London - Sanderson

This is Philippe Starck at his most flamboyant and outrageous.

Formerly the HQ of Sanderson, the fabrics to wallpaper designer, the Sanderson Hotel sits in a converted office block in an unlikely situation for a luxury hotel, on the seedy ‘rag trade’ end of Oxford Street, (despite the hotel web site claims of being in Soho).

The contrast between exterior and interior is shocking.

The original fifties façade remains untouched. Even the ‘Sanderson’ sign is intact from the building’s previous occupier.

However, through the glass doors the contrast is extreme.  The wooden floor is from the Sanderson days as, it seems, is the ‘office’ ceiling.  But the furnishings and drapes are from a different universe, and in sharp contrast to the traditional designs of Sanderson.

The hotel takes great pride in the courtyard garden which sits in the centre of the building structure, but only comes into its own during the summer months.

The rooms are as Starck devotees would expect.

The rooms are also expensive, as is the case with all top London hotel rooms.  A mid week last minute deal on a standard room might, if you are lucky, cost around £285.  These rooms are small.  A good sized ‘Loft King’ will set you back £400+.  The cheap deals are generally only available at weekends.

Our Loft King, on the second floor, followed the usual Starck approach of one room divided by a screen into bedroom and bathroom.  The cabinet holding the TV and mini bar, looked more likely to be concealing a fridge freezer.

Mirrors and chrome are in abundance, the metal work often impractical.  Turning off the taps with wet slippery hands proved a challenge, as did exiting the shower.

The extraordinary contrast continued with the view from our bedroom window.  Imagine waking to look at the office building from the Ricky Gervais TV series.

A huge bar dominates the vast area to the right of the hotel lobby, and this remains open to the public until 3am on Friday and Saturdays.  Evening dining in the adjacent Malaysian restaurant (Suka) is a good option if you enjoy dining whilst hundreds around exercise their vocal chords.  The resident’s bar (Purple bar) is open until 3am every night, but it is very small.

The danger is that Starck’s outlandish design concepts will tire.  In fairness they have already lasted well.  This hotel opened just before the Millennium.  However, the floor to ceiling, (including the walls), lime green of the stairs to the Restrooms is awful and looks very tacky.

This hotel goes further than other Starck hotels we have visited such as The Clift in San Francisco and The Delano in Miami.

Some will love it - others will hate it.


Sanderson                                                                                                                         
50 Berners Street                                                                                                                 
London W1

020 7300 1400

http://www.sandersonlondon.com/