With the doors of 757 new, top-tier hotel rooms set to open this year alone, 2025 will see the most significant influx of luxury hotels into the UK capital in over a decade. A jostle for position of the most decadent of orders looks set to ensue as operators from Six Senses to Auberge and Rosewood to The Zetter will go head-to-head in the battle to attract some of the most discerning customers from across the globe.
A veritable gold rush, London will see 20 new luxury hotels open within the next three years taking the number of high-end hotel rooms in the city from 20,000 to nearly 21,000.
And that rush is anchored by top-tier design. With architects including Sir David Chipperfield and Foster + Partners putting their stamps on some of the most hotly anticipated new properties in the city—the Chancery Rosewood set in the former American Embassy building in Mayfair due to open this Autumn and The Six Senses Hotel in Bayswater at the historic Whiteley building respectively—the combination of world-class hospitality with world-class architecture is a force to be reckoned with.
The Chancery Rosewood takes over the former American Embassy on Grosvenor Square in Mayfair. Courtesy Rosewood Hotels
Chancery Rosewood is slated to open 1 September in London’s Mayfair. Courtesy Rosewood Hotels
Courtesy Rosewood Hotels
‘There just seems to be an insatiable demand for these types of luxury hotels in London at the moment,’ says Jackie Newstead, partner and global head of real estate at law firm Hogan Lovells.
But not all of them are located where you would expect. This boom, says Wan-Sheong Gardner Yau a partner at Studio Moren, the architecture practice behind the Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard and the new Park Hyatt London Thames in Nine Elms, among others, extends way beyond the areas traditionally associated with high-end hospitality.
‘The city’s luxury hotels market is thriving beyond Park Lane,’ she says. ‘There are so many new hotspots emerging which is one of the reasons why London is such an attractive market. Places like King’s Cross, The South Bank and Shoreditch where we have projects like the Virgin Hotel are thriving. Then there is the Shangri-La at The Shard which really regenerated and revitalised that area around London Bridge, and there are also big-name hotels appearing in areas like Nine Elms and Battersea.’
Location aside, what else do guests want and expect from a luxury hotel experience? While not much has changed over the years in terms of core design, when it comes how people choose to spend their time in these properties, preferences and priorities have evolved in recent years. ‘Luxury is increasingly about immersive, personal experiences – often anchored by wellness,’ says Yau. That or just plain old extravagance. ‘The more unique the experience, the more luxurious it is. It could be a private dining experience on a rooftop no one else is able to access or a double volume suite which has been set up and designed specifically for partying. Cool, fun and all part of the modern definition of luxury.’
Despite the vast number of five-star rooms available in the UK capital, luxury hotel occupancy rates this year are at an average of 82%, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank
It’s working, says Jay Ahluwalia, principal director of real estate investor and developer Dominus. Certainly, when it comes to attracting attention from investors. ‘The sector is trading exceptionally well,’ he says. ‘London is the main focus for most of Europe’s hotel investment and is generally considered the number one hotel investment location for equity capital. Hotel investment transactions in London 2024 were double what they were in 2023 and are currently at the highest level since 2018.’
But while the investment figures might be strong, with such a significant influx of new rooms across the city could we be looking at a market close to saturation point in terms of demand?
London’s most prolific hotel architect Patrick Reardon doesn’t believe so. The UK capital is, after all, a sure-fire magnet for wealth, says the designer behind Grosvenor House, the Savoy, the Lanesborough and Chancery Rosewood to name a few. And the figures speak for themselves. Despite the vast number of five-star rooms available in the UK capital, luxury hotel occupancy rates this year are at an average of 82% according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank. The bottom line is that people want to spend their money in the UK capital, adds Reardon matter-of-factly. And they want to spend it on something extraordinary.
‘A luxury hotel is, in essence, a theatre,’ he says. ‘An elaborate stage set that we create for people to step into for a few moments, hours, days or even weeks to enjoy experiences they would not normally have access to. It is, at its heart, all just a stage. One people are prepared to pay for.’
