From spruced-up digs to established artisan retailers and to-die-for diners, we turn the gimlet eye of LUXE onto the places we rate most.
What:
The Ned
Where:
The City of London
Why we love it:
What happens when the brains behind Soho House, The NoMad New York and LA’s The Line meet over a disused bank? The ravishing, audacious hotel The Ned, that’s what. With its imposing, Grade I-listed, early C.20th architecture, vast columned interiors, gent’s club vibe and dazzling array of leisure pleasures, this handsome 11-storey buck in the City is pulling in suits, gourmands and style-setters alike. Simply put: it’s the hottest hotel and social desti in London right now.
Housed in the iconic former Midland Bank building, The Ned was originally designed by Sir Edwin ‘Ned’ Lutyens in 1924, and was left abandoned for 8 years before Nick Jones, founder of Soho House, and Andrew Zobler of New York’s Sydell Group took charge 2012. Together, they’ve transformed it into a sumptuous 252-room hotel with many of the original banking features intact – from the green-hued African verdite columns lining the upscale food court, to the strongroom door opening into the polished private members’ club.
Rooms range from cosy cribs to family bunks and palatial suites, all richly furnished in jewel tones, with deco-ish nods to the Golden Age of travel. But The Ned is more than just a place to rest your head; there are nine restaurants and bars, a Cowshed spa, Cheeky nail bar and Neville salon. Ned’s Club comes complete with rooftop dipper – offering epic views of St Paul’s and the City – gym, spa, hammam and a subterranean all-hours lounge bar of walls gleaming with safety deposit boxes. You’ll need to be a member for access to the Club, but guests at the hotel can enjoy it during their stay.
The Ned isn’t East London’s only ritzy opening this year… Occupying a former 1970s office block, The Curtain has 120 rooms and suites, a members’ club, wellness area, co-working space and a rooftop pool and restaurant. The crowd here love to party; the opening event included a raucous Courtney Love DJ set. Meanwhile, swish The Nobu Hotel Shoreditch is a grown-up, minimal-mod luxe lair appealing to a more inter, minted crowd than it’s hipster-flocked neighbours.
For more hotel picks and insider insight, nab a copy of the LUXE London guide…
