The welcome
The hotel’s Grade II-listed exterior dates from about 1840, and was previously Berners Hotel, which was created by knocking together five grand town houses. The interior has been given a thorough luxury revamp by the hotelier Ian Schrager, and it’s largely successful. The mostly grey stone exterior is punctuated by a slick black doorway, from where you enter into a huge, mostly marble-covered room with an elaborate French stucco ceiling. There’s a seating area, pool table and bar to the left, and a large desk-style open working area to the right. The reception is just ahead, and after I’m checked in, I’m escorted to my room.
The neighbourhood
The hotel is in Fitzrovia, just north of Soho and Oxford Street, about five minutes’ walk from Tottenham Court Road Underground station. The best thing about its location is its proximity to London’s main shopping area. Oxford Circus and Regent Street are easily reached on foot, as is the British Museum.
The scene
The Edition is Marriott’s “grown-up lifestyle” brand, and is aimed at both business and leisure guests. It’s filled with functional designer furniture and mostly British art. It’s nearly full when I stay, so there’s a buzzing atmosphere, and a feeling of friendliness. I’m also there on a Sunday, which sees a private live music session, Raw Punch, take place in the Punch Room. It’s fantastic.
The room
Most of the hotel’s 173 rooms and suites feature walnut walls, white oak flooring and a signature fake-fur throw on the bed. In the renovation process, around £1 million (Dh55.5m) was spent on each room. My second-floor, 53-square-metre “loft suite” room has an inviting sitting area, coffee-table books and a blanket. It’s wonderfully soundproofed, and the Sealy bed is comfortable. I also like the free-standing bath, which seems to support you while you relax. My main gripe is that despite setting the air conditioning to 19°C, the room feels stuffy, and the air con seems to start and stop during the night, making it too hot. The hallways also feel too warm and airless. The bedside lights were frustrating to operate.
The service
The international staff are a varied bunch, and many of them have secondary interests as photographers, DJs and designers. There’s sometimes a wait at reception, and when I called down to query something in the minibar, the phone wasn’t picked up. When it was, though, staff came very quickly and were competent.
The food
Berners Tavern is a fabulous ground-floor space connected to the main lobby and Berners Street. The walls are covered in framed pictures; seating is a mixture of tables and banquettes. It’s overseen by Jason Atherton, who earned a Michelin star for a restaurant nearby. The menu is modern British; I love the starters of beetroot-cured salmon and roasted quail with an Earl Grey tea-and-date purée (£14 [Dh78] each), and mains of barbecue turbot with summer vegetables (£32 [Dh178]) and the macaroni cheese with braised ox cheek cubes (£20; [Dh111]. Breakfast is in the same setting, but the menu is much less inspired.
Loved
The lobby and Berners Tavern. The free high-speed Wi-Fi is good and easy to connect to.
Hated
The basement fitness room has no view, and there’s no pool or spa.
The verdict
Stay here for the location and sense of occasion.
The bottom line
Double rooms at The London Edition (www.editionhotels.com/london) cost from £250 (Dh1,388) per night, including taxes.
rbehan@thenational.ae
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
The specs
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Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
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Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
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Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Total funding: Self funded
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The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
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Power: 154bhp
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Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
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Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
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On sale: Now
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