A new Autograph Collection hotel is set to open in October as part of the One Blackfriars development in London’s South Bank neighborhood. Bankside has 161-guest rooms and seven suites and is located over six floors at the base of a new 50-story glass tower adding to the U.K. capital’s skyline near The Shard and already nicknamed “The Vase.”
The hotel interiors were designed by Los Angeles–based former film set designer Dayna Lee and focus on natural light and unique art pieces, although meeting space was designed to mirror the blank galleries of the nearby Tate Modern and Hayward Gallery.
The 2,110-square-foot White Box hosts up to 180 attendees for a banquet and shares a floor with three other meetings rooms; Meeting Rooms 1 and 2 can be combined to create 1,300 square feet of space, Meeting Room 3 is a 430-square-foot boardroom that can accommodate 30 guests for a reception.
The hotel is located within walking distance of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Borough Market, and the Southbank Centre.
The hotel will open with an onsite restaurant, the Art Yard Bar and Kitchen, and a mezzanine bar with an outdoor terrace.
To champion emerging artists, the hotel expects to have a permanent “Craft Space” devoted to artists-in-residence where guests can watch them at work.
