This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
RECEPTION


Welcome London’s hotels are like its buses. You wait for ages,


then ten of them arrive in quick succession. Activity has recently started again on some significant projects that looked to have been mothballed.


COVER STORY: Hotel Verta is von Essen Group’s first London hotel, and its first newbuild property. The restaurant has stunning views of the River Thames and overlooks the adjacent Battersea Heliport, allowing guests to watch the helicopters as they come in to land.


The Kuwaiti owners of Grosvenor House Apartments have secured fresh financing from Lloyds TSB. Sol Melia have acquired the Marconi House site – originally designed by Foster & Partners for Silken Hotels, but only half built – for the London launch of their ME brand. Singapore based KOP are reported to be in talks to take on the hotel at Ten Trinity Square. In the past few weeks, emails have dropped into my inbox announcing Woods Bagot’s appointment as architects for Firmdale’s Ham Yard hotel, and Anoushka Hempel has just bought Blakes back. Luxury properties such as W Leicester Square, St Pancras Renaissance, and Corinthia London are all shaping up for an early 2011 launch. At the budget end of the scale, Travelodge hope to have added a planned 2,800 beds to the capital’s hotel stock by the end of the year. CitizenM are soon to join recently launched Tune Hotels as new entrants with an innovative product. Personally, I am looking forward to the launch of the St John hotel by chef Fergus Henderson and restaurateur Trevor Gulliver, scheduled for December. But perhaps the most exciting development of all is Prime Development’s forthcoming Bvlgari hotel. I recently had the pleasure of meeting Prime Developments’ chairman Lord Puttnam at their Knightsbridge HQ. They are keeping their powder dry as far as publicity is concerned at present, but suffice it to say they are taking their entry into London’s luxury hotel market very seriously, and have assembled a crack team for the project, all of whom are working from the same building from day one. Puttnam likens the process to film-making, his role being to assemble the talent and get the best out of them. It’s a refreshing approach for an industry where projects tend to be put together by disparate groups of clients, practioners and consultants, often working with different agendas. But the Bvlgari bus has all its passengers on board from the start of the journey, going to the same destination.


Matt Turner - Editor WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2010 019


Front Desk


Editor Matt Turner m.turner@mondiale.co.uk


Assistant Editor Catherine Martin c.martin@mondiale.co.uk


International Advertising Sales Stephen Quiligotti s.quiligotti@mondiale.co.uk


Advertising Sales Becky Thomas r.thomas@mondiale.co.uk


Design Dave Bell d.bell@mondiale.co.uk


Advertising Production Dan Seaton d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk


Finance Director Amanda Giles a.giles@mondiale.co.uk


Accounts Donna Barlow d.barlow@mondiale.co.uk


Faye Riley f.riley@mondiale.co.uk


Marketing & Subscriptions Laura McLaughlin l.mclaughlin@mondiale.co.uk


Chairman Damian Walsh d.walsh@mondiale.co.uk


Publishers Sleeper Magazine Ltd Waterloo Place, Watson Square Stockport, UK, SK1 3AZ Tel: +44 (0)161 476 8390 Fax: +44 (0)161 429 7214 www.sleepermagazine.com


Retail Cover Price (where sold): £7.95 Annual Subscription Rates: (6 issues) UK: £63.00 Europe: £78.80 Rest of World: £105 [$168] Two year rates available on request Back Issues: (subject to availability) UK: £10.00 Europe: £12.50 Rest of World: £17.00


To subscribe visit: www.sleepermagazine.com


or call +44 (0)161 476 8395 Sleeper (ISSN 1476 4075) is published bi-monthly by Mondiale Publishing Limited, Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, United Kingdom


The 2010 US Institutional subscription price is $165 Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business C/O Worldnet Shipping USA inc., 149-35 177th Street, Jamaica, New York, NY11434


Us Postmaster: Send address changes to Sleeper C/O Air Business Ltd/ C/O Worldnet Shipping USA Inc., 149-35 177th Street, Jamaica, New York, NY11434


Subscription records are maintained at Mondiale Publishing Limited, Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, United Kingdom


Printed By Buxton Press


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196