Mr Brewitt said he was proud to have completed the makeover in the midst of the worst recession for decades: “We first opened in the best of times when the economy was booming,” he said.

“But the expansion has been completed in one of the worst recessions.”

The addition of 41 bedrooms means that the hotel now has a total of 89 rooms. Three existing suites have been stripped out to create three new ones.

Creative director Mary Colston said she was anxious to dispel any preconceptions that the hotel was suitable only for celebrities or the very rich. She said: “We are accessible, local and private, not big and corporate or posh and expensive.

“The variety of people who come here is quite staggering – from education, the arts, and music, to those in business or research.

“The hotel offer in the city has improved tremendously in the last five to six years.”

The extension repeats the original building’s most dramatic design feature – a central solid oak staircase which runs through the height of the new building.

Ms Colston added: “A favourite addition is the handsome new slate doorway between our award-winning restaurant The London Carriageworks and our lovely new entrance. With this physical connection, there is now an exciting new dynamic for guests and diners alike.”

The expansion was carried out with the help of Liverpool-based architects Falconer Chester Hall and was led by John Roberts, whose previous projects include the London Eye.