This New Hotel in London Is Totally Instagram-Worthy
From ELLE Decor
At first glance, opening a new hotel in the middle of a pandemic may not appear to be the most logical business decision. However, if any hospitality venture was outfitted for long-term living, it would be Bermonds Locke, a new hotel in the Tower Bridge neighborhood of London that blends the sensibilities of apartment life with all of the amenities of a hotel stay.
Known for their contemporary and colorful interiors, Alex Holloway and Na Li, the design duo behind architecture firm Holloway Li, are no strangers to the world of hospitality. When the pair was approached by Locke about joining forces on a multi-property partnership, there was one part of the design brief that stood out—the concept of combining a Californian aesthetic while pushing the boundaries of typical London tropes. “Their team was inspired by a recent stay at Joshua Tree, paying homage to such a natural wonder in both aesthetic and eco-responsibility,” Holloway says. “The task was to carry an unconventional visual character that appealed to Locke’s younger, more dynamic demographic.”
Photo credit: Edmund Dabney
A defining characteristic of all Locke properties is to synthesize all aspects of a guest’s stay—eat, sleep, wash, live—in one harmonious space. Reimagining long-term living was a high priority, Li says: “The challenge was to create a sense of separation and delineation between the spaces. To achieve a sense of sanctuary around the bed, we used a steel reinforcement bar shaped into a curved bed frame, with linen curtains to give a feeling of enclosure.”
For the designers, creating a home away from home is all about ensuring that the room forms a relationship with the guest. In order to do so, each of the hotel’s spaces were given a personality inspired by sunset color gradients—guests can choose between rooms with a more sober and grounding energy or a zingy, livelier one. As a way of executing these personalities, the guest rooms on the upper floors were swathed in cooler blue tones, while the lower floors employ a more vibrant, warm color palette.
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In the end, Bermonds Locke does indeed capture the psychedelic aura of Joshua Tree while at the same time remaining a calming sanctuary in the heart of London. And according to Holloway and Li, a stay there will be a most memorable one: “Injecting the space with unexpected moments enhances the guest experience, which will live longer in the psyche than a more safe or neutral backdrop.”
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