The Magnificent medieval great hall, the beautifully paneled dining room and the art deco style interior of the chambers with beautiful lighting creates a living museum with a glowing ambiance of a perfect collaboration of the old and new, creating a time warp to the 1300s to enjoy and experience for the visitors of the 21st century. The stunning entrance hall, the luxurious gold-plated bathroom are highlights of the palace while the extensive gardens and surrounding moat are a peaceful walk and ideal for picnics. Eltham Palace was first built in the 1300s by Edward II and used as a royal residence till the mid 1600s and was a popular destination among royals for hunting trips due to the extensive gardens and the deer residing within it, as well as played host to parties and foreign monarchs visiting England such as Manuel II Palaiologos, the only Byzantine emperor to visit England. The Great Hall was built in 1470 by Edward IV and still stands today along with some of the older smaller structures in ruins scattered across the gardens, a jousting tilt yard and a medieval bridge across the moat. It was later abandoned and left to the cobwebs and creepers and was remodeled and refurbished by Stephen and Virginia Courtauld in 1933 in the beautiful art deco styled interiors. Only the great hall stood then and they added the rest to make it the spectacle we see today. In 1945 with the war, the house was damaged and was taken over by the Royal Army Educational Corps and remained till 1992 when it was taken over by English Heritage and opened to the public. The Eltham Palace has appeared in the silver screen a number of times on movies such as Bright Young Things, The Gathering Storm, The Truth, Gucci by Gucci, Parachute and many more. It is also on the list of haunted houses as a ghost of a staff member has apparently been conducting tours when actually the house should have been empty. The hall is also the largest in England after the Westminster Hall and free audio tours are available and well worth the visit. The Eltham Palace is less than an hour away from any Central London Hotel and easily accessible by rail or road. Metropolitan London is a London luxury hotel that offers exemplary services and is a home away from home.
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