Ian Schrager Hotel & Royalton Hotel

Sanderson Writes

The Sanderson Hotel in London is the second 5-star deluxe hotel in London from the Ian Schrager hotel group. Like Ian Schrager's other London hotel (St Martin's Lane), it offers unique accommodation designed by the renowned French designer Philippe Starck. The Sanderson hotel, an Ian Schrager hotel will appeal to discerning visitors who require an exclusive modern style.

Reviews of Sanderson

Passport Newsletter:
A return visit to The Sanderson, the Ian Schrager hotel designed by Philippe Starck, has confirmed our initial unfavorable impression. If you love the traditional grand hotels - The Connaught, Claridges, The Savoy - you'd be wise to stick to them. The rooms at the Sanderson, an Ian Schrager hotel are unlikely to appeal to anyone expecting to find a calm and predictable hotel environment. Although not large, they will leave you feeling as though you're staying in an open-plan office - too much glass and nothing to suggest the sense of being cozily cosseted. A determined aesthetic waywardness pervades the bedrooms - too quirky for a restful stay. Modern design, when well done, can convey a feeling of tranquility and calm, but when its major purpose seems to be nothing so much as quirkiness for the sake of showing off, it induces a sense of unease. Then there is the very trendiness of the bar and the restaurant which lend the whole hotel a slightly frenetic, unsettled air. It must be admitted, however, that the location is prime - just off Oxford Street - and the penthouse suites offer some stunning views. Doubles from $480; penthouse suites from $1,900.

Vanessa Kaoukji:
Walking into the Sanderson, an Ian Schrager hotel feels like walking onto the set of a stage, and almost every aspect of this hotel - from the rooms, to the restaurant, to the spa - is about theatre. It’s also about being seen and the designer Phillippe Starck has a dig at fashionable society by printing eyes onto the back of every chair that lines the Long Bar. To be greeted by Salvador Dali’s ‘Bocca’ lips sofa when you walk through the doors, you know this Ian Schrager hotel is going to be all about design. The sheer drapery in the lobby is a backdrop to an eclectic mix of furniture (although I didn’t see anyone brave enough to sit in any of the designer chairs) and yet, somehow, 18th century, 1950’s,Tanzanian tribal and contemporary design all seems to fit together quite comfortably.

Built in 1958 for the Sanderson fabric company, this became a Grade II listed building in 1991. The designers incorporated original features (such as the 1960’s staircase or the mosaic mural)into this contemporary hotel. The central courtyard is also original which is open to the sky and lit by candles in the evening (perhaps to hide the ugly blue panels of the building).

The Spa is in what used to be the fabric display area, which explains the height of the room. But what could have been echoey and cold in wonderfully inviting. The area is cleverly divided by white curtains that give privacy but without seeming too harsh.

Rooms reflect the feeling in the rest of the hotel: light, spacious and crisp. The same sheer curtains seen in the lobby separates the bathroom from the bedroom. ‘Dreamscapes’ in every room are positioned above the sleigh beds which look inviting, but not as inviting as the pashmina shawls that guests are at liberty to wrap up in for the duration of their stay (not surprisingly, these go missing with such frequency that you would think the guests couldn’t afford their own).

There is nothing formal about the Sanderson, an Ian Schrager hotel, which is probably why it attracts hip media types. That, and the location just north of Oxford Street. Even though Ian Schrager hotels are internationally renowned, it feels as though the ugly 1958 hospital-like exterior of the building is guarding this hotel like a secret.

The Royalton Writes

"The groundbreaking Royalton Hotel, located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, introduced to the world concepts such as "Hotel as Theater" and the "Art of Lobby Socializing" - thereby revolutionizing the hotel industry."

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