The original banking hall is now used as a conference and function room, keeping the splendour of the original plasterwork and decorations

These design touches are successful in creating an interior that is not only stylish but accessible, part of the secret of its popularity. However a more important part of that success is the staff. Stylishly and simply dressed in black, marked out by discreet little ‘W’ signs on their lapels, these are supremely confident young people who are not only friendly but efficient and effective too. Never over friendly, their motto is ‘whatever you want, whenever you want it’ – and they strive to deliver on this promise.However relaxed and whimsical the CEO of Starwood Barry Sternlicht may make the approach to these hotels seem, there is nothing whimsical about the training programme that must be in place here to make such an effective delivery of service.


Whimsy does play its part in the design however, with the lampshades on the Reception desk having laces like an old fashioned ladies corset – contributing their own subtle touch to what Sternlicht refers to as doing “things that are different, surprising, with a little more whim, push the edge a little. Surprise can be texture, color or scale, but it can’t be in your face – it has to be more subtle.”

Suite bathroom has smart grey and black scheme - Full length mirrors are all just leant on the wall. Suite bathroom makes better use of the space than the standard bathroom, with a separate shower and a jacuzzi bath (rollover to see) Bedroom corridors are dimly lit - it prevents light spill under the door, but makes it difficult to read door numbers and does nothing for the partially sighted. Rollover to see the marble finishes of the original corridors

Starwood have made a great deal out of the ‘new approach’ to the heart of the hotel experience, the bed and the bedroom. Deep and layered, with ‘cloud like layering of mattress and feather’ and with duvets, this bed irritated me with rucks and wrinkles under the sheets making for an uncomfortable nights sleep. However the rooms are generous with space, stylish and generally very comfortable. Once again though for a US hotel all the lighting was individually switched, and the sophistication taken for granted in Europe with a single switch at the bedhead turning off everything in one go, was missing in rooms that seemed anyway to be underlit.To me struggling to find a flimsy switch on an unfamiliar fitting in the dark is as annoying as it is unnecessary – even more so if it comes off in the hand…

Bathrooms are an area where US hotels lead the way – they are not only larger but always have very high pressure water systems giving power on the showers. This lead is gradually disappearing as bathroom technology improves in Europe. Suites seem to be differentiating not just by having separate showers (although this is now becoming almost a requirement in four star standard bedrooms) but in some hotels by the addition of steam rooms and shower ‘temples’ as one manufacturer calls them, with pulsating body jets and even CD players. Here the differentiation is more traditional with the addition of a Jacuzzi to the separate shower, setting suite apart from standard rooms. The suite also uses marble rather than the limestone of the standard bathrooms – a subtle but effective design differentiation.