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The 10 buzziest new London hotels of 2023 to check into next

From a luxe spin on a storied address to Martin Brudnizki’s seductive spot in Soho, these new openings bring evermore glamour to the capital

2023 sees a stellar array of new London hotel openings. From the modern grandeur of Mandarin Oriental Mayfair and the well-worth-the-wait Peninsula London to a reimagined favourite in SW3 and the transformation of Whitehall’s former War Office, the city’s changing hotelscape sets the luxury bar ever higher. Here’s our insider’s look at the hottest new hotel openings in London. Time to make a reservation…

The Peninsula London
Opened September 2023
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The Peninsula group may have been looking for a suitable site for a London hotel for 30 years, but it’s been worth the wait. Overlooking Hyde Park Corner and the Wellington Arch, the Peninsula London has one of the best locations in the capital. Indeed, the design draws inspiration from its Belgravia environs, incorporated into the interiors by Peter Marino. The huge colonnaded lobby sets the tone, where guests can partake of afternoon tea. Michelin-starred chef Claude Bosi oversees the rooftop restaurant Brooklands, which serves a contemporary European menu. Canton Blue is all about theatricality and dishes created by chef Dicky To – bag one of the booths with its wall of pretty porcelain china. 

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The 190 rooms and suites offer the largest average room size in the city. Each comes with a mahogany-panelled dressing room, a bathroom of honey onyx and customised artisan-made fittings. Even the staff uniforms, designed by Jenny Packham, reflect the hotel’s attention-to-detail. The spa and a state-of-the-art fitness centre – including a 25-metre indoor pool, saunas and steam rooms and fitness studio – opens in November. But that’s not all… The hotel also features a shopping arcade, ready for Christmas, where you can shop luxury brands including Asprey London, Mouawad and Moussaieff Diamonds.

1 Grosvenor Place, Belgravia, London SW1x 7HJ
peninsula.com 

Mandarin Oriental Mayfair
Opening Autumn 2023
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Only one of London’s most stylish addresses will do for Mandarin Oriental Mayfair and that’s Hanover Square, home to Vogue House (at least until next year when the magazine moves to Embankment). This is MO’s second hotel in the capital, and when it throws open its doors this Autumn it promises to be just as sleek-meets-discreet as its sister property in Knightsbridge. The design comes courtesy of the world-renowned Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. The public spaces – set to buzz with a cosmopolitan crowd – are by Tokyo-based studio Curiosity.

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Upstairs, Chelsea-based Studio Indigo have ensured that the 50 guestrooms and suites are a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of W1, with bespoke furniture and artworks by local British artists. The urban spa features an indoor 25-metre swimming pool, sauna, vitality pool, relaxation room and treatments that promise to focus on renewal and recalibration. The modern Japanese restaurant is a UK debut for Michelin-starred chef Akira Back, who will also bring his ABar Lounge concept and rooftop bar. Expect the usual faultless MO service throughout.

22 Hanover Square, Mayfair, London W1S 1JP
mandarinoriental.com

1 Hotel Mayfair
Opened July 2023
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Mayfair has a new London hotel on the block – 1 Hotel Mayfair on Berkeley Street, just moments from Green Park. It’s the first London opening and a flagship for the eco-driven brand 1 Hotels, which aims to offer positive luxury. The nine-storey space is a lesson in biophilic design. Guests can’t help but notice the abundance of plants (there are 1,300 in total, 200 different species), with living walls inside and outside the hotel – and planting beds in the bedrooms. Artwork has been commissioned to create the feeling of a sanctuary, while also inspiring guests to consider the environment and the preciousness of our world. 

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Planet-conscious design runs through the 181 guest rooms and suites, with floors crafted from fallen British oak trees and bathrooms incorporating slate from Wales. Sustainable touches are everywhere, from the chalkboards in place of paper pads to the wooden key cards, recycled hangers and repurposed glassware. Restaurant Dovetale serves a modern British, organic menu created by two Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers. Cocktails are best sipped in Dover Yard, the atmospheric bar with its backdrop of Yorkshire dry stone walls and crafted furniture designed by Katie Walker; Neighbours is the hotel’s easy going coffee shop and lobby bar. A Bamford Wellness Spa adds to the eco luxe. 

3 Berkeley Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8DJ
1hotels.com

One Sloane
Opened October 2023
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Chelsea welcomes another new hotel this Autumn, One Sloane. The 30-room property is located on a leafy residential street just moments from Sloane Square. Behind the handsome 19th century facade by Edwin Thomas Hall (who designed the liberty building), the mansion has been transformed thanks to a collaboration between French hotelier Jean-Louis Costes (the man behind Paris’ legendary Hôtel Costes), Cadogan Estate and interior designer François-Joseph Graf. They’ve breathed new life into the place, creating a warmly elegant space filled with restored antique furnishings, Arts and Crafts detailing and playful trompe-l’oeil.

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The 30 bedrooms are a picture of art deco elegance, ranging from the Mini to the Appartement Sloane, which sleeps four guests and has two bathrooms and a private living room. Downstairs, it’s lots of fun. Enjoy a drink in the Neo-Greek lobby. Or head for the moodily lit speakeasy-style subterranean bar – all dark woods and burgundy velvet – that seduces revellers with its innovative cocktail list and funky soundtrack. The sixth-floor, light-flooded French restaurant is where you’ll no doubt find toute Chelsea feasting on spicy lobster pasta and pot au chocolat, while admiring the extraordinary display of Anglo-Chinese vases that line the walls. 

1 Sloane Gardens London, Chelsea, London SW1W 8EA
onesloane.co.uk

Raffles London at The OWO
Opened September 2023
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Raffles Hotels & Resorts has swept into town with The OWO, surely one of the finest new London hotels of 2023. Only one of the capital’s most prestigious addresses will do for the iconic hotel brand – in this case, Britain’s Old War Office on Whitehall. Behind its iconic Edwardian Baroque facade, the building has undergone a stunning transformation under the late designer Thierry Despont (Maison Cartier, The Carlyle, Claridge’s, not to mention the centennial restoration of the Statue of Liberty). Interiors are meticulous with hand-laid mosaic floors, oak panelling, chandeliers and a grand marble staircase. 

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Upstairs, offices where once Winston Churchill, Sir Richard Haldane and John Profumo held sway have now been replaced by 120 rooms and suites. Ask for a reservation in one of the corner suites and you’ll be rewarded with vistas of Horse Guards and St James’s Park. Michelin-starred chef Mauro Colagreco oversees a trio of dining concepts – and The Guards Bar and Lounge is the place to order the ‘London Sling’. The hotel’s Guerlain Spa spans four floors, with nine treatment rooms and L’Atelier Guerlain, a private beauty and hair space. Pillar Wellbeing houses a 20-metre pool, health bar, yoga studio, steam and sauna rooms. 

Whitehall, Westminster, London SW1A 2EU
theowo.london

The BoTree
Opened September 2023
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The BoTree sits at the intersection of two of the capital’s most sought-after neighbourhoods and has been designed to reflect the spirit of both. Amsterdam-based designers Concrete have tapped into (Marylebone) flair and (Mayfair) finesse throughout the hotel’s 199 rooms. Colourful natural fabrics and eclectic textures combine with luxury finishes and delicate lighting, and the bathrooms come with Jo Loves amenities. The 30 suites live up to expectation, with the largest – The BoTree Suite – offering every opulent tick box imaginable. Private elevator, gold cocktail station, mohair walls, flowers woven into the ceiling, private dining room for six, a dedicated host… 

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The F&B comes courtesy of Tao Group Hospitality (they’re behind Hakkasan and Yauatcha). The main restaurant LAVO serves up a buzzy atmosphere alongside dishes such as fresh pasta (try the Tagliatelle al Limone), imaginative pizzas and salt-baked sea bass. The bar is for late-night cocktails and caviar sandwiches. With an event space, screening room, wellness space and a rooftop opening soon, this is one to watch.

30 Marylebone Lane, Westminster, London W1U 2DR
thebotree.com

The Chelsea Townhouse
Opened September 2023
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The Draycott Hotel has emerged with a new identity. The SW3 stalwart has reopened as The Chelsea Townhouse, operated by Iconic Luxury Hotels. The latest venture for the hotel group follows on from the success of its two London sister properties – 11 Cadogan Gardens and The Mayfair Townhouse – and is just as refined. But let’s start with the location – the hotel sits on the exclusive Cadogan Gardens, with Sloane Street on its doorstep. Retail heaven. Architects Gary Kellett have overseen the restoration of the property, which stretches across three red-brick 19th century townhouses. The result is a space that’s modernised and revitalised while also retaining the building’s character and history. 

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The hotel’s discreet entrance gives way to a striking tiled hallway, sweeping staircase and rooms with marble fireplaces, ornate cornicing and high ceilings. Decor throughout is elegant-classic, with eclectic artworks, reupholstered furniture and “objects of curiosity” bringing a contemporary charm. In winter, curl up in the Library with its crackling log fire and book-lined walls. The 36 rooms range from suites (some with direct access to leafy Cadogan Gardens, others with a kitchenette) to cosy rooms for solo travellers. A relaxed, all-day salon welcomes guests and Chelsea residents for morning coffee, brunch, light lunches or late-night digestifs. Guests can also dine at the Hans Bar & Grill, the in-house restaurant of nearby 11 Cadogan Gardens, as well as use its private gym.

26 Cadogan Gardens, Chelsea, London SW3 2RP
cadogan.co.uk

Ruby Zoe
Opened July 2023
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The Munich-based Ruby hotel group is based around “lean luxury”. The idea is that they offer laid-back comfort in characterful surroundings whilst also being smart with space and streamlining behind the scenes. The result? All that you could possibly require from a hotel at a more affordable-than-expected price. It’s a concept that’s taking off, with the brand opening their umpteenth property in Europe this summer, Ruby Zoe in Notting Hill, with another slated to open in Clerkenwell at the end of the year (Ruby Stella).

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Guests of the W11-based hotel can expect the signature Ruby pared-back aesthetic in the 173 bedrooms, while downstairs the public spaces promise “sunshiny vibes”. Tapping into the vibrancy of the neighbourhood and its Caribbean heritage, they’re a vision of bold shades, warm textures, sunbleached surfaces and musical references. A specially commissioned glass mosaic by British-Trinidadian visual artist Zak Ové – inspired by the “traditions, flair and freedom of carnival and masquerade” – adorns the hotel facade. Also good to know: there’s a bar serving rum on tap, you can hire an electric guitar for an impromptu jam and the breakfast spread is quite something. 

146-164 Notting Hill Gate, Notting Hill, London W11 3QG
ruby-hotels.com

Broadwick Soho
Opening November 2023
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You know that when architect and designer Martin Brudnizki is attached to a project, it’s going to be good. Anticipation is building for Broadwick Soho, Brudnizki’s first London hotel (he’s the man behind Annabel’s, Harry’s Bar, Sexy Fish et al). The hotel is owned by Noel Hayden, who spent his childhood years living at the Mon Ami hotel in Bournemouth, which was run by his parents. 35 years later, Broadwick Soho is a love letter from Noel to his family – and he’s brought in Brudnizki to realise his dream. Citing his inspiration as the “gritty glamour” of Soho, the designer says we can expect “Seventies hedonistic disco pop, meets your eccentric Godmother’s townhouse.” 

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The hotel has 57 rooms, many with private balconies overlooking Soho. Jude Rozario oversees the F&B with a trio of bars and restaurants. Dear Jackie is the main event, where guests can feast on Italian fare amidst the Murano chandeliers and crimson silk walls. Bar Jackie is an all-day Italian bar and terrace for coffee and Negronis, arancini and antipasto. Rooftop dining bar Flute crowns the hotel. With its wraparound terrace, maximalist decor (animal-print upholstery, mirrored ceilings) and a cocktail list by Greg Almeida, this will be the place to be seen in W1. Order a Midori Sour – melon eau-de-vie, green apple, matcha, white Penja pepper and wild honey – and soak up the scene.

18-24 Broadwick Street, Soho, London W1F 8HS
broadwicksoho.com

The Emory
Opening early 2024
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It may be opening in early 2024, but we couldn’t miss The Emory off the list. It’s the fourth London property from Maybourne, who already own and manage three of the capital’s finest – Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley. Now they’re adding to their portfolio with what promises to be one of the most exciting new hotels in London. The building, located on Knightsbridge, has been designed by two architectural greats, the late Richard Rogers and Ivan Harbour of RSHP. Their striking ‘sails’ structure is set to soar above the canopy of Hyde Park, with a rooftop space offering 360-degree views. And yet despite the magnificent design, the buzzword here is discreet – think private, understated luxury. 

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Being Maybourne, this is a suite-only hotel, with 60 light-filled, spacious suites set over nine floors. Each floor will be different, showcasing the aesthetic of a specific designer – Alexandra Champalimaud, André Fu, Pierre-Yves Rochon, Rémi Tessier and Patricia Urquiola among them. The penthouse is the work of the award-winning design practice Rigby & Rigby. In what is a first, uber-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten will introduce his famous ABC concept to London diners with a fresh, local and conscious menu. Spa devotees will want to make a beeline for the subterranean wellness space, which is spread across four floors and includes a 22-metre pool. Slated to open in early 2024, this hotel is a masterpiece in the making. 

Old Barrack Yard, Belgravia, London SW1X 7NP
the-emory.co.uk

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