This is Leicestershire --The Grand Hotel name is set to return to Leicester.
Within a matter of weeks, the historic name will once again adorn the 104-bed Victorian hotel in Granby Street – more than a decade after it was dropped.
The much-loved hotel was known as the Grand for 103 years following its opening in 1898.
It lost its distinguished title 12 years ago – much to the consternation of city residents – when it was relaunched as Jarvis Ramada Leicester.
At the time, hotel bosses insisted the name-change was a positive step but Leicester Civic Society described it as "a corporate name that made no sense".
It was rebranded again two years ago as part of the global Mercure group, but now it has been decided to bring back the name it was once famous for.
By the end of the month, it will be renamed Mercure Leicester The Grand Hotel.
General manager James Conaghan said the name change supported a £1 million-plus investment programme in the hotel, which has seen improved windows on the Granby Street side, remodeled bedrooms and plans to revamp the ground floor public and bar areas.
He said it would also support the city's bid to be named UK City of Culture 2017 – a campaign he helped instigate.
Mr Conaghan said: "The whole city knows it as the Grand Hotel and I've been badgered to bring it back for the past five years.
"Because we are investing in the hotel, the opportunity came to rename it.
"What we really want to do is put the Grand back on the map of the city so that the city can be proud of it.
"It's the oldest hotel in the city and by the end of next year we want to have something we can be proud of.
"We're spending a hell of a lot of money – more than a £1 million by the time we are finished."
He said hotel business was up 10 per cent on last year, with weekend visitors encouraged by the discovery of Richard III's remains beneath a city centre car park.
Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said it would be great for the city to have the Grand Hotel name back.
He said: "Most of us have never stopped calling it that so I'm delighted that they are returning to the name people associate with that astonishing building. I'm also delighted Mercure is investing heavily in the hotel.
"We need to ensure that when visitors come to Leicester they find it's a good place to visit and a comfortable place to stay.
"We've got some really good hotels and an increasingly pleasant environment which we will continue to invest in."
The Grand Hotel was designed by Cecil Ogden in the Franco-German renaissance style and the wedding cake top on the corner of Granby Street and Belvoir Street was added two years later by Amos Hall, who also designed Leicester's Silver Arcade.
During the early 1900s, part of the first floor became the Kings Hall Cinema, while Winston Churchill was a guest in 1909. Reported by This is 15 hours ago.