After serving in the army, our founder Henry Walduck started up a catering business in Kent.

Henry’s son, Thomas Henry Walduck, moved to London in the early 1830s. He chose to take the family catering business in a new direction and in 1837 he bought a hotel in Warwick Court, near Chancery Lane. This was the beginning of the family’s journey as hoteliers!

Following in his father’s footsteps, Thomas Henry Walduck Junior, sold the Warwick Court Hotel in 1863 and was granted a lease, for the Bedford Hotel, by the Duke of Bedford.

At the time, this was the only hotel permitted on the Bloomsbury estates; so, it soon filled up with guests visiting the area.

Did you know? 1863 was also the same year the London Underground first opened! Tube tickets first cost between 2d – 6d (two to six pence), which, in today’s money is £1 - £4.

By the turn of the 20th century, Harold Walduck, the 4th generation hotelier, took to the helm and he saw an opportunity to build a brand-new hotel in 1905.

Working with architect Charles Fitzroy Doll, the neo-gothic Imperial Hotel was built. It overlooked Russell Square and had a grand ballroom plus an elegant winter garden.

In 1910 Harold developed a block of flats into the Premier Hotel. In 1913 he then installed Turkish Baths with glistening mosaics at the Imperial Hotel.

The Guilford Hotel was then purchased in 1917, with the intention to merge the Premier Hotel and Guilford Hotel into the Imperial Hotel next door. But something different happened 43 years later!

During the roaring twenties, Harold Walduck redeveloped several Georgian houses on Bedford Way into the National Hotel. It even had a swimming pool and shooting range. This was followed by the Royal Hotel in 1928 on Woburn Place, a more budget friendly option for travellers.

Norman and Stanley Walduck took to the reins! However, at the end of the decade they went to war for the British Army – which meant Harold stepped up again to run the business.

Once Norman and Stanley had returned from war, they continued to rebuild and construct the hotels. They negotiated the lease on the County Hotel in the 1940s.

Britain’s first post war hotel was Tavistock Hotel. It had 77 rooms with ensuites and TVs which were free to use, a first for its time. Built on the site of famous writer Virginia Woolf's former home, Woolf had lived here longer than any of her other London residences, from 1924 - 1939. You can find an English Heritage blue plaque honouring Virginia Woolf outside the hotel entrance.

A further 233 rooms at Tavistock Hotel were built to meet demand in 1957.

Our first logo, inspired by a Galleon ship weathervane that sat on top of the Imperial Hotel, was initially designed to be placed on crockery.

The President Hotel was built from a merging of Premier and Guilford Hotels. Named ‘President’ due to the increase in commercial air travel; this state-of-the-art accommodation had large TVs, en-suites, radios and telephones.

Did you know? The Beatles used President Hotel as their London base, when they came down from Liverpool, during the summer of 1963. They even had a famous pillow fight in room 444!

Richard, Thomas and Stephen Walduck joined the company in the mid-60s, taking over from their fathers.

Bedford Hotel was also rebuilt in 1964, boasting a brutalist style - with iconic ‘zigzag’ windows designed to create extra space in the bedrooms and reflect a new, popular architectural design.

Did you know? This image [right] appeared on a cover of The Caterer in April 1969, a weekly hospitality business magazine, which has been running since 1878.

Imperial Hotel re-opened in 1969/70 following demolition in 1966. Architect Charles Lovett Gill brought the same brutalist style of Bedford Hotel into the Imperial’s building design.

Work then began on the Royal National Hotel in 1974. By merging Royal Hotel and National Hotel, 250 rooms were first renovated in 1974, with the next phases staggered throughout the 70s and 80s.

The Royal National Hotel officially opened in 1998 – fully completed with 1630 rooms. Western Europe’s largest hotel was ready to welcome guests.

The sons and daughters of Richard, Thomas and Stephen Walduck then stepped in to take the lead.

Morton Hotel opened in 2013. Previously used as staff accommodation since the 70s, this boutique hotel was named after actor and theatre manager Charles Morton. The décor was carefully chosen to reflect The Bloomsbury Group style; a circle of bohemian artists and writers who once lived in our neighbourhood.

City Sleeper at Royal National Hotel opened in 2017 on Bedford Way, offering a more seamless and elevated experience for travellers to central London.

A guest membership programme was further launched to provide access to the best available room prices, plus other benefits to loyal hotel guests.

A new ILH Training Academy opened, offering spaciousness and suitable facilities for all team members to train, learn and grow.

Work also began to transform the Imperial Hotel into a lifestyle hotel, a flagship for the Imperial London Family of Hotels.

The London Pub (under Royal National Hotel) had a makeover, maintaining its traditional pub charm with a modern twist. It began serving TLP lager, at just £5.45 a pint!