Philippe Starck sure knows how to make an entrance. No, I haven’t been partying with the superstar French designer — I’m talking about the lobby of the Starck-designed Sanderson. With its Dali-esque ‘red lips’ sofa, oversized Louis XV armoire and framed dog portraits (the Frenchman is teasing us about our love of pooches!), the foyer is a witty surreal delight. It’s fantastic. Yes, Sanderson, eight floors and 150 bedrooms housed in a former textile factory just off Oxford Street in the heart of London’s West End, is all about fantasy.
And perhaps that’s why this iconic Morgans’ hotel (10 years old in April) is perfectly qualified to be the party hotel that it is. Fantasy and fun — no wonder Jade Jagger and Mariella Frostrup have hosted parties here. And Tim Burton, too. The director held his Alice In Wonderland after-party at Sanderson — where guests including Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and David Walliams marvelled at a bathtub, which dispensed gin from one tap and tonic from the other.
Even when my sister Yasmine and I check-in (at 3pm), the famous Long Bar (80 feet of white onyx) is filling up. Oh, the bars! Before we go to our room, we nose around… The Long Bar is dramatic and glowing. The Billiard Room has the funkiest stained-glass wall you’ll ever see. And The Purple Bar has violet silk curtains, lavender chairs and purple Venetian mirrors. It’s what Prince’s front room would look like if it had a bar in it. With the Billiard Room open until 4am (the Long Bar, open to the public, shuts at 1am), no wonder Sanderson is such a vibrant place — packed with partygoers of all ages and nationalities.
But it’s so much more than that. As the woman on reception explained to us, Starck intended the ground floor to be the party floor, but then the lifts take you up to the calm. ‘There’s a painting on every bedroom ceiling called “White Dream”,’ she told us, ‘and the idea is looking at this picture takes you to dream land.’
We didn’t believe her — until we saw our room. Deliciously serene. The room was white and light. Long white nets at the windows, and acting as cloudy ‘walls’ in the room; blond floorboards; a giant silver sleigh bed; crisp white bedding. The only colour was the purple-lined unit that housed the minibar, JBL iPod speaker and the Sony DVD player and TV. The bathroom was the same: all white, chrome and frosted glass — with colour pops only in the block of yellow underfloor lighting and the purple shelves in the hidden storage. Minimalistic and luxe. And, of course, brilliantly designed.
The zen doesn’t end there. The Courtyard Garden — tropical plants around a huge pebble ‘pool’ — soothes and the agua spa takes your stresses and breath away. The products are fabulous (Natura Bissé, Aromatherapy Associates, Eve Lom) and the treatments no-doubt superior, but it’s the dreaminess that delights. ‘Floating’ mirrors, giant white billowing curtains creating corridors and rooms, and silence. Just silence. So white. So ethereal. This might be what Heaven looks like. (I zoned out so much I got lost and my sister had to find me.)
The spa’s a treat for your soul, and Suka, Sanderson’s modern Malaysian restaurant, is a treat for your tastebuds. Ridiculously delicious food. Yas and I couldn’t stop ordering (Butter Prawns, Rib-eye Skewers with sesame and chili oil, Welsh Salt Marsh Lamb with oyster mushrooms and curried lentils, Hot Chocolate Fondant…) and the lovely waitress didn’t point and stare once. (The service at Sanderson is wonderful: super-efficient, friendly, polite and not at all supercilious.)
Sanderson is the hotel for partygoers and for those in search of some luxe ‘them’ time. A contradiction? Maybe. But, like a lobby with giant lips in it, it works.
Sanderson, 50 Berners Street, London W1T 3NG (+44 (0) 20 7300 1400; sandersonlondon.com). Rates for a standard double start at £265.
