This blogger just received a great letter introducing the hotel. Here it is:
South Place Hotel, the City of London’s first independent luxury hotel, is now open for business and a lot of pleasure with stunning art installations, contemporary design collaborations and mouth-watering menus. Discerning business travellers and design conscious guests are invited to restaurateur D&D’s first hotel to experience a distinctly different new entrant to London’s hotel scene.
Located between Moorgate and Liverpool Street, South Place Hotel derives its inspiration from many of the things that make London buzz: cultural diversity, local neighbourhoods, understated wit and an easy sense of self. It combines the buzz of D&D London’s restaurants, Conran-designed interiors and specially- commissioned work by contemporary London artists, to be ‘more meet and eat than sleep’ than most London hotels.
On the ground floor, the all day British diner 3 South Place offers a laid-back vibe and contemporary classics with a D&D twist like the fresh lobster ‘Mac’ and devilled bone marrow, already a surprise favourite with staff. The breakfast bar ensures the best start to the day, while afternoon tea gives guests a much needed respite during the day.
3 South Place is complemented with a table-service Champagne, wine and cocktail bar managed by Nathan Dixon-Jones, formerly at Shoreditch House, with an extensive drinks list expertly created by head Sommelier Benoit Allauzen. The multi-talented DJ/mixologist Teamy Teamy has joined the team fresh from Glasgow’s most riotous underground night. Late night DJs will spin this 24-hour licensed bar seamlessly into a smart and sexy after-hours destination.
The stunning Angler Restaurant, situated on the seventh floor, is a quintessentially British seafood restaurant serving up fresh and inspired dishes. Overseen by Tony Fleming, previously Executive Chef at One Aldwych, this elegant high-end destination restaurant is the perfect place for a special evening.
With all that South Place has to offer, it’s perfectly convenient that a plush soft bed is only an elevator ride away. The 80 bedrooms, studios and suites aspire to be the ‘best in the City’ and feature Josephine Home bed linen, cashmere wrapped mattresses and ‘Oranges and Lemons’ amenities by perfumer James Heeley.
Each room has a chic individual look, with handpicked artworks from Hoxton Art Gallery and Jealous Gallery, a welcome box by Studio Conran with a bespoke, hand-drawn map by Emily Chappell, Bang & Olufsen 40-inch Beovision 10 Televisions as standard and hand-cast resin pieces of British printed ephemera by AMD Interior Architects.
The strong focus on art and design is evident throughout the hotel creating a signature style. Damien Florébert Cuypers’ two minute illustrations adorn the walls of 3 South Place and the lift lobby features a wall of mechanical pixels. The hotel’s art prize winner Zemer Peled, who completed her MA in Ceramics at the Royal College of Art, will create her signature sculpture in situ on the ground floor throughout September. Zemer fires layers of black and white clay first that she subsequently breaks into thousands of fragments and then ‘rebuilds’.
Other spaces include the hidden ‘secret garden’ atrium bar on the first floor, with a bespoke sculpture by Grace and Webb. The five private rooms on the same floor take their names from fictional spies in a nod to a 1920s spy ring in Moorgate and transform into meeting rooms or dining rooms, depending on the occasion. Alongside them, Le Chiffre, the resident’s games room has all the feel of a private members club with a roaring fire, well-stocked library and records.
The smart aesthetics don’t stop there. DS Dundee, specialists in British tailoring based in the East End of London, designed staff uniforms using classic silhouettes, British fabrics, stunning details and cheeky twists. Experienced staff are not only dressed to impress, but are also meticulously briefed to win over guests with attentive service and personal charm.
Bruce Robertson, General Manager of South Place Hotel, said: “Our vision is to treat every guest that walks through the door as an individual, appealing to the refined tastes of discerning travellers as well as our neighbours in the City and surrounding Shoreditch.”
From the spectacular public art installations to private bath tubs and power showers with plenty of wriggle room, South Place Hotel is the latest addition to the City as it embraces a creative new lifestyle or ‘loosens its tie’. A member of Design Hotels, it aims to provide a memorable stay for guests from around the world, and become the new haunt for the local neighbourhood.
New holiday package: Beginning Wednesday 19 December 2012, rooms are available from £100 with a minimum of 3-night stay.
3 South Pl London, EC2M 2AF, United Kingdom http://www.southplacehotel.com