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 Martin's 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.
The facilities
Walk in to this design 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.
TheMalaysian-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. This design hotel 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 rooms
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 of this design hotel 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 at this design hotel have an excellent balcony
, with room for loungers and a table and chairs. The Sanderson's rooms are exciting and surprisingly romantic
in a very modern way. These design rooms are destinations in their own right.
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
.
The facilities
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 design hotel's 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.
The rooms
While the lower levels of this design hotel play homage to the festive-fabulous side of the city, the 150 rooms and suites of Sanderson provide a calming
and relaxing respite
. 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.
