Starck Design at London's St. Martins Lane Hotel

Are you familiar with the work of Philippe Starck? This inventor, creator, architect, designer and artistic director is the creative genius behind design icons produced for major design houses including Kartell, Magis, Fossil, Flos and Driade. He is also behind the witty and theatrical Alice in Wonderland inspired interior of St Martins Lane Hotel in London's West End. I was in London last month and discovered this hip and happening hotel with a few friends. In the foyer, an interesting combination of modern fluorescent elements, dramatic columns and classic chairs meet with oversized and quirky objects atop Portuguese limestone floors. The design of the foyer is a play on proportions to give guests the feeling that they have just stepped into Wonderland.

“Hotels are no longer impersonal transitional venues but living, pleasurable spaces bursting with humour and irony...Every object, every shape, every style must have a meaning, and it is this meaning that influences us every day.” (Philippe Starck). With this, I leave you to discover St. Martins Lane with me.

Starck has designed hotels and restaurants the world over. With each design, he enjoys highlighting its singular pulse, its special vibration, to create a venue in harmony with its environment while lighting its romantic flame. He did this with St Martins Lane London, stimulating the senses with his imaginative interpretation of Wonderland in the modern foyer of St Martins Lane London.

The hotel’s no fuss, modern, white bedrooms are a soothing space to clear the mind and get a good night’s rest. Minimalist meets innovation, with a custom-designed lighting system that allows guests to set the mood in their room with a rainbow of soft coloured lights against an all white backdrop.

Back downstairs, the hotel's restaurant Asia de Cuba is a hotspot for Londeners looking to enjoy a meal with a twist. The restaurant, quite obviously one of the most popular dining venues in the city thanks to a truly unique concept, was buzzing with diners enjoying the restaurant’s signature fusion cuisine in ‘sharing style’. 

The restaurant’s innovative menu combining Asian and Cuban cuisine was a perfect match for Asia de Cuba’s equally impressive decor, with dramatic columns creatively displaying art, plants and books, and pendant lights strung like spiderwebs from the ceiling. The staff were lovely and welcoming, too, which made for a really fun night out. If you are ever in this part of town, be sure to go in and grab yourself a Mohito, which comes served in a mason jar!

If you are in London and looking for a place to stay amongst it all in a vibrant and upscale way, be sure to look up St. Martin's Lane.
Holly

Image credits: 1 St Martins Lane London; 2 & 3 Louise de Miranda of 30s Magazine; 4 St Martins Lane London; 5 Dani Gudith of and cute