the times Saturday April 9 202256 Travel
An apartment’s dining areaand glass, and Artcoustic sound systems.
Shockingly for somewhere with such a
party-hard ethos, Thirteen — the hotel’s
bar and all-day hangout — won’t open
until summer; neither will the gym. The
rooms are amazing, but with such sky-
high rates I doubt Mick Jagger — who is
often accused of being a penny-pincher
— will be spending the night.What’s near by?
Carry on the musical theme at Ronnie
Scott’s, less than a five-minute walk
away, and catch Inspiring Walt Disney:
The Animation of French Decorative Arts
at the Wallace Collection until October.
Susan d’Arcyeven more ostentatious, with a blood-red
free-standing tub and a fireplace
sculpted with snakes, hawks and
gargoyles. The “maxibar” has 34 full-
sized bottles of spirits and 30 bottles of
wine. It’s rock’n’roll, right? It’s only 4pm,
but Freddy fixes me a French martini —
vodka, Chambord raspberry liqueur and
pineapple juice. Everything, from the
laundry bag emblazoned with the word
“Filth” to the bathrobe logo of a devilish
figure proclaiming “Back to mine”,
reflects the tongue-in-cheek attitude.
Across the road 14 Session rooms open
tomorrow. They’re playfully punkish,
with gold-trimmed graffitied beds,
chandeliers made from nickel, ironand it’s unconventional. Starting with
reception: there is one, but the team
prefer to use the street as a lobby, so my
“btlr”, the flamboyant Freddy, meets me
on the pavement wearing a vampish
gender-fluid uniform with shoulder
pads so big they barely fit through the
17th-century door of No 7, where my
apartment is.
There are 13 apartments available now.
I’m in All the Sinners (from £660 a
night), a tribute to the Stones’ Sympathy
for the Devil. It’s a dimly lit boudoir with
black leather floors, Timorous Beasties
wallpaper, a black leather upholstered
bed and a wardrobe that looks like a
Catholic confessional. The bathroom isWhat’s the story?
Denmark Street in Soho has long been
a hit with music lovers. The Rolling
Stones recorded at No 4, the Sex Pistols
lived at No 6 and it’s thought that David
Bowie created Ziggy Stardust at No 9.
Now, 16 buildings along it are being
remastered as a 55-room boutique bolt
hole, with a mix of “Session” rooms and
apartments. Some are in grade II listed
townhouses and others are across the
street in the Now Building, a music, arts
and entertainment space that will launch
by summer, with an outpost of Tattu (a
trendy restaurant chain serving Chinese-
inspired dishes) that opened this week.
What do we like?
The mantra of Taylor Howes, the
interior designer, was “no half-measures”,
The Times
hotel guide
Chateau
Denmark
London WC2
Location {{{{{
Rooms {{{{{
A bedroom in one of the
lofthouse apartments
Susan d’Arcy was a guest
of Chateau Denmark,
which has room-only
doubles from £510
(chateaudenmark.com)