Understated, elegant, and reminiscent of a private club South Place Hotel is not only the first purpose-built hotel opened in the Square Mile in 100 years, but also the first hotel from leading restaurateurs D&D London (formerly known as Conran Restaurants). Much like most of all D&D establishments, South Place tells a distinct story from the moment one enters.
Chic, fun and vibrant
A lot of the hotel guests are there for business, given its convenient location to all parts of London, especially the city. But they’re the kinds of clientele who care about their surroundings and who value great design, food, and amenities.
Conran’s signature touch – equal parts urbanity and irreverence – is felt across the hotel’s vintage and modern mix of furnishings and vibrant contemporary London artwork. The latter was hand-selected by the Hoxton Art Gallery and Jealous Gallery.
South Place Hotel is as much a gallery as it is a luxury boutique stay, and therefore guests enjoy an always changing rich combo of intriguing and approachable art in every corner of the hotel.
Hotel for art lovers
Love Bomb by The Real Hackney Dave, an eight-foot-tall bomb replica with ‘love’ painted in neon pink, adorns the lobby entrance hall with other unique print editions including old love letters or ordinance survey maps by the artist spread across the hotel.
The reception desk is lit up by Hurricane Chandelier by George Singeras. In Bluebird City, the hotel’s award-winning brasserie, distinguished artists Frank Canvas and Zen Xander are on display. Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the establishment is 40 individual wire shoes created by artist Cathy Miles. This installation featuring everything from brogues and loafers to heels and flats alike enlivens the corridors.
Upstairs, guests at the Michelin-starred Angler restaurant can enjoy art by internationally acclaimed Robi Walters. Overall, with its extensive collection of world-class masterpieces South Place Hotel rivals London’s many venerable art institutions. And the best bit, you can take any art you like back home. Just grab a catalogue at the guest services and pay the bill.
Sleep in style
All 80 rooms of the hotel are soothing places to retreat: unfussy and minimal with a healthy dose of grandeur thanks to calming tones of greys, browns, creams and maroons. Floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the spaces in natural light.
The cashmere-wrapped beds are adorned with plush cushions, and a brown super soft throw to complete a very cosy ambience. A variety of lamps offer moody lighting controlled by a bedside console – you just tap to turn lights on and off and to raise or lower the black-out blinds.
Lavish Italian-marble bathrooms are well-sized and practically placed away from the living space. I blamed my capacious bathtub for making me run late for my dinner reservation. The Soapsmith London toiletries are lush and often 5-star hotels include a cheap hairdryer, not here – it’s Dyson.
The scent of luxury
The hotel has created its own signature scent, comprising of bergamot, sandalwood, rosemary and geranium, the smell hits you immediately while entering the room and adds to the already luxurious experience.
South Place even issues its own newspaper highlighting all the news related to food menus, art and everything that’s happening at the hotel and nearby area. We’ve never seen that in a hotel before.
The hotel offers a boutique wellness experience with a fully equipped 24-hour gym, alongside luxury sauna, steam rooms, and experience showers. Guests can book a range of massage therapies, from deep tissue to Thai.
Breakfast at Bluebird
Fans of the iconic Chelsea restaurant Bluebird will be pleased to hear that South Place has recently opened its sister restaurant on site. There is a stylish indoor area as well a lovely terrace with turquoise umbrellas and floral arrangements.
Breakfast here is absolutely divine, with multiple a la carte options, fresh juices, smoothies and artesian coffees. The spot is also perfect for brunches for intimate dinners with seriously good prawn cocktail, burgers and quite possibly be the most elevated fish and chips in the capital.
Would we stay at South Place again? The answer is an easy and immediate: Yes.
More information about South Place can be found here.
Image credits: © South Place Hotel, Bluebird
