A clue to the Courthouse hotel's grisly history lies in its name, and past visitors to London's second oldest magistrates court weren't necessarily willing ones. 

Charles Dickens once worked here as a reporter, and Napoleon III appeared as a witness in a fraud case.  Former 'guests' include Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Johnny Rotten and John Lennon, all of whom spent a night in the cells, awaiting their turn before the beak. 

In 1998 the former Great Marlborough Street magistrates court closed its doors to miscreants and a few years later, reopened as the luxury five-star Courthouse Kempinski hotel.  Today's guests attend court not through obligation, but of their own volition.  Sir Mick hasn't been back since the Courthouse became a hotel, but it's not short of celebrity visitors.  These days though, one's more likely to rub shoulders with David Hasselhoff, U2 or the Sugababes.  We missed Daniel Craig (aka James Bond) by a mere 24 hours.

Many features of the former court have been retained, including the glorious façade; the institutional entrance hall; elements of No 1 court and upstairs, the former judges' robing rooms and Police Commissioner's residence, now housing the hotel's thirteen gorgeous suites. 

The remaining 103 guest rooms occupy a brand new wing built behind the court on the site of the original police station, shooting range and main cell block.

Despite the somewhat forbidding entrance hall, the twenty-first century is immediately in evidence at reception and in the modern lobby lounge, which during our stay, always seemed busy with business types conducting mini-meetings.