The 1930s started poorly for the hotel. On January 23, 1931, ballerina Anna Pavlova died in her room (where now the reception area stands) from pneumonia. A salon on the ground floor was later renamed after her. A few months later, while hosting the celebrations for the 73rd birthday of Queen Mother Emma, the wiring for some of the event's lighting short circuited and caused a fire that gutted the third floor and damaged the roof. Rey seized the opportunity during the reconstruction to add a fourth floor that was once planned but, up until then, never realized.
