Bounty Of New Luxury Hotel Openings In The Capital

20.09.23

Unquestionably one of the world’s most iconic capitals with the power of superlative reinvention, London continues to draw an aspirational jet-setting audience with its bounty of luxury hotels from the Art Deco glam of Claridges to the Grande Dame Savoy. This luxe lineage however, is about to go up a few gilt-edged notches this autumn, with several new openings that will see thousands of high-end rooms welcoming guests over the next two years.

At least 13 high-end hotels are scheduled to open by 2025, many from world-renowned operators that have never before had sites in the capital, while others are getting huge refurbishments.

First off the blocks is the £1.1 billion Peninsula London near Hyde Park Corner with the first guests checking into rooms priced from £1,300 a night. It will be the first newly-built five star hotel opening in London since the Bulgari in Knightsbridge in 2012.

The Peninsula is followed at the end of the month by the £1.5 billion Raffles London at The OWO, the vast old War Office building in Whitehall, after an eight-year development funded by the billionaire Hinduja brothers. A night in rooms once used by former secretaries of states for war including Sir Winston Churchill, John Profumo and David Lloyd George, costs from £1,200.

Although London does not have a category above five star, the opulent facilities and levels of staffing — in some cases three to every guest — put some of the new hotels on the same tier as the self-proclaimed seven star resort hotels of destinations such as Dubai.

Other highly-anticipated openings include Six Senses at Whiteleys in Queensway, due to launch next summer, the Chancery Rosewood at the former US Embassy in Grosvenor Square scheduled for a 2025 start, and the Waldorf Astoria Admiralty Arch at the entrance to Trafalgar Square, which also has 2025 pencilled in.

Later this month also sees the launch of boutique hotel One Sloane in Chelsea, the sister of Hotel Costes — described as the “hottest hotel in Paris” — where celebrity guests have included Bella Hadid, Beyoncé and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Several of the openings are in Mayfair including the 50-room Mandarin Oriental Mayfair in Hanover Square, scheduled towards the end of the year.

Many, including The Peninsula, The OWO and the Park Hyatt London River Thames come with residences that give owners full access to the hotel facilities and concierge-level services.

Instagram ¦ Facebook ¦ X ¦ LinkedIn