LuLu Group International, led by Indian-origin billionaire MA Yusuff Ali, will shortly open their 'Great Scotland Yard Hotel' to the public. The seven-storey iconic luxury hotel was once the headquarters of London's metropolitan police force.

After completing a $99 million refurbishment programme, the luxury hotel will be launched later in 2019 and will be operated by Hyatt. To spend a night here, one may have to shell out nearly Rs 75 lakh.

Ali, a Kerala-born businessman based in Abu Dhabi, bought the grand property from British developer Galliard Homes in July 2015. Hospitality design firm Hirsch Bedner Associates had a tough task ahead of them as they had to turn 153 units of the building into hotel rooms. Some of the rooms were earlier jail cells. Apparently, it has been designed keeping in mind the building's military history.

It will have a signature restaurant headed by Chef Robin Gill. Some of the rooms have a view of the Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.

"Galliard has delivered one of London's most outstanding five-star hotels. With its iconic address and famous history, the hotel's interior design cleverly references the building's police and military past through the use of shields, emblems and historic details etched into glass and metal work," Stephen Conway, Executive Chairman of the Galliard group, had earlier said.

The LuLu group runs the biggest mall in Kochi along with 130 outlets of LuLu Hypermarket, a supermarket chain. It has heavily investments in India and across the Middle East.