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It's just over halfway through the seven-year renovation project, and the team have adopted unusual measures to make way for the next stage of the audacious build – a four-storey roof extension. Meanwhile, below ground, the basement reaches its fifth and deepest level after overcoming the challenges of groundwater and an underground river.

But then disaster strikes as world events intervene. The Covid-19 pandemic forces the hotel to close for the first time in over a century as well as derailing plans to complete the building work on time.