Next year sees the opening of 45 Park Lane, a new hotel from the group that owns the nearby Dorchester, and the Corinthia, an international chain that is making its British debut. The chic W chain is also entering London next year, with a property on Leicester Square.

Down the road from the Savoy, a stone’s throw from Westminster, lurks one of the new kids on the block, wrote Matthew Goodman in The Times yesterday. The deluxe Corinthia chain, already established in cities such as St Petersburg, Budapest and Prague, is spending £270 million to open its first London site, converting a former Ministry of Defence building into what will be its flagship property, with almost 300 rooms. Its 370sq m royal suite includes a private gym and a barbecue pit on an outdoor terrace.

Alfred Pisani, chairman of Corinthia’s parent company, the Malta-based International Hotel Investments, dismisses the threat posed by the venerable Savoy. “It does not worry me,” he said. “Being in London, you’re going to have a very privileged situation. It’s one of the top capitals in the world. It has a terrific attraction.”

Despite being new to Britain, his backers concur. Bob Silk, who handles lending to hoteliers for Barclays, advanced £135 million towards the project, and said he was confident “the Corinthia will be able to hold its own in the London market”.

Mr Pisani, who opened his first hotel in Malta in 1968, is leaving little to chance. Although the hotel is still very much a building site, deep inside the structure, workers have installed a sample bedroom. More than a dozen people have spent the night, testing the facilities. The bedside light switches, for example, have been replaced with less fiddly alternatives.

Mr Pisani said there would be no reason to think that the good fortune enjoyed by the capital’s luxury hotels should not continue for some time.