5 Unique, Exciting UK Hotel Trends To Watch For In 2017
2017 will be another record year for inbound tourism to the UK, according to forecasts from VisitBritain. Data from AM:PM indicates 7,000 new rooms will be available in 2017, with 33% of the new supply opening in the budget sector, followed by the 4-star and 5-star sectors.
New hotels facing fierce competition are offering much more than a room and board. Here are five of the most exciting hotel projects set to open in 2017, each harnessing a unique point of view that could very well spark a trend.
Four Seasons At Ten Trinity Square: Hotel And Apartments Blend
This Grade II listed building directly across from the Tower of London was built in 1922 as the headquarters of the Port of London Authority. It was badly damaged in the Blitz and after the war was redeveloped as an office for an insurance company. During the 1990s it fell into disrepair and disuse. When the newly revamped Four Seasons opens its doors this summer, it will be the first time the public has seen inside for 20 years. And it promises to be a dramatic debut. The new hotel will feature 89 rooms and 11 suites, some of which will have the original soaring ceilings and plaster works.
An Asian restaurant will serve both Chinese and Japanese fare and a second restaurant will be helmed by Chef Anne-Sophie Pic, the only French woman chef to hold three Michelin stars. The Rotunda, the hotel’s lounge and bar, rounds out the dining options.
The spa and private member’s club are reported to be the most luxurious in the city and will feature a large swimming pool, luxury hammam, a sauna and a nail salon.
41 apartments will be made available for sale for those smitten with the amenities and the central location.
L'Oscar Hotel: Ultra-Luxury In Surprising Places
Triangle Hotels and Resorts is redeveloping the historic Grade II listed site into L’Oscar Holborn, a five-storey, 40-room luxury boutique hotel with a restaurant, a spa, a gym and conference facilities.
The site is the former Baptist Church headquarters and chapel, a grand Edwardian Baroque building, which has been the subject of speculation since it was acquired in 2012. Parisian interior designer Jacques Garcia is undertaking the design of the building and is expected to be over-the-top opulent with lavishly decorated bars, restaurants and function rooms. Michelin-starred Chef Tony Fleming will head up the restaurant.
Prior to Triangle’s involvement, the site had been on the English Heritage At-Risk register for more than 20 years.
In addition to the L’Oscar Holborn, Triangle also snapped up the 3.3-acre Holborn Links Estate on behalf of Perez International for £212.5M. That portfolio includes commercial, residential, retail, education and hotel properties totalling 320k SF.
Nobu Shoreditch: Chef-Led Hotel
Trendy Shoreditch is seeing a huge boom in hotels, due to the availability of buildings and lower costs compared to central London. Chef Nobu Matsuhisa will open his first European hotel in Shoreditch in early 2017. With the backing of partner Robert De Niro, the five-storey, 156-key hotel will be built around the crown jewel: a triple height restaurant. It will also feature a pocket park. The hotel will feature banqueting and meetings rooms, and a state-of-the-art fitness centre. The concept was a success in Las Vegas, where it launched, and will bring its creative and hyper-local sensibilities to London.
In 2014, Matsuhisa told Caterer that he spent his life in hotels and the smaller details were what mattered. “The blankets, the bathrobes, the nice creams, as well as other factors like spacious rooms and getting the service right — you never wait more than 20 minutes for room service.”
Robert De Niro recently got the green light to develop his Covent Garden hotel, which is set to open in 2019.
Art'Otel London Hoxton: It's All About The Art
PPHE Hotel Group plans to develop its first Art'otel on the edge of the South Shoreditch Conservation Area, which has been earmarked for regeneration by the London Borough of Hackney for some time. The 18-storey, 350-room Art'otel London Hoxton is under construction at the junction of Old, Rivington and Great Eastern streets. The Hoxton location near the galleries and performing arts centres supplements the Art’otel concept of displaying original art throughout the hotel.
The hotel will be built around a large central atrium and feature numerous public areas, including an art-house cinema, gallery spaces for photo and video artists, and a spa and restaurant on the top floor that will be open to the public.
The artist for Art’otel London Hoxton has not yet been selected.
Lalit London: An Authentic Cultural Experience
Indian hotel company Lalit Suri Hospitality Group will open its first UK property on Queen Elizabeth Street in late January 2017, with a five-star luxury hotel that blends Indian culture and old-world British charm. Originally designed by Edward Mountford, the architect of the Old Bailey, the Grade II listed property (formerly a grammar school) will feature 70 beautifully designed rooms, each ornamented with bespoke Indian art. All the bedrooms will feature different designs, with those on the top floor boasting 30-foot-high ceilings.
Afternoon tea will be served with Indian options, such as Cutting Chai tea and samosas. The pan-Indian restaurant, Baluchi, will serve authentic, non-Angelicised food in the Great Hall where students once ate school dinners. The Great Hall’s original timber paneling, vaulted ceiling and gallery are being carefully restored.
The basement spa will offer traditional Indian ayurvedic therapies alongside yoga. The former Governors’ Room will be converted into a cocktail bar and all the fixtures and fittings will be made with Indian materials and fabrics.
Lalit London is being redeveloped and renovated by EPR Architects. The exterior of the hotel will be decorated with dramatic topiary creations and Indian stone sculptures by Parisian landscape artist Olivier Vecchierini.
