When we first moved to West Ealing in 1978 the main hotel in the area was the then Carnarvon on Ealing Common. My father remembers this hotel being a few Victorian houses joined together when he was staying there at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Staying there with is father, he tells the story of how the first job as soon as war was announced was to help sandbag the windows of the bar!
There was little change for decades after that. A new Carnarvon Hotel was built but not much else. Fast forward to the 21st century and there are now hotels springing up everywhere. What set me thinking about this was seeing that Dawley House, one of the office blocks on the Uxbridge Road between Ealing Broadway and West Ealing, looks likely to be demolished and become yet another hotel. The application mentions building a part 9, 10 and 12-storey building to house an 88-unit apartment hotel comprising 33 studio suites, 29 x 1-bedroom suites and 16 x 2-bedroom suites.
Thinking about it we will soon have the following hotels in the area:
- The Double Tree Hilton (once the Carnarvon) at Ealing Common which has just been extensively upgraded
- The new boutique Hotel Xanadu in Bond Street
- The Travelodge on the Uxbridge Road
- The Premier Inn on the Uxbridge Road
- The new 100 or so bedroom hotel being built on the old TVU site next to the 250-foot under constructtion Apex block of flats on the Uxbridge Road
- The recently renovated Drayton Court Hotel which has gone back to being an hotel
- Best Western Maitrise apartment hotel on the Uxbridge Road in West Ealing
- The Holiday Inn Express which will one day be built in West Ealing on the corner of the Uxbridge Road and Melbourne Avenue
Then I think I’m right that the Regus serviced office building opposite the fire station has put in for or even been granted permission to become a hotel. Lastly, Dawley House looks set to be demolished and become an hotel, which is where this post started.
From what little I’ve heard, all the current hotels are doing well. I can understand that Crossrail is one of the drivers behind this ‘explosion’ in hotels. Assuming that the hotel owners’ research has shown there is a demand for all these hotel rooms then it’s got to be good for the area. I just hope it helps drive up the local economy as all these people coming to Ealing offer local restuarants, pubs, Questors and the (hopefully) new cinema/cultural site a fantastic opportunity to increase business which will benefit local residents as well as the hotel guests.
It’s hard to see a downside to these hotels especially if guests don’t drive to them.
This hotel explosion was unplanned but now that it’s happened wouldn’t it make sense to open a tourist office near the hotels? I’m sure enterprising local folks can dream up tourist trails/attractions including a Brunel trail, rythym and blues /rock trail, Ealing Film Studios, Sir John Soane, Spencer Perceval stuff etc,etc
I stayed at the Carnarvon Hotel in 1968. I was a 20yr. old American on my first trip abroad. I had come to the U.K. to arrange for an abortion for my then girlfriend (her idea). England and Japan were the only places in the world where abortion was legal at that time. Being from New York, England was the obvious choice. After arriving at Heathrow we checked into the Grosvenor near Victoria station. We then met with a Doctor Sugden on Half Moon Street for an interview. He referred us to a Psyciatrist, as required, and then directed us to a private medical facility in Ealing where the procedure would take place. I remember renting a Ford Zephyr or some such auto from Davies car Hire in London and making my way to Ealing while learning the fine points of right handed driving. Very interesting! After checking the girl into the facility, I found a room at the Carnarvon. My most vivid memory was that I didn’t have the proper coins required to operate the gas meter to get heat in the room. I thought it quite rude that a room would be provided with “heat optional” at additional expense. Other than that I found the room to be quite comfortable and Ealing to be a charming village.