The all-suite Emory hotel opens for high rollers in London

The vogue for all-suite hotels gathers steam with the opening of the Emory in London, an architectural showpiece next to sister hotel, The Berkeley. The project is one of the last by the late Richard Rogers, whose collaboration with hotel group Maybourne was completed by his firm Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners (RSHP). It houses 61 suites over nine floors, each with floor-to-ceiling windows, bespoke design, original art and a 24/7 personal assistant.

Facing Hyde Park, between Belgravia and Knightsbridge, the building is characterised by a series of ‘sails’ projecting over the footprint from the 10th-storey rooftop bar. A central staircase, visible through the glass façade, is the hotel’s signature – as is its colour, dubbed ‘Richard Rogers pink’. ‘Every element of the sail structure reflects a meticulous attention to detail, where the beauty of movement is apparent, and nothing is hidden,’ says RSHP’s Ivan Harbour. ‘The integrity of the central idea of The Emory, the distinctive skeleton, the building frame, is rooted in basic original thinking and gives it a unique timelessness.’

The Emory, meaning ‘home strength’ or ‘industrious leader’ in old English, enlisted world-class designers like Alexandra Champalimaud, Andre Fu, Pierre-Yves Rochon, Rigby & Rigby and Patricia Urquiola to design the suites, including a 300sqm wraparound glass penthouse. Rémi Tessier tackled the in-house Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant abc kitchens, as well as the ground-floor bar and rooftop spaces, in shades of ochre and copper, interspersed with swaths of marble. Two glass pavilions on the roof are home to the burl-wood Emory Cigar Merchants and the private Bar 33.

Over the lower-ground floors is Surrenne, a new private members’ wellness club focused on longevity, with a pool and saunas.

Maybourne recently announced all its London hotels will be powered by completely renewable electricity. The Emory will run from a solar farm in Essex.

www.the-emory.co.uk