The Grade II*-listed building dates back to 1863, when it was commissioned by the Marquess of Grosvenor to be London’s first-ever serviced apartment building. Belgrave Mansions, as it was known, housed many notable families of the time.

It’s a beautiful structure, reminiscent of the grand European mansion houses of the 19th century. The architect, Thomas Cundy III, who was a close peer of ‘the builder of Belgravia’ Thomas Cubitt, drew inspiration from the Parisian styles of the French Second Empire, including details such as roof mansards, stone dressing and ‘oeil-de-boeuf’ windows. A key part of the development of 8 Eaton Lane includes fully restoring the original façade.

The building was reimagined as the Belgrave Hotel in 1921, then, in the 1930s, as an office named Grosvenor Gardens House. Now, it’s going back to its residential roots, again pioneering the serviced apartment industry more than 150 years later.