Built on the former Freeman Hardy and Willis site. It has had many changes of ownership and names, not originally known as a pub although it had its own residents’ bar, in fact Leicester C.A.M.R.A held its early annual beer festivals here.
In the 1990s, various attempts were made to gain trade. Bars fronting Humberstone Gate were opened and closed in quick succession. Strikes in 1996, the Cockpit in 1997, Vibes in 1998 and Red Rooster a year later. There may have been more.
The International Hotel with its 177 rooms in its thirteen stories had its own bar, but after a promising start fell into hard times in the 1980s.
The hotel went through many guises from its inception in 1962. In the 1970s it was called the Centre Hotel, housing a Bier Keller.
The International has had a sorry history in recent years. It has been an exhibition centre, conference centre and night club. It has had its own cinema, health club, offices, warehouse, and used for housing asylum seekers. In 1997, an application was made for demolition, but was still standing. In 2011, applied to turn into students flats. By 2014, the building was no further forward, now partly derelict and an eye sore.
