Robert De Niro’s plans for Covent Garden hotel are scrapped

Actor Robert De Niro had been looking to open a hotel in Covent Garden

Joanna Hodgson3 July 2018

Hollywood star Robert De Niro’s plans for a boutique hotel in Covent Garden have been scrapped, the Evening Standard has learned.

The Taxi Driver and Godfather actor won planning permission for an 83-bedroom Wellington Hotel with spa, members’ club and restaurant two years ago.

He was set to be the joint operator of the project alongside BD Hotels- founded by real estate gurus Ira Drukier and Richard Born. Together they run the Greenwich in Manhattan’s fashionable Tribeca district

But his partner BD Hotels confirmed to the Evening Standard the scheme would not be going ahead.

Drukier said “a changing economic picture” made the project “marginal”. He added that “if the economics were to change we would be very happy to move forward”.

The hotel was due to take up an entire block on the Strand side of Covent Garden across six Victorian and early 20th-century buildings.

Covent Garden’s main landlord, property firm Capco, said: “We have not reached satisfactory commercial terms with BD Hotels. The Wellington is a unique investment opportunity and we are reviewing our plans, which include proposals for office and retail space.”