When the London-based Soho House and New York-based Sydell Group decided to collaborate on a new hotel in central London, the result was always going to be special especially since they had, as their canvas, Sir Edwin Lutyens’ grand early 20th-century Midland Bank building.
Designers Adam Greco, Alice Lund and Rebecca King have furnished the 252 bedrooms of The Ned – the moniker is an homage to Lutyens’ nickname – in a 1920s and 1930s mood-board of hand-knotted rugs, ebonised walnut and mahogany furniture.
Meanwhile, the public spaces retain the handsome bones of Lutyen’s original design, now softened with plush mohair sofas, rubbed brass ironmongery, and African green verdite. The Ned’s centrepiece is the former banking hall, now the setting for no less than eight restaurants including an outpost of Cecconi’s.
A subterranean spa features a 20m pool and hammam, whilst the rooftop club takes in another pool, a clutch of bars, and bracing views of St Paul’s Cathedral and the Shard.
