Grosvenor House up for sale

London's Grosvenor House, home to the UK chemical industry's two biggest annual events, is up for sale and could be the most expensive hotel to come to market in Europe, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

The hotel, said to be valued at up to £600 million, is part of a Royal Bank of Scotland sell-off, along with the Cumberland Hotel at Marble Arch and four Hiltons.

The Blog has fond memories of Floggers luncheons in the spring and CIA Dinners in November at the Grosvenor House. It is also the venue for loads of Reed Business Information (RBI - parent company of ICIS) events including the star-studded Hairdressers Journal Awards Night.

To any prospective purchaser the Blog would say the place is a warren of corridors, with its 74 suites and reception rooms, all connected by a bewildering number of staircases which feel like a scary fire risk when they're packed full of 1,500 diners trying to find their way down to the main Grand Ballroom at the same time. And with many of the entertainment areas below ground, it is annoying that the current owners Marriott have never dealt with the frequent complaint that it is impossible to get a mobile signal in most of the building.