More than 20 years after closing its doors, the Playboy Club in Park Lane is to be reborn as a hotel.

Westminster council has granted planning permission to redevelop the London outpost of Hugh Hefner's empire, which operated as a club and casino between 1966 and 1982.

The venue's clientele included Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Joan Collins and George Best, all waited on by bunny girl waitresses.

Now developer The Dorchester Collection will turn the building into a yet-to-be-named 48-room hotel.

The drab concrete-clad building will not be demolished. But its exterior will be revamped and the interiors given an art deco theme.

The designs have been drawn up by New York-based architect Thierry W Despont, who has created homes for Bill Gates and Calvin Klein and collaborated on the Getty Centre galleries in Los Angeles.

Mr Despont aims to improve the building's energy performance by 70 per cent and reduce its carbon emissions by 41 per cent.

Robert Davis, Westminster council's cabinet member for planning, said: "This new design should restore elegance to the site and will be in keeping with the other architecturally stunning buildings in the vicinity."

Work is due to start early next year at an undisclosed cost after the decision last week.

The Playboy Club was a favourite of celebrities and high rollers and became one of the landmarks of Sixties London.

Victor Lownes, now 80, who ran the venue, said: "It was a huge success. The average bunny lasted two years and then married a millionaire."

The club was closed after a police raid investigating allegations of suspected gambling irregularities which were never proven.

The Dorchester Collection owns and manages The Dorchester in London, The Beverly Hills Hotel in California, Le Meurice and Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, and the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan.

Chief executive Christopher Cowdray said: "All our hotels have their own style of individuality and this will be no exception. We have ambitious plans for growth and are targeting 15 hotels in the next 5-10 years."

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