The new W Hotel is situated in the old Swiss Centre within Leicester Square London, and opens on the 14th February 2011.
Unlike the Savoy which cost a something in this region to refurbish before opening last October and kept mostly to the original design themes of the early 1900s, the W Hotel is very much in the modern cutting edge of interior design, presumably intended for the younger generations.
Described by one journalist as almost like a nightclub in the use of coloured lighting in the rooms, and dark corridors, the hotel’s pièce de résistance is a giant LED screen on the front of the hotel which will capture images from floor to ceiling and broadcast them as a giant video. Exactly what this will achieve is a little unclear, but one assumes they wanted to create a talking point. Perhaps they weren’t allowed to make the front of the hotel change colour?
The room prices are significantly less than the Savoy with “chic rooms” starting around £269 a night and the penthouse a mere £5000 a night (compared to £10,000 at the Savoy), but going by the press coverage, the hotel isn’t skimping on quality. The rooms are created using very high quality design ideas and materials as you would expect from a top-notch luxury hotel.
What is making most news about the hotel however is that the developers and current owners of the building, McAleer & Rushe, are keen to sell up for around the £200 million mark. They say they aren’t trying to sell up for financial problems, but merely because their work is done and they want to invest in new projects.
While the hotel building is up for sale, guests need not worry as it is being managed by the Starwood Hotels group who also run The Park Lane Hotel and various Sheraton hotels.
Bookings are now being taken from the 14th February on the W Hotels London web site.
More London Resources:
Things to do around Leicester Square
Hotels in the Strand (near Leicester Square)
