Sanderson, London, United Kingdom
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Bedroom: Sanderson in United Kingdom, London -
Entrance: Sanderson in United Kingdom, London -
Reception: Sanderson in United Kingdom, London -
Bathroom: Sanderson in United Kingdom, London -
Suite: Sanderson in United Kingdom, London -
Long Bar: Sanderson in United Kingdom, London -
Spa: Sanderson in United Kingdom, London
Sanderson 5 Stars
“A dramatic designer production, the second property in London from duo Schrager and Starck is a destination in its own right.”
Hotel Overview
Review of Sanderson, by Nadia Latif
This former textiles factory in the heart of London's Fitzrovia now houses one of the slickest design hotels in the capital - not that you'd immediately guess. The listed building proved a real challenge to the Shrager-Starck team. It is protected to the extent that even internal walls cannot be erected; the result is a space where the only room dividers are silken panels that float over clear glass panes. It is spectacular.
Sanderson's lobby is a vast, white space, punctuated by bright bespoke furniture. The hotchpotch of chairs, little tables and foot-stools channels guests towards the huge reception desk at the far end. The exclusive Purple Bar, designed to look like the inside of a jewellery box, lies off to one side. Dark and decadent, it is lit only by dimmed plum-coloured lamps and myriad candles every evening.
Less hidden from the masses is Sanderson's ever-popular Long Bar. High stools line up either side, each of them covered with a kooky eyeball print. The bar leads straight through to Suka, where chic Malaysian-influenced cuisine draws in yet more of the fashion-forward Soho crowd.
The state-of-the-art gymnasium (one of the largest in London) and gorgeous spa facilities look after inner wellbeing. The spa is a wonderful, two-storey space with white billowing strips of silk falling from ceiling to floor. The Milk and Honey Treatment remains a firm favourite for those seeking Cleopatra-esque pampering.
While the lower levels pay homage to the fashionistas and socialites of the city, the 150 rooms and suites provide a calming chillout space. This transition is apparent the moment you step into the lifts; every wall is scattered with constellations and the cosmos - a veritable Milky Way to lead guests up to bed.
The rooms are very white, airy and open-plan. Huge sleigh beds stand alone in the centre, surrounded by slivers of flat-screen technology and panoramic views across the city. Most have huge walk-in dressing rooms. The bathrooms are separated by more panes of white silk, and have baths big enough for two (walk-in showers only in Standard rooms), Korres bath products and custom-made dressing tables.
Facilities
Hotel Policies
Who stays here?
Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears, Nicole Kidman, Lindsay Lohan, Colin Farrell and Ben Afflek, to name but a few.
Come for...
- Rubbing shoulders with rock stars
- The spa - a heavenly experience
Not Suitable for...
- The staid and sensible
Children
Extra beds/cots can be provided, and interconnecting rooms are available.
Eating in
The Long Bar is 80 feet of glamorous cocktails and glamorous clientele. Suka restaurant is a smart, moody room where business lunchers tuck into contemporary Asian fusion and the Purple Bar is invitation only.
The Press Say
"The hotel itself is like fantasia for grown-ups - a fabulously modern testament to floaty white wondrousness."Telegraph 08
Reviews
Review of The Sanderson, by Angela Moore
The Sanderson is brought to you by designer Ian Schrager in association with Philippe Starck, their second design hotel in London (the first is St Martins Lane). It's in an old wallpaper factory to the north of Oxford Street, a listed building of admirable ugliness, its full-length windows intriguingly shrouded by white drapes.
Walk in to this hotel, though, and you're in a different world. A dramatic lobby with blonde wooden floors is dotted with video installations, clear Perspex cup chairs and the luscious red Salvador Dali lips. To the left is the famous Long Bar, fashioned from white onyx, lit from within by a cool white glow and from without by the diamante straps of a hundred Manolo Blahniks.
The Malaysian-esque restaurant, Sukais, is beyond that. The Purple Bar, tiny, cave-like and candlelit, is open only to residents and the very cool. The spa at the Sanderson looks like the waiting room for heaven with white drapes cascading down from a double-height ceiling and silent, smiling, white-clothed acolytes. It already has the air of a retro art installation, which only serves to make it even more fabulously funky. Of course, one man's 35-foot, silver-leafed, powder-blue silk chaise longue is another man's bally silly chair.
The 150 rooms at the Sanderson are dramatic, subversive and white. There are no inner walls. Bathrooms are sectioned off in glass boxes draped in a cascade of semi-transparent curtain and at the touch of a button another curtain whooshes across for privacy. Silver-leaf sleigh beds appear to float in midair above a scribbled woollen rug. Lights swoop down from the ceilings and a soothing painting is positioned on the ceiling above the bed.
Doubles and deluxe doubles are comfortable and spacious and the higher room categories are really generous with space. Most bathrooms just have very a slick walk-in shower, though some have cool and curvy freestanding tubs. The loft terraces have an excellent balcony, with room for loungers and a table and chairs. Rooms are exciting and surprisingly romantic in a very modern way. These rooms are destinations in their own right.