Though you might not guess it from the rather damp weather plaguing London at the tail-end of May, summer is in fact just around the corner. That means summer festivals, picnics in the park, sporting events galore and a wide range of seasonal offerings from the capital’s many boutique hotels. Here we look at what’s been going on in London’s boutique hotel scene in May, and glance towards the (hopefully) sunnier month ahead.
The Evening Standard has recently featured a number of boutique hotels in its piece on ‘London’s hot new hotel hangouts’. According to the newspaper, “hotels are simply the hottest places to see and be seen in London,” citing the London Edition as a prime example. It also looks ahead at the ‘much-anticipated’ Hoxton Hotel, the Ham Yard Hotel and the Beaumont. The latter it describes as, “a boutique number in an old Art Deco parking garage in Mayfair.”
The Ham Yard Hotel is set to open imminently, with an official opening date of June 1st. The hotel is the Firmdale group’s eighth London property, and will have 91 bedrooms that have been individually designed, as well as 24 residential departments. The site will also feature a selection of shops, a restaurant, theatre and other amenities.
Check rates at the Ham Yard Hotel
May saw the announcement of yet another upcoming new boutique hotel. Though it’s not expected to open until 2016, the Nobu Hotel Shoreditch is already causing quite a stir. The hotel will be located on Willow Street and is expected to have 156 rooms. It will be the first European hotel by acclaimed Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s Nobu Hospitality Group, and will feature food exclusively created by Matsuhisa himself.
Some might wonder if citizenM might be spurred on to open further properties in London, if comments made by the group’s founder Rattan Chadha are anything to go by. Speaking to Inc. magazine, Mr Chadha bemoaned the fact that citizenM Glasgow has attracted the wrong kind of clientele. “When the bars close, [the guests] bring the party back to the hotel,” said Chadha, “That’s not what we intended. Every evening we have someone falling down the stairs.” He also points out that when the group first bought the Glasgow property they had considered London property prices to be too high.
Some boutique hotels have created special offerings for Father’s Day (June 15th). The Milestone Hotel recently unveiled its Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea which will be available throughout June. Early reservation is advisable.
Check rates at the Milestone Hotel
A unique twist on a London hotel favourite, the afternoon tea will feature pork pies, pasties and other snacks that the hotel says will ‘satisfy the gusto of all men’. For an added cost, unlimited tea can be accompanied by three ales or three whiskies, as preferred. Prices start from £39.50.
Red Carnation, the hotel group behind the Milestone, have been taking a closer look at one of London’s most popular summer activities – getting married. The group’s blog examined ‘The Best Churches to Get Married in London’, including Holy Trinity Sloane Square, St Martin in the Fields and the majestic Westminster Cathedral.
The W London Leicester Square Hotel recently partnered with Clerkenwell Design Week, which took place between 20th and 22nd May. The hotel developed and judged a competition which challenged designers to create a bespoke drinking vessel for its ‘Fabulous’ rooms. The winning design is set to be used in the hotel from July onwards.
On June 14th-15th, several London hotels will be taking part in the annual Open Garden Squares Weekend, which opens more than 200 normally private gardens across London to the public. The Grange White Hall Hotel on Montague Street will be opening its garden to visitors, as will the K +K Hotel George on Templeton Place.
Check rates at the Grange White Hall Hotel
In May, The Montcalm played host to the 2014 Boutique and Lifestyle Hotel Summit. Delegates took a tour of the Eccleston Square Hotel and the Belgraves Hotel, before getting stuck into keynote speeches and discussions. The major soundbite of the event came from designer Ilse Crawford, who took part in a panel session entitled ‘Beyond Boutique’. She pointed out that, “hotels are about making the normal special.” You can read a full roundup of the event over at Boutique Hotel News.
The line-up for hotel design event Sleep 2014 was also announced this month, and will include Stylt Trampoli’s take on the Sleep Bar – a unique design space intended to wow. Exhibition stands look to be busier than ever, while the event will also host the Sleep Set – a challenge to design a guestroom inspired by the concept of ‘simplexity’. Sleep will take place on the 26th and 27th of November.
Finally, according to figures from hotel.info, hotel room prices in London have remained stable over the past year. A comparison between March 2013 and March 2014 saw an increase of less than 1%, compared to almost 19% in Birmingham. Recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics meanwhile have shown that over a million more international visitors came to London in 2013 than during the Olympic/Jubilee year.
Search for a London hotel – Book Now, Pay When you Stay
Photo credits: Duncan Harris, Ham Yard Hotel, The Milestone, Grange White Hall.