At the end of the 19th century, on the site of the hotel stood the Tarnowski Palace, which housed the public institutions. The building was purchased in 1898 by Ignacy Paderewski, Stanisław Roszkowski and Edmund Zaremba, who did so with the intention of building a hotel.
The project was done in an art-nouveau style, and designed by Tadeusz Stryjeński and Franciszek Mączyński but was converted by Władysław Marconi. He changed the style of the neo-Renaissance facade, and gave the whole building a monumental character. The final art-nouveau design was done by Otto Wagner (the younger). The hotel opened in November 1901, and had many amenities which were rare at that time, including electricity, central heating, ventilation and lifts. The hotel had 200 rooms on four floors. The Bristol changed the entire appearance of Krakowskie Przedmieście and led to the reconstruction of Karowa Street.After the country regained its independence, the hotel became the scene of many political debates and events. It was here that in 1923, Józef Piłsudski announced that it was withdrawing from political life. At the beginning of World War II the building housed a hospital.The building was barely damaged during the Warsaw Uprising. After the war, the Bank Cukrownictwa took over ownership, then it was owned by Orbis. Because the contractor did not complete the planned refurbishment, in 1973 the Bristol Hotel temporarily declined in hotel ranking and became a 2nd category hotel. In 1981 the entire facility was closed and repairs and renovations went on for many years. The grand opening took place in 1993, and was attended by Margaret Thatcher.