London Marriott Hotel Canary Wharf

Architecture and facilities

In 2001, planning permission was gained by Squire and Partners for a slender landmark hotel tower conceived to act as a visual counterpoint to the monumental brick form of the adjacent Victorian warehouses in London's Docklands. Designed by HOK, its elliptical form is reminiscent of the curved hull of a boat. The building was completed in 2004.

The bottom 12 floors of the 33-floor building house the hotel, with 301 rooms on floors 1–8, and 47 serviced suites on floors 9–12. Facilities include the Manhattan Grill Restaurant, 19 event rooms, an executive lounge, a health club and the G & Tea Lounge with over 180 different gins.

The hotel hosts an artist in residence programme, showing the work of contemporary artists including Lincoln Townley in 2015 and Julie Umerle in 2017.

Incidents

In 2006, the hotel gained notoriety when ten Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players suddenly fell ill hours before a crucial Premier League match that was to determine whether the club could secure the lucrative fourth Champions League place. It was initially assumed that they had acquired food poisoning from lasagne consumed at the Marriott in Canary Wharf and which had been "prepared by Marriott chefs to the specifications of the team’s diet and nutrition expert".{{Cite news |last1=Fresco |first1=Adam |last2=Yeoman |first2=Fran |title=Tottenham’s lasagne goes under the microscope

11 November 2010 saw a fire break out in the hotel's Curve restaurant, forcing an evaluation of the building. Ten fire engines and 50 fire fighters rushed to the scene after being called by Marriott staff at 10.32pm. Harry Redknapp, then manager of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., was among the 200 people who exited the property. It took over four hours to tackle the blaze and paramedics were on site to deal with a number of occupiers suffering smoke inhalation.

At 3:30am on 18 November 2014, alarms went off as another fire took place. Approximately 100 hotel guests were evacuated with firefighters taking an hour and a half to put an end to the fire in the goods lift. No injuries were reported.

In 2016, it emerged that an ISIS-linked terror cell had plotted to attack the premises with images found on seized devices allegedly depicting the West India Quay hotel. The plans were foiled by the security services and arrests made.

References

References

1. "The Marriott Canary Wharf London".
2. "Marriot West India Quay • Architecture • Squire and Partners".
3. "Manhattan Grill".
4. "G&Tea Lounge - Bars and pubs in Canary Wharf, London".
5. (7 September 2015). "Lincoln Townley launches his LA Collection at the Marriott West India Quays in Canary Wharf".
6. (6 September 2017). "Julie Umerle".
7. Fresco, Adam. (8 May 2006). "Tests under way to determine truth behind lasagne gate". [[The Times]].
8. Hughes, Matt. (9 May 2006). "Police investigate case of Spurs and the dodgy lasagne". [[The Times]].
9. (8 May 2006). "Sick Spurs to wait on food analysis". [[The Guardian]].
12. Durack, Louise. (9 May 2006). "Marriott hotel in Spurs food ‘poisoning scandal' set to be cleared". The Caterer.
13. (9 May 2006). "Viral disease may be to blame for Spurs' illness". The Guardian.
14. Manson, Emily. (16 May 2006). "Marriott West India Quay hotel cleared over Tottenham Hotspur FC ‘food poisoning' claim". The Caterer.
15. Thomas, Daniel. (1 March 2007). "Tottenham Hotspur FC snubs Marriott West India Quay hotel". The Caterer.
16. Lodge, Alan. (20 December 2007). "Spurs bury the hachet with Marriott". BigHospitality.
17. Sam-Daliri, Nadia. (12 December 2010). "Harry Redknapp rescued with 200 others in hotel blaze". [[East London Advertiser]].
18. Rucki, Alexandra. (20 November 2014). "Hotel guests evacuated from hotel following fire in lift". [[Evening Standard]].
19. (10 May 2016). "Afghan terrorists use migrant route to plot attacks on London, police fear, as Theresa May orders border review". [[The Daily Telegraph.