1 Hotel Mayfair LONDON As Barry Sternlicht’s mission-driven lifestyle brand lands in London, the owner, operator and design team reveal more about setting a new standard of luxury that positively impacts the planet. Words: Catherine Martin • Photography: © Jon Day (unless otherwise stated)
W
hen Barry Sternlicht announced plans for a new
adoption of sustainable practices, its stunning countrywide
hotel brand back in 2015, he had successfully
landscape and the diverse cityscape of London.”
identified the changing mindset of a new generation
And so, with Crosstree Real Estate Partners as owners and
of travellers. “It’s simple. We have an impact on nature and
GA Group appointed to take the lead on interiors, Sternlicht
nature has an impact on us. I decided that if I was ever going
set about introducing his nature-inspired ethos to the capital.
to create another hotel, I wanted it to be more than a brand;
144
I wanted it to be a cause,” he said at the time. “People are
THE OWNER
already living like this and are now looking for ways to travel
The story begins in 2011, when Sean Arnold and Nick Lyle
in the same fashion.”
founded Crosstree Real Estate Partners. “This was actually
In much the same way his launch of W Hotels kickstarted
the first property Crosstree bought as a business,” explains
the lifestyle category, 1 Hotels has been a driving force in
Arnold, from the lounge at 1 Hotel Mayfair. “I had been at
mission-driven hospitality. For Sternlicht, who has long
Starwood Capital and Nick at Blackstone, and this was our
believed that we all share a responsibility to protect the
new venture; we acquired the Holiday Inn on Berkeley Street
planet, the aim was to spawn a movement with a mindful
and a commercial building on Piccadilly.”
purpose; to celebrate nature while encouraging guests to
As prime real estate in the heart of Mayfair, the duo knew
live well, do better and connect with the world around them.
they were onto a good thing, however the leases with various
Operating under SH Hotels & Resorts – a subsidiary
tenants meant they were unable to access the opportunity
of Starwood Capital Group – 1 Hotels made its debut in
of refurbishing the building until the leases expired, several
Miami’s South Beach, followed by openings in Central Park
years later. “We bought it with the long-term in mind,”
and Brooklyn Bridge in New York, as well as San Francisco,
continues Arnold. “It was the highest RevPAR Holiday Inn in
Nashville and West Hollywood. News of a London flagship
the world, but hadn’t been invested in. The idea was always
came in 2019, with Sternlicht then stating: “1 Hotel London
to redevelop the site as a luxury hotel and residences.”
will undoubtedly set a new standard in the city for the luxury
The acquisition of an adjacent building on Dover Street
hotel experience, while also advancing our brand mission to
gave Crosstree an enviable one-acre freehold site to develop,
inspire conscious consumption and become a platform for
with the initial plan to demolish and rebuild, bringing in
change. Now, more than ever, the idea of living well must
Baccarat Hotels – another of Sternlicht’s brands – as
include the thoughtful and thorough protection of the natural
operator. In the meantime, Crosstree won praise for its
beauty that is everywhere, and nowhere is that effort more
revitalisation of a Brutalist building in King’s Cross, opting
important than the UK, with its growing commitment to the
to retain and improve rather than demolish what was, at the