But what I love most about hotels is that during the brief occasions when I fall out of love with the lobby, I can leave without ever having to go beyond its periphery.
If, as I once read, a motel is a cross between a car and a parking lot, how can we define a hotel? Depending on its use, it might be called a cross between an airplane and a travel brochure or, as is increasingly the case, a cross between an airplane and an office. For many people, including me, rather than a place to lie back and take it easy, today’s hotel is a working environment, "the office away from the office," the venue for a business meeting, large or small — a get-together over coffee, a conference, a congress — and the hoped-for result: sealing a deal.
As recently as 10 years ago, new hotels in London were little more than jumped-up beds and breakfasts. Travelers consider themselves pampered if they bagged a power shower and a king-sized bed. Fast forward to the turn of the century. When no one was looking, London became the hotel capital of Europe. Consider the cast. Leading roles go to design doyen Terence Conran, to neo-traditionalist British tastemaker Kit Kemp, and to Philippe Starck and Ian Schraeger, the Franco-American team for whom a good gag is as important as a good pillow. They say there’s no place like home. But these days, there’s no place like a London hotel.
Whether their emphasis is on design, lifestyle, service or publicity, designer hotels definitely surpass their "traditional" cousins in accessing a greater variety of media outlets. Smart-set sleepovers are a hot item in the art and design, the lifestyle and the travel media, who do features in newspapers and magazines, as well as special announcements and surveys. It is easier for designer hotels to do a media launch, even as the newness of the labeling wears thin.
Meanwhile, buzzwords and jargon abound – cutting-edge, stealth wealth, lifestyle and the local scene meet and mix with familiar old-timers like home and love – some with a ring that routes us back to Starck and Schraeger in the '80s and mid '90s. Yet while hotel design has become more and more high-profile, how does a setting saturated in style provide a hotel with "added value"? And can the whole concept go overboard?
The Great Eastern is one of the grand hotels of the golden age of rail travel, incorporating all the gilt-edged trappings of an opulent era. Built in 1894 by Charles Barry, the sprawling, red brick behemoth is a physical component of Liverpool Street Station — the mainline station for the East of England.
In its infancy, the hotel included an Elizabethan-style bar– which has been described as one of the finest examples of turn-of-the-century Elizabethan revivalism. Underground train access, 150 guest rooms and nine Masonic temples. How then were they able to turn a 19th-century hotel into a 21st-century hotel? This was the late 20th-century question that faced the Manser Practice and Conran & Partners when they came together to renovate London’s Grade II-listed hotel.
In 1996, the architect inherited a run-down shell of a building, which had not been touched for over 50 years. When the hotel’s owner saw how much restaurant space was on the ground floor, he called on Terence Conran, who took part in the project and drafted in Conran & Partners as interior designer. From there, the project evolved into a joint venture. Manser effectively created the canvas for Conran’s interior design and hotel concept.
The most significant structural interventions are apparent in the sleek, wood-paneled lobby. The entrance was moved along Liverpool Street. The full-height shaft for the lift was inserted in its place. Previously, the lift-shaft was located on the Western Wing, and extended only to the third floor, making the upper storeys inaccessible. Locating the lift shaft in the Eastern Wing has made both the basement levels and two upper storeys accessible from an individual shaft.
The first floor atrium is the Great Eastern’s "benchmark." It functions as the lobby to the hotel’s conference suite. With a wall-height projection screen, it incorporates the "Beachy Deck" café — first of many themed bars and restaurants throughout the ground and first floors.
The sleekness of the 267 guest rooms deliver all we’ve come to expect from a modern designer-master merchandiser. The hotel speaks of great taste. Conran took inspiration from the luxury of early 20th century first-class rail carriages. Stained hardwood and stainless steel fixtures and fittings are flushed to the walls; all contents have a clear and streamlined purpose; and superfluous decoration has been kept to an absolute minimum. No two rooms are the same, although those in the two upper storeys, which have been almost totally rebuilt, have a fresher, lighter feel than the ornately Victorian lower storeys. Icon worshipers are guaranteed to drool over the Eames EA106 chairs and Jacobsen’s chrome-plated architect’s lamps. Other touches make clever reference to the glory days of train travel. A white cotton antimacassar hangs over a metal pole at each bedhead, and the leather writing surface on a black walnut desk lifts to disclose a mirror and hair dryer. Rooms also nod to the neighborhood dress code: Upholstery is done in traditional men’s suiting fabrics – pinstripes, houndstooth, herringbone, and Prince of Wales checks.
Though the amenities attached to the Great Eastern Hotel boast "modern service and classic values" it is still in gamble mode. Its geography is the biggest drawback factor. The hotel and its four restaurants and three bars have their work cut out for them. In fact, the Great Eastern Hotel is one of only three hotels in London’s financial district. Many consider this nosebleed territory. Have you ever tried asking friends who live in Kensington to meet for a drink in the city?
Public relations have been quite persuasive in enticing people to the Great Eastern, to Hoxton and Shoreditch, two districts with exploding art scenes, and the presence of a Louis Vuitton outpost. They want you to believe that the city is the new Notting Hill, but the jury is out. For most Londoners, the claim remains a stretch.
Located at Liverpool St. Tel No. +44 207 618 5000. Fax No. +44 207 618 5001. Doubles from $360.
Charlotte Street is situated in North SoHo, close to Bloomsbury, the legendary creative center for bohemian authors and artists. Nearby stands the former site of the Omega Workshops, where well-known 20th-century English artists, such as Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, developed a style of naive surface decoration, color and pattern, which they applied to everything from textiles and tiles, to carpets, woodcuts and hand-painted furniture. They led the way for a whole range of design stores that are open here, now, more than 80 years later, including Sir Terence Conran’s Habitat, Heals, Paperchase, and Purves & Purves on Tottenham Court Road.
Charlotte Street caught the eye of Tim and Kit Kemp, the well-known entrepreneur-design team, who since 1985 have created six other boutique hotels across London, including Covent Garden Hotel which is favored by the film, fashion and celebrity set for its warm, decorative, country house interiors.
Industry eyes are trained on Charlotte Street because of Firmdale’s amazing track record. In 1985 the company gave London its first country-house hotel, the Dorset Square. At the Covent Garden Hotel, which opened in 1996, Kit Kemp proved there was life for traditional English decoration after squishy dog-friendly sofas. She showed that it could be modern, fresh, young — even a little zingy.
Since Charlotte Street opened its doors late last year, actors like Meg Ryan, Russel Crowe and Sophie Dahl have been seen there. What everyone seems to favor is the slightly bohemian edge to the neighborhood while still enjoying its proximity to Covent Garden, shopping on Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road.
At Charlotte Street, the designer combines ethnic touches with the British appreciation for comfort and propriety, guests benefit from Kemp’s hungry talent in approaching rooms intuitively. After touring Rothchild’s Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire not long ago, Kemp was immediately able to identify what makes the house tick. Each room had one big, ugly piece of furniture that anchored it and made it wonderful.
Bloomsbury has inspired Kit Kemp’s interior design, which has given new life to what was once a dental warehouse and now comprises 52 luxury hotel rooms – including 44 bedrooms and four suites. In the drawing room are Matisse-inspired artworks by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and Bloomsbury-style standard lamps with woodprint, and hand-painted furniture. These classic elements are balanced with modern decorative pieces such as simple, bold vases and bedside lamps.
Guest rooms are what make the hotel special as all are individually decorated with eclectic furniture and design details, and superb fabrics by leading British design houses Osborne & Little, Designers Guild and Colefax & Fowler. As well as modern facilities including digital televisions, CD and DVD players, and desks with computer modem ports. There are quirky touches such as a mannequin covered in the signature fabric of every room, and a '40s style Roberts radios. Modern services are balanced with old-world collectibles. Bathrooms are big and beautiful with every luxury including cast-iron tubs and heated mirrors to prevent misting.
Vic Casim of the Philippine Trade Commission says, "Rooms are so inviting you would like to have them in your own house. There are lots of fabrics — beautiful traditional English prints, yet everything is uncluttered and fresh. It is contemporary while offering all the creature comforts."
The spacious, oak-lined reception area leads to the brasserie, Oscar, with its welcoming bar and open, stainless steel kitchen. A mural by Alexander Hollweg is a clever update of Bloomsbury artist Roger Fry’s 1916 frescoes, Scene of London Life. Executive chef Walter Thrupp, who was previously at Daphne’s restaurant, serves such light, modern food as antipasto salad of summer vegetables and marinated piccolo mozzarella, lamb with vegetable crust and pesto potatoes, and baked apple pie with cinnamon mousse.
Located at 15 Charlotte St. Tel. no. 800 553 6674. Fax no. 22-207 806 2002. Doubles from $290.