ME Hotel opens in London

Compiled by Teresa Simon

Photography: Francisco Guerrero & Nigel Young; courtesy Foster + Partners

ME London

Foster + Partners is a firm that has grown from strength-to-strength with design as the fulcrum of their being. We unveil their first ‘complete’ hospitality design – the ME London.

Nine-storey cathedral like atrium with the champagne lounge

The ME Hotel – the first flagship hotel in which everything, from the shell of the building to the bathroom fittings has been designed by Foster + Partners – has opened in London. As a design led, lifestyle hotel located at the centre of London’s diverse art and culture district, the historic triangular building defines the end-point for Aldwych Crescent, repairing the urban grain and restoring a little lost glamour to the heart of the West End.

80 foot high atrium skylight  

Marconi Lounge - the upbeat all-day cocktail lounge

An elegant fusion of interior and exterior design, the structure seamlessly integrates the construction of a new 157-bed hotel with the restoration of the adjacent 1904 Marconi House, whose interior has been entirely restructured to accommodate 87 apartments. Clad in Portland stone, corresponding in height and scale to its neighbour, its main entrance at street level is sheltered beneath a wide glass fan. The corner tower, topped by a glass cupola – a contemporary reinterpretation of the Edwardian-style domed roof across the street – houses the living space for the impressive ME penthouse suite, with its 360-degree panorama of the city.

Fine dine experience by STK at ME London

Located on the 9th & 10th floors, the two-level duplex Suite ME offers 360 degree view of London

With a lounge, public restaurants and bar on the ground level, guests ascend to a dedicated hotel lobby and champagne bar on the first floor, housed within a nine-storey high pyramidal space, clad entirely in white marble. The interior concept fuses contemporary detailing with classical traditions, its dramatic monochrome palette a combination of rich textures and luxurious natural materials.

Located on the 10th floor and accessible via a dedicated express lift, 

Radio Rooftop Bar and Restaurant offers incredible panoramic views of London’s skyline 

With a variety of room types and layouts, including rooms with private terraces on the upper two levels, guests benefit from floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the city. Each of the floor layouts are designed around a central pyramid spanning throughout all 10 floors of the hotel, creating spacious and aesthetically pleasing corridors clad in Nero Marquina marble. The experience draws on the idea of yin and yang, as guests move from dark to light spaces – the crisp white bedrooms reached by reflective black marble corridors, sculpted by the angled walls of the central pyramid. Discreet lighting and services are seamlessly integrated, including the Lumina FLO table light by Foster + Partners. Full-height triangular bay windows project to reveal long views of the Strand.

Corridor

“Our intention has been to make sure that the hotel will be a unique experience,” says David Nelson, Head of Design at Foster + Partners. “And the result combines a high level of functionality with a simple, refined aesthetic.” By designing the hotel inside and out, down to the last detail, Foster+Partners has been able to maintain a high level of quality and continuity, as Giles Robinson, Partner, Foster + Partners reinstates.