IN AN almost comparable way, The Londoner, Singh’s latest flagship London hotel, in Leicester Square, will herald a new era – in the same manner that his other great glamourous London hotel, The May Fair, ushered in the 1920s.
Then too, this newly built hotel captured the spirit of the Roaring Twenties in London after a similar global health crisis (in the Spanish Flu) and a country and society gallantly and energetically trying to renew itself, following a bloody and drawn-out world war (1914-1918). At the time of going to press who knows where President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions truly lie…
The newest £500m hotel in Singh’s empire opened in September 2021 and made a statement – it is his love letter to the capital city – which arguably has made him a billionaire and one of the richest men in Britain today. (He is 10th in our sister publication, The Asian Rich List 2021).
The glittering Eastern Eye Asian Business Awards in November 2021, hosted at The Londoner, was part of the capital roaring back to life as some 400 fully vaccinated and tested guests mingled and enjoyed the occasion.
There can be little doubt that The Londoner is at a stroke a vision of Global Britain writ large – and metaphorically, the lights coming back on after a terrible pandemic which has claimed more than 160,000 British lives (and still sadly counting).
Singh’s Edwardian Hotels London, which has developed the old Odeon Cinema site, comprises several leading establishments in the capital and one in Manchester. Singh, now the billionaire owner of the group, started out as a qualified accountant, investing in a rather run-down property in Kensington, west London and began to build a portfolio of hotel properties that developed into Edwardian.
He had first come to the UK in 1968, aged 17, having been born in Dar-es-Salaam in modernday Tanzania. Like many he came intent on studying and gaining professional qualifications. His parents joined him in 1973 and initially ran a post office in Stamford Hill, north London.
The Londoner is very much a pinnacle property and an emblem of how far Singh has travelled. He was awarded an OBE in 2007 and it would be no surprise to see further accolades flow his way as The Londoner establishes itself in the years to come.
It’s 16 storeys and descends downwards nine floors – more than any other structure in the fabled square. It has a tower penthouse with panoramic views, two private screening rooms, a mix of six concept eateries with bars and a tavern and there is both an alfresco dining area on the ground level and a rooftop terrace with a fire pit at the top.
Taking its aesthetic cue from designers Yabu Pushelberg, which built the iconic Four Seasons in downtown Manhattan, it also took inspiration – from Jean George’s The Fulton and luxury retailer Lane Crawford’s 150,000 square-foot Shanghai retail space and architecture by Woods Bagot – to combine the best of modern contemporary enterprise with a very distinct eye and flair for art and beauty.
Indeed, the blue faience exterior tiling has already won admirers and was the result of local artist Ian Monroe winning a competition. Westminster Council state that new buildings must contribute an artwork for the local community and it was decided that this art should be welded into the fabric of the building itself.
This exterior tiling design is itself inspired by art deco DNA of Oscar Deutsch’s original Odeon cinema chain.
This was not just a major artwork in its own right, but a creation that required digital modelling and unprecedented collaboration between designers, IT experts, architects, builders and the artist himself. Some have already started calling it the Blue Tower.
Costing £300 million, there is a state-of-the art ballroom where the Asian Business Awards were held, while there is smaller space for events and shows, seven meetings rooms, a spa, swimming pool and gym, hair and nail salon, and barber shop.
Singh told the GG2 Power List: “We react to new trends, but also remain confident that the essence of Edwardian Hotels London is upheld. It is important that visitors trust in the quality of the experience we provide. For more than 40 years, we have updated the products we offer to guests, developing a reputation of surprising and delighting them.”
Singh’s The May Fair is also no stranger to glamour or high-fliers from the world of cinema and fashion either.
It is one of the venues for London Fashion Week and also hosts London Film Festival events with many directors and some actors put up there during festival time traditionally in October.
It has also been home to Eastern Eye’s very own star-studded Arts, Culture and Theatre Awards. The hotel group has placed great emphasis on technology and has reaped the benefits – it has 32 of its own apps and is among the front-runners in the industry for its ‘virtual’ butler, “Edward” – which can be easily accessed through a mobile phone and is helpfully on call 24/7 and doesn’t get tired or irritated.
Singh explained: “Today’s guests expect to be connected at all times and they want a seamless experience they can trust.”
Edwardian Hotels London is one of the UK’s largest privately owned hotel groups and owns and operates 10 Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels across the capital as well as the Edwardian in Manchester. It also has a number of signature restaurants and bars attached to the hotels and a chain of London eateries, imaginatively named Scoff and Banter.