The Midland Hotel Manchester is a grand hotel in Manchester, England. Opened in 1903, it was built by the Midland Railway to serve Manchester Central railway station, its northern terminus for its rail services to London St Pancras. It faces onto St Peter's Square. The hotel was designed by Charles Trubshaw in Edwardian Baroque style and is a Grade II* listed building. History Built at the junction of Peter Street and Lower Mosley Street opposite Manchester Central railway station, terminus for Midland Railway express trains to London St Pancras, the hotel was designed by Charles Trubshaw and constructed between 1898 and 1903 for the Midland Railway Company at a cost of more than £1 million. In 1908 The Railway News reported that the hotel had over 70,000 guests in its first year and described it as a "Twentieth century palace". The hotel had a 1,000-seat purpose-built theatre where opera, drama and early Annie Horniman performances were staged, and a roof terrace where a string quartet performed. The Midland Hotel was allegedly coveted by Adolf Hitler, who maintained a keen interest in architecture, as a possible Nazi headquarters in Britain. American intelligence speculated that the area of Manchester around the town hall was spared from bombing during the Second World War so as not to damage or destroy the Midland Hotel. Charles Rolls met Henry Royce in the Midland Hotel, leading to the formation of Rolls-Royce Limited in 1904. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother dined in the hotel's Trafford Restaurant in November 1959 after attending a Royal Variety Performance at the Palace Theatre. The Beatles were famously refused access to the French Restaurant for being "inappropriately dressed". Architecture The Midland has a steel structure clad in red brick, brown terracotta and several varieties of polished granite and Burmantofts terracotta to withstand the polluted environment of Manchester. This includes some fine modelled panels by the sculptor Edward Caldwell Spruce. The building shares some similarity with other highly decorative Edwardian Baroque buildings in Manchester such as London Road Fire Station and Lancaster House. The building has been designated a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage. The building was voted Greater Manchester's second-favourite building by readers of the Manchester Evening News in 2012. Once known as the Crowne Plaza Manchester – The Midland, it was bought by the Paramount Hotel Group (now Barcelo UK) in 2004. It was upgraded in a £12 million