Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver, the characters behind legendary St JOHN restaurants in Smithfield and Spitalfields, are opening a 15-room St. JOHN HOTEL in the centre of London, developed as a “mini grand, urban hut.”

ST. JOHN HOTEL

1 Leicester Square, London WC2H 7BL (020 3301 8069)

The new hotel is due to open on 1st December 2010 on the site of the well-known Manzi’s seafood restaurant, a London Theatreland landmark. The building has been stripped back and essentially rebuilt.

The hotel includes a restaurant and bar, open until 2am, serving St. JOHN’s no nonsense ‘nose-to-tail’ cuisine. Room rates start from £200 per night.

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Shoreditch Rooms brings 26 light airy bedrooms to Shoreditch House, featuring vintage twists within an urban setting. The rooms are spread across five floors, sharing their main entrance with Shoreditch House on Ebor Street.

SHOREDITCH ROOMS

Shoreditch House, Ebor Street, London E1 6AW (020 7739 5040)

Bedrooms are available in Tiny, Small and Small+ sizes, with four rooms also hosting furnished private balconies, overlooking views of either the City skyline or Ebor Street.

All rooms feature bespoke furniture, including old-fashioned telephones, tallboy chests and wooden shutters, while bathrooms feature Cowshed products and rainforest showers.

The bespoke ‘Borrow Me’ collection includes vintage books, games and dressing up accessories amongst other quirky items for guests to enjoy.

Rooms are very reasonably priced, starting at £75 per night (less for members).

After a visionary extension and sensitive restoration, the imposing Bethnal Green Town Hall in London’s East End is now open as Town Hall Hotel Apartments.

TOWN HALL HOTEL & APARTMENTS

Patriot Square, London E2 9NF (020 7871 0460)

The new development, comprising 98 hotel rooms and apartments, a restaurant, bar, pool and gym, has been created by entrepreneur and hotelier Peng Loh who enlisted Rare Architects for the restorative work.

The traditional 1930s building with its Edwardian frontage and Neo-Classical fine stone frontage has been restored. Original elements of the building have also be retained, including sculptures commissioned from Henry Poole. Wide marble halls, dramatic staircases, and stunning public rooms have been carefully restored by skilled craftsmen.

Such restoration hasn’t prevented contemporary touches, most notably present in the Town Hall’s extension which is discreetly set back from the frontage. The architects adopted a technique that covers the new outer wall with a metal ‘skin’, laser-cut in a pattern inspired by the art-deco metal ornamentation in the building’s original Council Chamber.

The hotel offers a mix of studios, one and two bedroom suites and feature rooms. Each room is individually designed with a mix of original retro furniture and contemporary Scandinavian inspired hand-crafted pieces.

Throughout the hotel in 2010, look out for the introduction of new installations by six artists, as commissioned by local not-for-profit group, Artsadmin.

Be sure to check out the hotel’s restaurant – VIAJANTE – with its sensational taster menu created by head chef Nuno Mendes.

The Soho House Group has opened yet another London venue not long after the opening of their pizza restaurant in Shoreditch, Pizza East. This time it is in the form of a Soho hotel, Dean Street Townhouse, which adds to an area currently devoid of decent places to stay.

DEAN STREET TOWNHOUSE

69-71 Dean Street, London W1D 3SE (020 7434 1775)

The hotel comprises 39 bedrooms, ranging in size from tiny, small, medium, and bigger. Each room is different with features such as hand-painted Georgian wallpapers, four poster beds, upholstered vintage seats and sofas, antique-style freestanding bathtubs. Artwork from the likes of David Bailey, Tracey Emin, and Keith Tyson compliment the Georgian features.

An all-day dining room serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner from 7am with a weekly changing menu of ‘seasonal British food.’ The trend for counter dining at the bar is well and truly alive in this space, for those after something less formal.

Room rates are surprisingly affordable for such a location, ranging from £95-£295 per night (less for Soho House members).