Described as the first-ever “super boutique” hotel, The Londoner opened in September 2021 as part of the family-owned hotel group Edwardian Hotels London. Sitting front and centre in Leicester Square, with Soho, Covent Garden and the National Portrait Gallery on its doorstep, the hotel has a distinctive blue tiled exterior. It spans 16 floors in total – eight above ground that land at a rooftop bar and eight below, with event spaces and an entire floor devoted to wellness.

Award-winning multidisciplinary design practice Yabu Pushelberg have created The Londoner’s interiors, resulting in immersive spaces that reflect its film and theatre location, tempered with a modern British sensibility. It’s also a project that reflects the multi-layered nature of their work, including product design, lighting design and styling.

Once you step inside from the buzz of the street, an immediate sensory experience transcends. There’s a great sense of both the dramatic and calm that collide to create something truly unique, and it’s captivating. You know you’ve arrived.

Conceptualised as a ‘box within the box’, Yabu Pushelberg positioned reception to the side of the lobby, creating an unobtrusive space for guests to check in remotely by phone before passing through the lobby lounge and bar, where a valet shows each resident to their room. The back wall of the check-in area is lined with a series of nooks housing interesting objects, while a custom floating metallic moon head by artist Andrew Rae looks down from above.

One level up from the main lobby on a private mezzanine level is The Residence where you’ll find the Drawing Room, Y Bar and the Whiskey Room. These three spaces are for guests to relax, read or enjoy a drink,  particularly in the seductive green velvet seating of the intimate Whiskey Room.

An elevator ride to guest rooms leads to vivid corridors with alternating colourways distinguishing odd and even numbered rooms. Beyond each glossy lacquered door, a restrained yet beautifully-nuanced material palette produces a cohesive effect in each of the rooms, with colour blocking and graphic proportions evocative of the Mod era. Contemporary wood veneer lines one side of the entryway with the bathroom adjacent.

8 at The Londoner sits on the top floor of the hotel. The izakaya-style restaurant and bar with an open-air terrace for summer fun features dark wood paired with a detailed roping installation and suspended sculptural piece over the fireplace.

The Londoner’s attentive staff, sublime design details and distinctly dramatic edge make it easy to engage with whether you’re sitting in the lobby bar or opting for some downtime in one of the private spaces or guest rooms.  Plus, it’s worth noting this seductive “urban resort” is the go-to place for London Fashion Week and BAFTA afterparties, so you never know who you may see.