Alfred and Georgi Akirov, the duo behind the Mamilla hotel in Jerusalem (W*127) and the Conservatorium in Amsterdam (W*157), are soon to complete a three year-long project with David Chipperfield Architects transforming the legendary Café Royal into a contemporary hotel, in readiness for hosting guests during the Olympics this summer. Opened in 1865, the Café Royal was the favourite haunt of bohemians and intellectuals such as George Bernard Shaw, Paul Verlaine and Oscar Wilde (who once had too much absinthe in the Grill Room and mistook a waiter stacking chairs for a man watering tulips), and later saw the likes of Virginia Woolf, Winston Churchill and, more recently, David Bowie walk through its doors.
Chipperfield’s team restored the original 1860s and 1930s features of the listed Domino and Grill Rooms, which will reopen as a private members’ club and restaurant respectively, and took inspiration from the apartment of Regent Street architect John Nash to create the interiors of the hotel’s spacious 155 rooms with marble, oak and bronze details, high windows and large lobbies. The five suites, meanwhile, have been sympathetically restored by Donald Insall Associates. Our favourites are the Empire Suite, which boasts a massage room, and the Dome Suite located under the building’s copper dome, which has two terraces overlooking Piccadilly Circus and Big Ben. Café Royal opens in September 2012.
ADDRESS
68 Regent Street
London
-
Tread a thoroughly British line with these New Balance Made in UK trainersNew Balance’s latest collection of Made in UK trainers is inspired by the lush palette of British landscapes, from the Lake District to vineyards
-
What the Wallpaper* editors are looking forward to at fashion week, from blockbuster debuts to rising starsThe Wallpaper* style team pick their highlights from the upcoming fashion month, a definitive season as the industry’s major players start their latest chapters, beginning in New York tomorrow
-
‘Landscape architecture is the queen of science’: Emanuele Coccia in conversation with Bas SmetsItalian philosopher Emanuele Coccia meets Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets to discuss nature, cities and ‘biospheric thinking’
-
Has the ice cream parlour come of age?A global wave of architecture studios is treating the scoop as spectacle, turning parlours into immersive social spaces
-
Legado brings a bold Spanish legacy to ShoreditchMichelin-starred chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho’s second venture marries design-led interiors with regional Spanish flavours rarely found in London
-
The Macbeth, an icon of indie sleaze, goes from grotty to gastroAn East End legend meets Portuguese small plates in Jamie Allan’s ambitious revival of a beloved Hackney watering hole
-
A complete collection of Phaidon’s ‘Contemporary Artists Series’ is on display in LondonA 30-year project reaching 100 volumes is being celebrated with an exhibition at the 45 Park Lane hotel, including limited-edition works by Kaws and Dana Schutz
-
London’s best pizza restaurant gets a new home in MayfairSecure a slice of New York-style pizza in central London as Crisp Pizza teams up with the Devonshire pub to set up shop in the relaunched The Marlborough
-
At this east London listening bar, mezcal-fuelled cocktails hit as hard as the basslinesIn Bethnal Green, Little Fires pairs vinyl grooves with mezcal margaritas and Oaxacan sharing plates
-
Harry Nuriev’s Noisy Oyster London bistro isn’t quite finished – and that’s the pointA futuristic, work-in-progress aesthetic forms a striking backdrop for a new, sustainably focused seafood bistro in Shoreditch
-
Head to Lupa for a taste of Rome in the heart of HighburyEd Templeton, Theo James and Naz Hassan unveil an intimate 28-seat restaurant that balances a cosy, candlelit atmosphere with Roman-style dining
