Palma de Mallorca, August, 2 2012. The ME London Hotel, the latest jewel on the urban hotel scene in London, is preparing the final details for its opening in September in central London. This is the fifth hotel for the ME by Meliá brand, the most avant-garde of the hotel brands operated by Meliá Hotels International, and boasts a spectacular design by the world renowned architectural firm Foster + Partners.
Housed in the former headquarters of BBC Radio (Marconi House), the historic building near Covent Garden has now been fully renovated to include contemporary elements in which a sense of light and space plays a key role in highlighting the magnificent facilities and brand attributes. The hotel offers a collection of 157 rooms, including 16 suites and a spectacular two-storey ME Suite with direct access to the rooftop bar.
A large elliptical tower tops the building on the corner of Aldwych and The Strand, crowned by a glass dome. The interior is dominated by an elegant pyramidal atrium, following the triangular floor pattern of the hotel, around which are distributed the guestrooms. While updating the 1904 building to retain its noble character, the design has been conceived with a contrast of light and dark shades such as black marble in the hallways and white leather walls in the rooms.
ME by Meliá offers a true brand experience, reflected in the success of its existing four hotels, including the renowned ME Madrid Hotel in the central Plaza de Santa Ana in Madrid and the ME Barcelona Hotel, designed by Dominique Perrault. To ensure a first-class hotel experience, the brand employs an “Aura Experience Manager”, responsible for ensuring every guest enjoys their stay, an expert in the city who meets each guest personally to offer a customised service, one of the most attractive of the many attributes which make the new ME London Hotel so different.
The opening of the hotel also sees the European launch of the STK restaurant, a popular American steakhouse concept especially designed for a female audience which has been a great success in the US in the hands of the New York restaurant group The ONE Group. Thanks to the partnership with the ME London Hotel, the American firm will also run the hotel’s “Asellina” Italian restaurant. The ME London Hotel also provides the “Marconi Bar” in the lobby, an ideal setting to end the day after work, while the hotel rooftop terrace is home to the spectacular “Radio” bar, the only terrace bar with panoramic views of Aldwych and the Strand (the heart of social and theatre life in London) which will be open from breakfast until dawn.
Finally, the ME London Hotel has 700 square meters of flexible space to host events and meetings, offering superior quality service for groups up to 300 guests.
According to the Vice Chairman and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer, “thanks to its location and outstanding product and service quality, the opening of this hotel after the Olympics will represent a fundamental step forward in our globalisation process and also make a major contribution to the London luxury hotel scene.”
