The most gorgeous new hotels in London: 2021 edition

NoMad, Covent Garden

Those who’ve reclined, wined or dined in a branch of the New York-founded NoMad hotels will recall an old-world-glamour-meets-Scandi-chic interiors, along with an easy nature and generally cool vibe. Now, you no longer have to hop across the pond – or even leave London – to enjoy NoMad’s luxe offering. The boutique hotel group has opened its first outpost outside the US, in London’s Covent Garden.

The 91-bedroom NoMad London is housed in the Grade II-listed former Bow Street Magistrates’ Court. Those without a bed upstairs can still book a table in the ground-floor dining room, a three-storey, glass-ceilinged atrium filled with lush greenery.

As is a signature trait of all NoMad hotels, the restaurant is being overseen by restaurateur Will Guidara and Michelin-starred chef Daniel Humm. Among their ventures outside the NoMad group, the pair are also in charge of three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York, which was voted number one on 2017's list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Rooms from £320 a night

The Londoner, Leicester Square

Why build upwards when you can burrow underground? Such seems to be the unusual motto behind new hotel The Londoner. The latest outpost from luxury group Edwardian Hotels, The Londoner will be London’s first hotel with more space below ground than above it. The Leicester Square hotel, which is expected to open in autumn 2021, will rise 30 metres above ground, while delving 32 metres beneath it. But before you conjure images of dingy suites with no windows, relax: all 350 bedrooms are spread across the eight storeys above ground, while the six subterranean levels are reserved for the entertainment and activities where windows won’t be missed, namely: two Odeon cinemas, a ballroom, a gym, swimming pool and beauty salons.

Whether or not The Londoner lives up to its description of being the world’s first ‘super-boutique hotel’ is yet to be seen – though with the 2,200 sq ft penthouse suite costing up to £10,000 a night, it’s certainly lavish. Either way, the venture is one of the biggest ‘subterranean excavations’ ever to take place in London.

Rooms from £500 a night

Mondrian Shoreditch

News last autumn that the Reuben Brothers’ hip, happening Shoreditch hotel The Curtain had become another casualty of the pandemic was met by ripples of shock. Fortunately, owners of tasteful hotel brand Mondrian have come to the rescue, adding the site to their growing global portfolio of boutique hotels. While a major redesign courtesy of design studio Goddard Littlefair sees the hotel’s interiors spruced into alignment with the group’s signature image (think sparse open spaces, art deco shapes, and plush, colourful furnishings), in collaborating with the Reuben Brothers, the 120-room hotel will keep much of its former charms, including a co-working space and rooftop pool.

From the kitchen, three-Michelin star chef Dani García is launching BIBO, a Spanish tapas restaurant. Mondrian Shoreditch will also play home to a new all-day café and cocktail bar, Christina’s, where the focus is on championing the produce of local suppliers.

The Mondrian will continue to house The Curtain’s private members’ club.

Rooms from £255 a night

The Broadwick, Soho

A new gorgeous offering from Martin Brudnizki, the designer behind the glamorous interiors at Annabel’s and The Wolseley, The Broadwick Soho is a 57-bedroom luxury hotel, fitted with multiple private balconies and a rooftop cocktail bar. Brudnizki is said to have taken inspiration from the ‘gritty glamour’ and ‘eclectic and diverse history’ of Soho, while affectionately referring to his new opening as ‘your eccentric grandmother’s Soho townhouse’.

The prestige continues into the kitchen, where Soho dining veterans Jamie Poulton and Ed Baines, founders of Randall and Aubin, are in charge of the stoves.

Room rates TBD

The Lost Poet, Notting Hill

Bigger is by no means better, and here to prove it is The Lost Poet, a four-bedroom boutique guesthouse opening in the pulsing heart of Portobello Road. Designed by the team behind Notting Hill’s Cubic Studios, the townhouse’s interiors are elevated by bold, stylish wallpapers – the kind you want to play house with for the night but wouldn't be quite brave enough to commit to long term – and a curated selection of modern art.

Rooms are differentiated by their colour palette, and each comes with its own array of antique furniture (it’s the standalone bathtub in the ‘blue’ room we’re currently eyeing up). The Lost Poet is an adults-only property and a classy home-away-from-home for a romantic weekend à deux in the city.

Rooms from £219 a night