倫敦科林西亞酒店所棲身的建筑可追溯到1885年，由當(dāng)時大名鼎鼎的酒店開發(fā)商弗雷德里?！じ甑牵‵rederick Gordon）投資建造而成。在隨后的50年中，這座建筑以“大都會酒店”（H?tel Métropole）的姿態(tài)聞名于世。當(dāng)時，這座外觀酷似巴黎高級公寓、內(nèi)飾盡顯維多利亞時代風(fēng)情的酒店擁有高達600間客房，是上層社會人士重要的社交之地，酒會、宴會、演出應(yīng)接不暇。在著名的“社交季”期間，達官顯貴們從歐洲各地來到倫敦，他們注重時尚潮流，而當(dāng)時“大都會酒店”特別推出的“荷蘭客房”、“橡木沙龍”以及“中式客房”正是他們的鐘愛之選。

20世紀(jì)20年代，“大都會酒店”被政府短期征用后，進行了現(xiàn)代化改造，繼續(xù)扮演著酒店的角色。后來，由于酒店宏大的規(guī)模和絕佳的地理位置，英國政府表示出極高的購買意愿。1936年，這座建筑終于被政府收入囊中，成為國防部行政辦公室的所在地。在隨后的70年中，這座建筑見證了許多歷史事件。丘吉爾首相曾在1918年一戰(zhàn)停戰(zhàn)日大本鐘敲響時，透過這座建筑的窗戶觀看成百上千的市民涌上街頭慶祝這一時刻，后來，他將自己的部長辦公室也落戶于此。二戰(zhàn)期間，這里成為“英國軍情九處”的總部，這個重要的政府組織處曾協(xié)助大批被德軍俘虜?shù)氖勘与x。

The grand Victorian building of Corinthia Hotel London can be dated back to 1885， and it was built by Frederick Gordon， a well-known hotel developer at that time. The building spent the next 50 years as the world-known prestigious H?tel Métropole. Her unique exterior style was borrowed from Parisian apartment blocks and the inside complete with opulent Victorian furnishings. This 600-room hotel was also a hub for social occasions for high society， hosting exquisite balls， parties， banquets and performances. In the debutante season in London， the hotel became a prominent venue with aristocrats and royalty arriving from all over Europe. The stylistic range which the H?tel Métropole offered was very much what contemporary fashion demanded at the time： there were the \"Dutch Room，\" the \"Oak Salon\" and the oriental \"Chinese Room.\"

In the 1920s， after a brief requisitioning by the government during World War I， H?tel Métropole underwent some modernization， and then resumed its role. Later， the government expressed interest in purchasing the building， particularly due to its size and proximity to Whitehall. The hotel was finally sold to the government in 1936. For the next 70 years it housed administrative offices for the Ministry of Defence， with many notable figures and events taking place within the building. Winston Churchill wrote of hearing Big Ben strike on Armistice Day， as he watched from a window as hundreds of Londoners poured on to the streets in celebration. During the war， the building was used as the headquarters for MI9， a significant government organization which coordinated and executed a large number of prisoner of war escapes across Europe.

（當(dāng)時，這座外觀酷似巴黎高級公寓、內(nèi)飾盡顯維多利亞時代風(fēng)情的酒店擁有高達600間客房，是上層社會人士重要的社交之地，酒會、宴會、演出應(yīng)接不暇。

This 600-room hotel was also a hub for social occasions for high society， hosting exquisite balls， parties， banquets and performances.）