Sanderson by Vanessa Kaoukji

Walking into the Sanderson feels like walking onto the set of a stage, and almost every aspect of this hotel - from the rooms, to the restaurant, to the spa - is about theatre. It’s also about being seen and the designer Phillippe Starck has a dig at fashionable society by printing eyes onto the back of every chair that lines the Long Bar. To be greeted by Salvador Dali’s ‘Bocca’ lips sofa when you walk through the doors, you know this hotel is going to be all about design. The sheer drapery in the lobby is a backdrop to an eclectic mix of furniture (although I didn’t see anyone brave enough to sit in any of the designer chairs) and yet, somehow, 18th century, 1950’s,Tanzanian tribal and contemporary design all seems to fit together quite comfortably.

Built in 1958 for the Sanderson fabric company, this became a Grade II listed building in 1991. The designers incorporated original features (such as the 1960’s staircase or the mosaic mural)into this contemporary hotel. The central courtyard is also original which is open to the sky and lit by candles in the evening (perhaps to hide the ugly blue panels of the building).

The Spa is in what used to be the fabric display area, which explains the height of the room. But what could have been echoey and cold in wonderfully inviting. The area is cleverly divided by white curtains that give privacy but without seeming too harsh.

Rooms reflect the feeling in the rest of the hotel: light, spacious and crisp. The same sheer curtains seen in the lobby separates the bathroom from the bedroom. ‘Dreamscapes’ in every room are positioned above the sleigh beds which look inviting, but not as inviting as the pashmina shawls that guests are at liberty to wrap up in for the duration of their stay (not surprisingly, these go missing with such frequency that you would think the guests couldn’t afford their own).

There is nothing formal about the Sanderson, which is probably why it attracts hip media types. That, and the location just north of Oxford Street. Even though Ian Schrager’s hotel is internationally renowned, it feels as though the ugly 1958 hospital-like exterior of the building is guarding this hotel like a secret.