The style of the 1863 hotel building was reported to be Renaissance. There were frontages to Wellington Street, Bishopgate Street, and Wellington Station Yard. The hotel was five storeys in height, and the foundation stone was laid in 1860 by Sir Isaac Morley. The premises were divided into two compartments, the family and the commercial, each class being separate and distinct from the other.
The architect appointed for the scheme was William Curtis Green of London. A former vice-president of the Royal Institute of British architects, Green had won several distinctions for London designs, including a medal awarded by the RIBA. His principal works included Stratton House, Piccadilly, and the Piccadilly and Albemarle Street branch of the Westminster Bank. In January, 1936 an enormous hole was dug underneath what became the new structure.