London is set to get its first Nhow hotel and in advance of the late-summer opening, NH Hotel Group held a media preview of the construction site on the fringe of the trendy Shoreditch neighborhood where it will be located, displaying the property's Big Ben rocket statue and a robot butler called Henry.
"London is one of the most exciting and forward-thinking cities in the world, so in order to create a buzz we needed to make sure that we matched the city’s creative energy," said Maarten Markus, managing director Northern Europe of NH Hotel Group, at the event. "But also ... artificial intelligence seems to be everywhere and everyone is talking about robots. As leaders in the hospitality industry, we decided to take the next step by implementing a robot named Henry, which we will use as an unexpected addition for our guest-relations service.”
When it opens, the hotel will have 190 guestrooms, including the Royal Garden Suite on the top floor.
The company commissioned local architecture and interior design studio Project Orange to create the space. "Nhow London required vivid storytelling to capture the concept of ‘London reloaded’ and we were encouraged to develop a radical series of theatrical spaces for the Instagram generation," said Director James Soane. "Each area is connected through a narrative that transforms familiar London icons into dramatic installations that catch the eye. The outcome promises to be a playful and stimulating hotel, engaging guests in the ever-changing dynamic of the city."
Nhow London is the first Nhow hotel to open in the U.K. With this launch, the Nhow brand will grow to five properties with hotels in Berlin, Milan, Rotterdam and the recently opened Nhow Marseille. The Nhow Amsterdam RAI is slated to open in Q1 2020, followed by the Nhow Brussels later that year and the Nhow Frankfurt—the brand's second German hotel—in 2021. Nhow hotels are planned for the next three years in Rome, Santiago de Chile and Lima.