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Choose A Hyde Park Hotel For An Enjoyable Stay

If you are planning a holiday with the family and want to enjoy an exciting holiday, then London is the city to visit. There are many attractions for people of all age groups and you can be sure never to have a dull moment in the city. From its historical palaces to modern attractions there is something for everyone in the family to enjoy.

In case you want to make the most of your trip and enjoy a luxurious stay there are terrific hotels in the Hyde Park area like the Metropolitan by Como, which offer a most comfortable stay at a reasonable cost. With excellent facilities, top notch customer service and being centrally located, the Metropolitan by Como is a preferred choice among most regular visitors to the city. You would be a short distance away from Hyde Park which would be a perfect place to spend a relaxed and blissful afternoon with the family. The features that make Hyde Park so very special are:

The Park was initially private property of the Cannons of Westminster Abbey who had possession of the place since Norman times. This remained until King Henry VIII passed a royal statute, by virtue of which church and state were separated and this led to the eventual confiscation of property. This proved to beneficial in a way that it rose from being just another abbey to a prominent cathedral, which saved it from demolition like other abbeys of the period. It served as a private hunting ground for the monarch and other members of the royal family. Although King James I later granted other members of the aristocracy admittance it was Charles I in 1637 who allowed admission to the general public.

You will find some of the best hotels in the area located in the area overlooking the Grand Entrance to the Park. If you select a hotel located on the South Side you will in all probability have a room overlooking Rotten Row. As weird as the name may sound it refers to the "The King's Private Road", which is a graveled track for the Kings Carriage to travel. It was further improved upon when King William III decided to create a broad track lit with oil lamps in 1690, which connected Kensington Palace to St. James Palace.

In fact this was to go on record as being the first artificially-illuminated highway in the country or probably for that matter in Europe, which was only befitting considering it was used exclusively by the monarch and the royal family.

Walking down the path transports you way back in time to those glorious days when the monarch was the supreme authority in the land. Another area that most hotels close to Hyde Park tend to overlook is that of Speaker's Corner, also a historically significant area of the park.

This area gained prominence when numerous public movements organized in the 1800's, became pivotal in making the government realize, that the public needed a platform or area where they could freely express their opinions. Some of the notable events of that period include the protests and demonstrations over the Sunday Trading Bill in 1855 and widespread demonstrations in 1866-67 in favour of reforms for the middle-class.

As a result in 1872, The Parks Regulation Act was promulgated according to which a certain area of Hyde Park was allocated for the general public to meet, debate and express their thoughts freely. Some of the most prominent figures who have graced the dais at Speaker's Corner include Lenin, George Orwell, Karl Marx, William Morris and Ben Tillet among other notable personages over the years.


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