September 20th, 2011 
admin The historic Best Western Midland Hotel was opened in 1841 for ‘Accommodation of the Gentry and Nobility’. During the 1840′s Queen Victoria visited the hotel several time and a suite of rooms was made for her. Other visitors in those early years would have been local Derbyshire gentry perhaps travelling to and from London on the newly opened L.M.S. Railway.
The hotel also has a long association with Rolls Royce. In 1913 Claude Johnson a Senior Manager with Rolls Royce kept a permanent ‘suite’ at the hotel as he was such a regular visitor. From 1921 through to 1945 most Rolls Royce A.G.M. meetings were held at The Midland, along with numerous other meetings and dinners.
A far cry from those days, The Midland has undergone an extensive remodelling and refurbishment programme over the last few years which reflect its opulent Victorian Heritage. As Derby’s premier hotel, our restaurant, ‘The Wyvern’, is noted for serving the finest English and Continental Cuisine which is complemented by an excellent wine cellar. For semi private dinning the fully air conditioned Mirror Room to the rear of the Restaurant is the ideal choice. Our resident pianist entertains on the Grand Piano most evenings in the Lounge Bar, where guests can relax with their favourite drink.
Derby has much to offer the visitor these days from smart boutiques and speciality shops, cafes, bars and clubs through to excellent theatre and entertainment. The nearby Derbyshire countryside is some Britain’s best also famous for its ‘Well Dressings’ – an ancient art thought to date back to the middle ages.
Getting here could not be easier. Situated in the heart of the United Kingdom, ‘at the crossroads of England’.
The New Forest area is also full of historical wonder. It was originally created by William the Conqueror in 1079 to be his royal hunting ground. Later his son, William II, was killed nearby inMinstead. It also played an integral part in the Second World War. Its wide open spaces were used for airfields to get many of Britain’s planes into the air.
