No limit ! This is the expression that comes to mind when reviewing the latest hotels opened in London. In the capital of cool and eccentricity, no one is surprised to see a decorator hanging the portrait of an English lord on a flashy orange wall or combining a Pierre Frey fabric with a sketch by Andy Warhol. And the best part is that boldness pays off and the result is often very attractive! From Mayfair to Notting Hill, from Paddington to Chelsea, an overview of the most unique new hotels where you can book, depending on your budget, a cabin, a room, a suite or a penthouse.
Invent a story at the Grand Hotel Bellevue
Inaugurated last March, the first foreign opus of the French group Lignée (which already owns the Narcisse blanc in Paris, the Yndo Hotel in Bordeaux, etc.) occupies two narrow Victorian buildings with columns and balustrades, on the edge of the very stylish Norfolk Square. . Hyde Park and Paddington Station are a five-minute walk away. It’s hard to get more London! The designer Fabrizio Casiraghi, a Milanese based in Paris, imagined for this project the home of an English couple, he, an elegant, classic aristocrat, she, an art collector, willingly fanciful. A daring but successful marriage of genres, from the reception, between the woodwork as gleaming as that of a Riva and the bright orange walls. At the cocktail bar, where the Art Deco fireplace interacts with the embroidered tapestries representing exotic animals. Then in the 60 rooms, from the tiny “cabin” to the suite, whose sober furniture and paintings contrast with the flamboyant colors of the bathroom tiles.
From €250, grandhotelbellevuelondon.com
Seal the cordial agreement at Sloane
Destroy everything, except the facade, to rebuild better: this is the bias of the French architect-decorator François-Joseph Graf, commissioned to carry out the ambitious London project of Jean-Louis Costes, ambassador of Parisian chic, at the head of a hotel and restaurant empire very popular in the fashion world. For six years, the interiors of this 19th century Victorian mansion, in the upscale Chelsea district, were reproduced identically and enriched thanks to the intervention of the most beautiful art craft houses, particularly French: Meriguet -Carrère for the decorations and gilding, Le Manach for the woven fabrics, the Ateliers Loire for the stained glass windows…
Sophisticated and deliciously glamorous, the lobby-vestibule and the library on the ground floor, the speakeasy bar in the basement, the restaurant on the 6th floor created from scratch and the 30 rooms are all precious settings which reserve their lot of surprises: intimate lounges, trompe-l’oeil, mirrors hiding a door, “love” button near the beds to create a romantic atmosphere… A curiosity!
From €500, atsloane.com
Immerse yourself in an urban oasis at 1 Hotel Mayfair
After the United States and Canada, and before Paris, the 1 Hotels group chose London for its first establishment in Europe. In the strategic Mayfair district, it maintains its guidelines: inviting nature into the city, encouraging energy savings and recycling. Demonstration from the lobby with an impressive green wall, a suspension composed by the architect Patrick Nadeau from 50,000 plant stems, a 200-year-old oak tree sculpted on site as a desk and behind it, an old stone wall which had fallen apart in Yorkshire and was reconstituted here. The farm-to-table cuisine, the interior design and even the works of art, mainly in wood, the Bamford spa, an ethical English brand… everything has been designed with an ecology in mind, even in the bathrooms of the 181 rooms, where an hourglass reminds you that you should not spend more than five minutes in the shower.
From €800, 1hotels.com
Dare to mix and match au Broadwick Soho
Like its neighborhood, Soho, and its owners, a group of five friends keen on art and design, this new boutique hotel has quite a character. The Swedish interior designer Martin Brudnizki brought his extravagance, his sense of maximalist staging as much as detail. Works by Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol, Murano glass lamps, Deruta ceramics and Pierre Frey rugs adorn the floors, from the Nook lounge to the Flute rooftop bar-restaurant, including the 57 rooms. A real hotel UFO, opulent and colorful, pop and retro.
From €550, broadwicksoho.com
Find calm at The Lost Poet
Love at first sight in Notting Hill! This tiny town house, next to the one where George Orwell lived, evokes the setting of the romantic comedy with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. All around, pubs, wine bars, designer showrooms, charity shops and the famous Portobello Market. In the four rooms, all different and served by a narrow wooden staircase, it is a joyful patchwork of antique trinkets, patterned wallpaper, geometric tiles, yellow, green or pink walls and works of art. wacky. To book as a priority: The Muse, the duplex with claw-foot bathtub in the bedroom, cozy lounge and flowered terrace at roof level. An intimate, poetic and very local address.
From €460, thelostpoet.co.uk
Meet up with insiders at The Twenty Two
Located in the very chic Mayfair, this luxurious hotel recently opened in a beautiful Edwardian mansion has adopted the “Come as you are” formula. It houses 31 rooms and suites, three of which are duplex and another with a breathtaking view of Grosvernor Square, an independent house to rent, a library bar that is both cozy and trendy, another outdoor bar, a renowned restaurant and a private club. Artists, designers, top models and VIPs assiduously frequent the places decorated by Natalia Miyar, who was inspired by the classic French style of the 18th century, with taffeta curtains, saturated velvets, beveled mirrors and dark joinery. Theatrical as can be!
From €600, thetwentytwo.com
Take a design lesson at The Emory
In addition to the illustrious Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley, the Maybourne group has just inaugurated its fourth London palace, The Emory, in the Knightsbridge district. The posthumous work of architect Sir Richard Rogers (with his associate Ivan Harbour), it has only suites, 60 in total, including a spectacular penthouse, a four-level spa with a 22-metre indoor swimming pool and a supervised restaurant by the iconic French chef from New York, three-starred, Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Each floor was entrusted to an interior designer… and again, not the least: Alexandra Champalimaud, André Fu, Pierre-Yves Rochon, Rémi Tessier and Patricia Urquiola. The highlight of the show is the rooftop with bar and cigar cellar, with a 360-degree view of the city… and access reserved for hotel guests only.
From €2,350 per night in a suite, the-emory.co.uk
More info on visitlondon.com et visitbritain.com
