Robert De Niro's New Boutique Hotel In London Gets Green Light
LONDON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Robert De Niro has won planning permission for a luxury hotel in London's Covent Garden area.
Westminster Council approved plans Tuesday for the 83-room Wellington Hotel, backed by the actor and BD Hotels. The team already owns Manhattan's Greenwich Hotel.
More: Best Hotel Brunches In NYC | Celebrity Liquor Brands | Celebrity Birthdays
The plans include a spa, restaurant, private members' club and retail space. It will occupy six adjacent historic buildings and will open in 2019.
"Mean Streets'' and "Taxi Driver'' star De Niro told The Caterer in May that the hotel would "honor the heritage of the area, while bringing the best of what we've done in New York to London.''
Westminster Council planning chairman Robert Davis couldn't resist name-checking De Niro's films, saying Thursday that the hotel would be "a brand new destination on the "mean streets''' of Covent Garden.
The Greenwich Hotel is an 88-room luxury hotel opened in the Tribeca section of Manhattan in 2008.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)