Plans to transform London’s BT Tower into a luxury hotel could include a swimming pool, offering guests the chance to bathe 177 metres high, with sweeping views of Fitzrovia.
The Grade II-listed building, which was once the tallest structure in the capital, was sold to American hotel operator MCR Hotels back in 2024 for £275 million.
The company owns around 150 hotels in the United States, including the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport in New York, and seeks to preserve the building for future “generations to enjoy”.
In their newsletter, MCR Hotels say they plan to create “a hotel-led, mixed-use scheme that celebrates the Tower’s heritage, complements Fitzrovia’s historic character, creates publicly accessible space, and delivers meaningful placemaking and employment opportunities for the local community”.
Proposals feature a rooftop swimming pool, a new public square, retail spaces and the potential return of the revolving restaurant, which was closed in 1971.
But redevelopment plans cannot begin until BT has finished decommissioning and stripping out residual sensitive telecoms equipment, which is expected to be completed in 2030.
Under the plans, public access to the top of the tower would be restored for the first time in half a century, with new walking routes put in place across the site.
MCR Hotels’ project team will be hosting public exhibitions at University College London (UCL) next week to showcase the designs.
The tower was commissioned by the General Post Office (GPO) in 1961 to replace a shorter 1940s lattice tower that could no longer clear the rising London skyline.
It served as the central hub for the UK’s microwave communications network, carrying high-frequency radio waves for phone calls and TV broadcasts.
At 177m (189m with the mast), it was the UK's tallest building until it was surpassed by the NatWest Tower in 1980.
On October 31, 1971, a bomb exploded in the men's toilets of the 33rd floor at 4:30 AM. No one was injured in the blast, but buildings and cars within a 400m radius were damaged.
After BT removed its microwave aerials in 2011, most of the tower stood idle.
Consultation sessions will take place on Monday, May 11, Tuesday, May 12 and Saturday, May 16 at the Jeremy Bentham Room, UCL.
