressure from a cabin-mounted boom, Styles Façade Solutions®' specialist heritage-grade cleaning system provided the ideal solution for this London hotel facade cleaning project. As opposed to higher-impact, abrasive water-based techniques, the powder flows across the masonry surface to gently erase layers of dirt without damaging the underlying substrate.
SIX-WEEK SCAFFOLD-FREE RESTORATION WITH ZERO HOTEL DISRUPTION
Carried out from Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs), this hotel façade cleaning process is entirely scaffold-free, enabling not only a timely completion but also minimal disruption to hotel staff, guests, visitors and passers-by.
Completed in just six weeks on-site, the cleaning and restoration of The Langham has successfully turned the clock back some 150 years, returning this most iconic and opulent of London landmarks to its former glory.
“We are once again proving the huge benefits of using the scaffold-free Façade Gommage cleaning process offers to busy hospitality businesses. With no need to envelope the building in scaffolding during the cleaning and restoration project, the hotel and its guests can go about their normal routines. The result we delivered for the team at The Langham are truly impressive, revealing the building in all its original architectural splendour.”
Mark Styles, Managing Director, Styles Façade Solutions
See the links below for more examples of the results Styles Façade Solutions® (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) can deliver for your business.
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