Amidst the trend making, fashion forward, design savvy citizens, London is a hard city to make an impression. South Place Hotel, as Thomas Tran discovers, is a new variety of hybrid hospitality straddling the line of gallery, restaurant and meeting place.

Located between Liverpool Street and Moorgate, the 80-bedroom luxury hotel is the ambitious product of owners, Des Gunewardena and David Loewi, and their vision of creating an urban contemporary restaurant and hotel business.

“[David and I] come from very different places,” says Gunewardena, “David’s from the shop floor, if you like, and I’m the financier, but there is this constant, very detailed dialogue between us, to the point now that our roles have really blended and it is hard to know where one of us stops and the other starts.”

The rooms, albeit small, carry a sense of uncluttered airiness and avoid elements that are sharp and defined; the furnishings are low maintenance and comfortable, with graphic pops of colour in citrus hues and fresh flowers.

The bathrooms are the most impressive in-room feature, with black marble finishes floor to ceiling, Roca hardware fixtures and a lush Duravit Stark bathtub – ideal for jetlagged patrons.

Designed by Allies and Morrison architects with interiors by Conran & Partners, the stylish hotel is a haven for all purposes and people alike – from romantic city getaways to business trips for both foreigners and local Londoners.

South Place ensures each stay is the most pleasant, offering a choice of two restaurants, three bars, and their own publication of London city ‘must-dos’ equipped with a charmingly illustrated map locating the hotspots.

South Place Hotel
southplacehotel.com