Hotel AMANO opens in Covent Garden
Berlin-based hotelier The AMANO Group brings its boutique lifestyle concept to London for the first time
Covent Garden’s newest hotel comes from Berlin-based hotelier The AMANO Group. For its first foray outside of Germany, the group has made a grand entrance, securing a prime property in London’s famous theatre district. Taking over a 1980’s office building known as Drury House, Hotel AMANO promises to combine the vibrancy of Berlin with the history and metropolitan buzz of London.
Located on Drury lane, the boutique 141-room hotel, which opened in May, places an emphasis on beautifully designed spaces and rooms at a fair price. The renovated property was designed in partnership with global architectural and interiors practice Woods Bagot. The firm was responsible for the refurbishment of the historic building’s architecture and the interior design, which encapsulates the buzz of the iconic neighbourhood that surrounds it.
Designers combined thoughtful detailing with classic contemporary elements to create a feeling of understated luxury. An air of theatrics is created through gold-mirror dropped ceilings and expansive glass voids while cosy fireplaces, natural materials and timber flooring form a sense of comfort. Distinctive art and design features include a flying light installation in the lobby, a wall installation in the lower ground bar and framed canvases in the bedrooms. Throughout the property, you can find carefully considered fabrics from Scandinavian and German textile companies such as Kvadrat and JAB Anstoetz; wallpapers from Elitis and House of Hackney; and bespoke furniture by PARLA Design.
As well as rooms, guests can enjoy a number of culinary offerings, including a spacious rooftop terrace from where they can soak up beautiful city views of cocktails, and a basement bar serving up bar snacks and aperitifs in a moody setting. AMANO’s signature restaurant Penelope’s will open later in autumn and will offer a rich menu of Israeli-Spanish fusion food.
The AMANO Group was established in 2009 by families Süsskind, Schiff and Rokeach. The founders’ aspiration was to design hotels that are integrated into the city’s cultural life and offer guests sophisticated urban living in a central location at a fair price. Hotel AMANO Covent Garden is the group’s first outlet outside of Germany, where it has 10 hotels, and the first of several properties planned for the British capital. Further outlets are planned in Leipzig, Hamburg and Munich.