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Plans to build Britain's first underground hotel have been given the go-ahead. Developers will now get to work constructing a 166-key windowless hotel 50 feet below the streets of Bloomsbury. It will offer Japanese-style budget “pod” accommodation and have no restaurant or bar, and will have a three-night limit.
The decision to forge ahead with the subterranean hotel angered some councillors in the West End who claim guests will be treated like “a bunch of troglodytes,” according to the Telegraph.
The new hotel will be on the site of a former NCP car park underneath the St. Giles hotel on Great Russell Street. The developers have described it as “innovative” and say it makes the best use of limited space in central London.
Camden Council originally raised concerns about the air quality five storeys down, but after an appeal, the project prevailed. One councillor who voted for the project conceded that some people would choose not to sleep in an underground room, but the benefits of an accessible location and proximity to visitor attractions would outweigh the lack of a view. [Telegraph]
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