Boutique Hotelier – August 2019

seven years before settling on Shoreditch.
Guests from England account for around
15% of the group’s business in New York,
so he says London is ‘obviously a feeder
location’. Shoreditch wasn’t his first
choice however.
“I was looking in Soho originally,”
he reveals, “but I was just priced out,
it never really made sense. That area
is really controlled by three or four
landlords and so you end up negotiating
with the same people over and over
again - they are very successful for a
reason, they are not easy to negotiate
with and so we were never able to find
a deal that made sense for us.
“Then this area started to become
the up and coming area that we kept
referencing, we took a look at it and
it had a lot of elements that reminded
us of the Meatpacking District or
Williamsburg, and we wanted to be at
the forefront of that,” he adds.
Once Achenbaum was tuned into
Shoreditch, it took him two years

to find the site on Curtain Road and

almost another four years to bring the

project through to fruition. “We bought

the land in 2013 and got open in spring

2017”, he explains.

Country wise

Originally planning to create the vibe of

an English country house, Achenbaum

quickly learnt that people come to

Shoreditch with expectations of bare

brick walls and industrial chic quirks,

so the design concept was updated to

reflect that demand.

“It’s our job to give people what they

want, create environments they want

and listen to our clients,” he adds.

“We wanted every single space to wow

• you may not like every space - but we
  wanted to create spaces where someone
  says, oh that's my favourite corner.”
  His desire to create something that
  encapsulates the English country house
  style hasn’t waned however, and he is
  currently on the hunt for a new site
  to put down roots in the countryside.
  Having stayed at the likes of Chewton
  Glen, The Pig and The Fish, he says
  he ‘loves the vibe of these beautiful
  properties’ and is keen to replicate their
  success with something of his own.
  He says: “I am actually looking for
  properties to do like a farmhouse
  concept, it's more an experience. So
  the moment you get there, you are
  leaving your car, you are committing to

Drinking den, Billy's Bar.

The Lido rooftop bar

and pool.

The open events space hosts

regular live music.

16 BOUTIQUE HOTELIER | August 2019

TALK MICHAEL ACHENBAUM