There are few more quintessentially British travel experiences than pulling up outside a London hotel in a black cab and having your bags taken in by a smartly dressed porter, before walking into a towering lobby that makes your eyes bulge. That’s how I arrive at The London Edition, the second of a new collection of lifestyle hotels created by legendary hotelier and nightclub owner Ian Schrager and Marriott International.
Ornate stucco ceilings, green velvet sofas, marble columns and a back-lit bar beneath a wall of mirrors greet me as I walk through the doors of 10 Berners Street in smart Fitzrovia, an affluent neighbourhood in central London. The lobby, which has the feel of an eccentric living room, is reflected by a two-metre orb that hangs from the ceiling, the work of artist Ingo Maurer. To the left, a portrait of photographer Hendrik Kerstens’ daughter on horseback looks down from above the fireplace. There is more than a hint of Alice in Wonderland fantasy about the place.
More wonders lie in wait behind the doors of Loft Suite 417, my abode for the next two nights. Inside, the suite is flooded with natural light coming through two walls of windows, balanced by two opposing walls of dark walnut panels. The space has the feel
of a New York loft combined with an alpine chalet, thanks to small details such as the fur rug thrown onto the end of the bed with effortless elegance.
From the walls, Kerstens’ daughter stares out from three more original prints, wearing a different headdress and a disconcertingly direct gaze in each, reminiscent of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Between the walls, two green silk rugs cover an oak floor, on which sits a sumptuous bed with down-filled cushions and a lounge area, where two white armchairs and a brown felt George Smith sofa surround a coffee table laden with Taschen books on London and modern art.
The typical welcome gift of wine and fruit has been replaced here by two ‘chef’s sweet mini Victoria sponges’ on the desk, along with a note guiding me to the welcome mocktails stashed in the minibar, made from jasmine tea, elderflower, lemon juice and fresh sage. There are more welcome treats put aside for later in the day: a bottle of Sacred Gin, made locally at the micro-distillery of the Sacred Spirits Company in Highgate, presented on a vintage-style drinks trolley with a few bottles of tonic and an ice bucket.
From the living area, a full-length mirror leads into an immaculate all-white, tiled bathroom with a deep bathtub and amenities by Le Labo, as well as a walk-in rain shower and a long, narrow sink with plenty of room for two. The only mild inconvenience in the room’s design is that the very limited wardrobe space is located far away from the bathroom on the other side of the suite. But this minor qualm is quickly forgotten amid a multitude of other thoughtful touches: vintage-style light switches instead of fussy digital buttons, simple A/C controls and free Wi-Fi.
Anyone familiar with the life of Ian Schrager will not be surprised to find that what he has achieved at The London Edition is a triumph over staid luxury hotels that lack character. Here, the Studio 54 co-founder has created a boutique lifestyle hotel for grown-ups; a space that combines traditional luxury (a prestige address, original art and fine dining) with social elements typical of his previous hotel projects, which virtually gave birth to the lifestyle-hotel concept in the ’80s.
There’s scarcely any room to mention the other wonderful facets of the hotel — Jason Atherton’s incredible Berners Tavern, cosy cocktail bar Punch Room and the private basement-level nightclub — but they all add to the heady mix. A stay here is a journey into the imagination and a social experiment done incredibly well. Judging by the crowd in the lobby sipping cocktails at 4pm on a Friday afternoon, it seems I’m not the only one who thinks so.
THE IMPORTANT BIT
What: Loft Suite 417
Where: The London Edition, 10 Berners Street, London, UK
Price: from GBP 850 (US $1,410) per night
www.edition-hotels.marriott.com