Could this be the country’s coolest new luxury hotel? It’s certainly London's

Finding purpose 

1 Hotels – along with Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and Treehouse – sits under SH Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Capital Group, which was founded by Barry Sternlicht, and where Arnold was head of European acquisitions prior to starting Crosstree, so the story has come full circle.

Arnold has form for bringing new brands to London too – he led the bold extension and conversion of the brutalist 1970s office building in King’s Cross that became The Standard, London, and also brought the first Mama Shelter to town.

I meet him in 1 Hotel Mayfair’s Dover Yard lounge as a flurry of people put the finishing touches to the hotel ahead of that 2:10pm opening. Arnold’s enthusiasm for this project is really contagious, as is Raul Leal’s, CEO of SH Hotels & Resorts who, prior to this role, spent 10 years with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotels and is now thrilled to bring 1 Hotels to the UK.

“Crosstree have masterminded a remarkable location with this – you just can’t get a better spot in London, so this was an incredible opportunity for us,” says Leal. “London is much further along when it comes to the green agenda than the rest of the world, and is the perfect place also for our idea of contemporary luxury. We are a mission-driven brand and we find 85% of our guests come stay with us because they believe in that too. Our philosophy is ‘do all the good you can’.”

Leal says the brand’s purpose offers a new kind of luxury that people are really gravitating towards, and one that has also helped it to attract talent to come and work at the new London hotel.

“We also find our team really mirror our customers – similar ages and like-minded beliefs,” he says. “Young people are drawn to purpose-driven businesses that will improve the way things are. Frankly these days, if a business doesn’t have a mission – in any industry – you’re in trouble.”

Plant and people power

Having had the chance to stay at the hotel in its opening days, I can safely say I have never been as impressed by the team members of a new hotel – proud to be here, helpful, they just seem like good souls.

And of course that reflects where they work – one of the world’s most conscious hotel brands. Built to BREEAM Excellent standards, this project utilised 80% of the existing structure, which was repurposed to minimise adverse environmental impact. There are so many incredible details in the hotel that are focused on unique craftsmanship, biophilic design and upcycling or re-use of materials – giving things that ‘second life’.

Over 500sqm of living green-trellised exterior walls transform former hard surfaces into natural vertical landscapes, while all 181 guest rooms feature a small section of moss wall, British Oak flooring and Welsh slate bathroom vanities and more than 1,300 individual plants from 200 species can be found across the property.

In keeping with its ethos, 1 Hotel Mayfair has also partnered with artists to convey important messages on humankind’s impact on our natural environments, including commissioned pieces such as ‘Flow’ by marine-plastic artist Steve McPherson, who turns bits of found marine plastic into incredible artworks – his one for the hotel sits proudly in Neighbours cafe. Meanwhile, Kate McGwire’s beautiful feather installation is encased in glass that runs the length of the curvaceous bar counter at Dover Yard, where there are also giant light shades made from cork.

The unmissable highlight though is the lobby “chandelier” created from air plants by artist Patrick Nadeau. In the wee hours of the morning, it’s lowered to be spritzed, and the team tell me enthusiastically how the process creates a magical atmosphere in the lobby. It’s straight from a biophilic design textbook – and all that greenery doesn’t just look good, it helps purify the air.

Further touches include a reception desk carved from one naturally-felled piece of wood from Sussex; glasses and carafes in guest rooms made from old wine bottles; clothes hangers made from old books; and three Yorkshire drystone feature walls in the hotel (including the one behind the lobby, and one in the Dover Yard bar), constructed by workmen who came from Yorkshire to do the work. With the aim of encouraging guests to explore the city emission-free, the Audi e-tron, the official Electronic Vehicle of 1 Hotels, is available daily for guests to enjoy.

One of the many other innovative things is the addition in each guest room of a purified water dispenser, knooked into the living wall moss feature. “We obsess over details,” some of the team tell me as we take a showround tour of the hotel, when I comment on things like the ‘hoodie-style’ comfortable bathrobe, and the fact there is a little succulent plant placed outside each room.

Yard sale

That Dover Yard alleyway has been freshly recobbled and enlivened with a massive stretch of living wall, joined by a terrace dining spot which leads inside to the rest of the bar, where comfy seats, tactile throws, cork pendant light shades, and a cosy fireplace combine effortlessly to make a space you don’t want to leave. Indeed, the hope is that locals will enjoy strolling through here now and feel like this is a neighbourhood corner they can really hang out in.

“We’re redefining an already magnificent location,” Arnold says. “And it’s great for the community who live and work here to have this new development, one that embraces nature and sustainability.”

 “1 Hotels is a brand rooted in community, and we’re sure this will be a very welcome addition to the neighbourhood,” Leal echoes. “Our hotel guests will immediately feel part of where they are staying too.”

Hotel programming includes Mayfair’s Tree Tapestry Tour, offering up an opportunity to uncover hidden green treasures of Mayfair with a specially crafted tree map, designed in collaboration with The Tree Council. Other activities include art tours, community dog walks, organic wine tasting, aroma sound bathing and terrarium workshops.  

Much of the structure of the former Holiday Inn may have been retained – but configuration has been changed to allow for more spacious accommodation, with 25% of inventory now suites. Arnold is also keen to point out that a good chunk of rooms can also be interconnected to keep families happy.

There has also been build upwards, with two floors added on top to complete what is now a nine-storey building and where most of the higher-range category rooms and suites will be, boasting views of the park and Piccadilly on one side, and spacious terraces and balconies for others looking “Mary Poppins-style” over the rooftops of London.