Luton Hoo celebrated its official opening in grand style on Friday, 10 April.

There was champagne and canapes, tea and fancies, a military band and the only airworthy Supermarine Spitfire MK X1 roaring across the sky doing victory rolls and wing wiggles at the end of the formalities.

More than 350 local dignitaries - including the Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, two mayors and a university dean - enjoyed champagne and canapes in the grand salons of the Mansion House, now restored to its former glory at a cost of more than £60 million.


Elite Hotels managing director Graeme Bateman admitted the company had under-estimated the challenge when they took over ownership in 1999 but promised: "Luton Hoo will continue to welcome eminent people from across the globe, as well as being a centrepiece within the community."

Leader of South Bedfordshire District Council, Norman Costin, remarked on the high standard of British craftsmanship at the hotel before Lord Lieutenant Sam Whitbread unveiled a commemorative plaque.


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