The BoTree in Marylebone is just a few weeks away from opening its doors and work is ramping up to get the new luxury hotel ready for paying guests.
The hotel will open in London and will be part of a new hotel brand, announced shortly.
EPR Achitects are spearheading the project, while Amsterdam-based designers Concrete are in charge of The BoTree’s look. The project will come to fruition in September after nine years in the pipeline.
The former car park building sits on the corner of Henrietta Lane and Marylebone Lane. It’s a stone’s throw from prime shopping district Oxford Street but nestled in a quiet enclave that exudes Mary Poppins’ chimney-top London.
The building opposite was previously home to the now-defunct House of Fraser and, further up Oxford Street, Debenhams, which closed in 2022 and 2020 respectively. Extensive renovation works are ongoing at the site, spearheaded by Elephant London, with a mixed-use block comprising a Third Space gym, co-working space and retail and restaurants due to open in 2025.
Despite being somewhat of an eyesore for now, general manager Eva Mount is confident that the regenerated area will bring a huge amount of footfall to The BoTree once the project is complete.
Architects EPR have created a striking ‘architectural envelope’ for the building, culminating with a lattice design at the main corner entrance which trails up from the ground floor and past the Presidential suite to the top floor.
The main revolving doors to the hotel are situated where the street corners meet, at the intersection of the Marylebone and Mayfair neighbourhoods and open into the reception area. Not a desk in sight, guests will be checked in via tablets with an app also in development to be able to take on more administration and service tasks, should guests choose to interact this way.
Welcome drinks will be as standard and a showstopping piece of art made from recycled coffee cups has been commissioned for the space.
All aspects of the guest journey have been considered, Mount tells me, with the staff’s uniform palette designed to blend with the rest of the hotel’s aesthetics, making them easily identifiable.
The hotel is proud to already be part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ Legend Collection and each staff member will wear the Preferred pin.
The hotel’s main restaurant is being developed in partnership with Tao Hospitality, which will operate a total of four venues at The BoTree as its F&B partner. The first to open will be Lavo Ristorante, a sister restaurant to Tao’s flagship on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.
It will be a 240-cover restaurant split across two levels and will serve food with an ‘Italian flair’, while The BoTree bar will boast a DJ booth and ’35–45′ covers with an entrance directly onto street level.
The restaurant will be the first in a series of phased openings of more entertainment spaces on the lower levels of the hotel. In a break away from the norm, The BoTree will not have any traditional meeting rooms, instead choosing to maximum space for lively atmospheric night time hotspots.
To take guests up to their bedrooms, 10 ‘intelligent’ lifts will be available. On approach to the lifts, a guest’s key is read enabling the doors to open and the right floor to be programmed in, all without the touch of a button.
The BoTree will comprise a total of 199 bedrooms, with 154 entry-level Deluxe Rooms, starting at £660 per night.
Each guest room will feature king-sized beds with bedding made from eucalyptus Tencel, bespoke canvas artwork as the backdrop to the beds, and a number of luxury touches as standard.
A reception space is separated by sliding panels leading to bedrooms and lounge areas, and each room comes with underfloor heating, a laptop safe, GHD hairdryers, steamers and ‘Jo Loves Pomelo’ amenities.
Suites will come complete with a lounge, balcony, personal bar and integrated cocktail station, plus Dyson hair dryers and air wraps in addition.
There are a total of 30 suites in the hotel, with the largest, the Presidential Suite. The epic suite has a private elevator lobby, guest entrance and outdoor terrace and can be combined with eight other suites to create a 350 sq mtr wing which will start at around £10,000 per night.
Sustainability has been at the heart of every design decision as well. Suppliers have been background checked on their environmental credentials before any deal crosses the line and an intuitive PIR system has been installed in each room to automatically adjust controls if the room is occupied or not.
A ‘modern butler’ service is available for every room, with a dedicated team in charge of escorting guests to their room and being on hand to assist with any guest request.
The BoTree is really going for that personal luxury touch; the hotel’s head host boasts experience from the likes of 45 Park Lane and The Savoy so knows a thing or two about pre-empting guests’ needs.
This focus will be the ‘cornerstone’ of the hotel’s character and Mount and her team can’t wait to get going.
Other plans in the pipeline for the hotel include a rooftop bar, restaurant and fitness suite which will be revealed at a later date.
