Dorchester auctions 2,000 ‘cut-price’ items

THE Dorchester Hotel is auctioning sofas, paintings and safes in a sale that will give buyers the chance to turn their home into a five-star hotel.

Open for 91 years, the hotel on Park Lane in London is famed for hosting the rich and famous. Prince Philip held his bachelor party on the eve of his wedding to the Queen in the hotel’s Park Suite, while more recent guests have included Kate Moss and Tom Cruise.

Now, an auction of 2,000 fixtures and fittings is taking place as the hotel undergoes its biggest renovation for three decades.

Items range from the Dorchester Lion Mask bins from about £20 each to a Georgian camel-back sofa that’s expected to make in excess of £5,000. Simon Rose, of Pro Auctions, said it contained some beautiful reproduction furniture designed in Georgian style.

He said: “These pieces will sell for a fraction of the originals but nothing is lost in the quality or style.”

Pro Auctions will be leading the sale, set to take place on 21 and 22 June.