Owner of Blakes Hotels and Grosvenor propose boutique hotel, restaurant and members’ club
The owner of Blakes Hotels has submitted a planning application with Westminster City Council to create a new 30-room hotel at three adjacent buildings close to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair in central London. The application is supported by freeholder Grosvenor Britain & Ireland (Grosvenor), which is selling a long lease to the hotelier.
Plans for the hotel include an all-day 120-cover Parisian style brasserie, a private members’ club and bar. The members’ club will cater for people active in the creative sector and Mayfair residents. The planning application includes a detailed operational management plan which mitigates the impact of servicing the hotel on the local community.
Navid Mirtorabi, owner of Blakes Hotel, said: “As ardent appreciators of Mayfair we believe it will be the perfect address for our project; an erudite, elegant and creatively intelligent 30 room hotel. It will be exquisite and charming as opposed to opulent and arrogant. This spirit will inform the easy, informal all day restaurant. A very contemporary menu will be based around locally sourced organic and biodynamic ingredients. We see it as a social and cultural catalyst. In the tradition of great European art hotels we will create an accessible offer for creative and interesting individuals.”
Anna Farnes, Director of Estate Development at Grosvenor Britain & Ireland said: “Developing a new hotel in Grosvenor Square is part of our long-term strategy to enhance Mayfair as a place to live, work and visit. The development will bring visitors, jobs and investment to the area, boosting local retailers and creating vibrancy for North Audley Street.”
The buildings proposed for redevelopment are 22 Grosvenor Square, 43 North Audley Street and 1 Lees Place. 22 Grosvenor Square and 43 North Audley Street are currently offices and have previous planning consent to be jointly developed into a restaurant and six residential apartments. 1 Lees Place is currently vacant and has planning permission for a residential dwelling. The buildings are adjacent to the United States Embassy on Grosvenor Square and date from the early twentieth century, with substantial rebuilding after bomb damage in World War Two.