London’s first ‘iceberg hotel’, which will have more space below ground than above, will open next summer.
The £500 a night hotel, aptly named ‘The Londoner’, will open in the West End and will sit 30 metres above ground and 32 meters below ground with a six-level basement housing many of the hotel's luxury facilities.
The reason for the 'iceberg' nature of the hotel is due to its proximity to the National Gallery. Nothing is allowed to overlook the historic art museum, so it was decided to extend the hotel below tarmac instead.
Talking to the Evening Standard, commercial development director of Edwardian Hotels, Iype Abraham said: “We wanted to create a boutique hotel that was grand in size but boutique in experiences and that meant we had to include various guest offerings. There was only one way to do that and that was to go down.”
Image: Woods Bagot
Although all the bedrooms will sit above ground, the basement will be home to a screening room, seven meeting rooms, gym, swimming pool, ballroom (accommodating 864) and hair salon as well as staff, laundry rooms and hotel offices on the lowest two floors.
Above ground, facilities include a public tavern, whisky room and rooftop terrace as well as 350 guest bedrooms ranging from £500 a night, to £10,000 for the 2,200 sq ft penthouse suite, the biggest of the guest suites.
51 percent of the £300 million hotel, which opens in June 2020, will sit underneath Leicester Square making it the biggest underground excavation the city has seen.
With space in the city becoming such a problem, people are now looking to extending below ground to get the most space possible. Edwardian hotels, who own the new development, also own luxury five star hotel The May Fair, a favourite among celebrities visiting London.
The company recently sealed a £175m ‘green loan’ from HSBC meaning the hotel will be one of the most environmentally friendly in London.
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