THE JOURNAL
LONDON CALLING
The hotel industry has rebounded with vigour with the fastest expansion of top-tier hotels that London has ever seen. Bethan Ryder investigates why hoteliers and developers are choosing the capital for their business ventures
have been playing real-life Monopoly with landmark London properties, resulting in a spectacular boom in luxury hotel openings. International hotel operators The Peninsula, Raffles, Park Hyatt and Hyde have already debuted in the capital, while The Six Senses and The Oberoi will arrive in 2025 and 2027, respectively. Other recent newcomers include the flamboyant Martin Brudnizki-designed The Broadwick Soho and the Maybourne Group’s stealth luxe all-suite The Emory in Knightsbridge with a slew of design luminaries attached - Rémi Tessler, Patricia Urquiola, Rigby & Rigby, Champalimaud Design and André Fu. Even stalwarts like The Ritz, The Savoy and The Dorchester are futureproofing, upgrading with lavish renovations and expansions to stay in the game.
F
ormer government embassies, an arched memorial to Queen Victoria, a palatial Edwardian retail emporium and a skinny 1960s tower – global investors and developers
This year the highly anticipated Chancery Rosewood
completes in the former US embassy in Grosvenor Square and over in Fitzrovia, the first boutique property from rookie hospitality group Kinsfolk & Co, The Newman,
"GLOBAL INVESTORS AND DEVELOPERS HAVE BEEN
PLAYING REAL-LIFE MONOPOLY WITH LANDMARK
LONDON PROPERTIES"
opens in the summer. Meanwhile, investors the Reuben Brothers, who are pumping £1 billion into regenerating the Piccadilly Estate will have to wait until autumn to enjoy the neo-classical-inspired interiors of Cambridge
House Hotel & Residences, aka the old In and Out Club on Piccadilly, and 2026 to step inside the Admiralty Arch Waldorf Astoria, the entrance to The Mall. Later gems to come include the Thomas Heatherwick reimagination of the Grade-II listed BT Tower. We’ve not seen a hotel frenzy like it since the 2012
Olympics. There are currently 1,570 hotels in London, providing 145,984 rooms, but between 2024 and 2026 a further 86 hotels are scheduled to open, adding 11,155 rooms to the city. Despite the pessimism surrounding Brexit, London remains a very desirable proposition. Paul Brackley, CEO of Kinsfolk & Co which plans to open a host of neighbourhood hotels across the city, clearly thinks so: “Cities like Paris, London, New York, Tokyo never go out of fashion, they’ll always be on people’s bucket list,” he says assuredly. “Also, many people travel to London regularly, whether for business or pleasure. There’s a degree of familiarity, comfort and confidence about coming here and experiencing the
ABOVE: Several luxury hotel groups have recently made their debut in London. The Park Hyatt London River Thames is part of the recently developed Nine Elms neighbourhood, and includes the Tamisé wine library and tea lounge pictured
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