From his perch atop Beaumont, a curious metal man keeps a watchful eye over the streets of Mayfair. Sharp-edged and borderline brutalist, the towering sculpture marks a stark contrast to the soft facade it calls home.
The artwork is, oddly enough, the result of a planning regulation from Westminster City Council. Believe it or not, the impressive 5-star hotel and its classic facade spent the first 80 years of its life as a garage.
When The Beaumont took over the site in the 2010s, the local planning authority allowed the conversion as long as there was some form of public art commissioned alongside it. Then-operator Jeremy King reached out to Sir Anthony Gormley, the man behind the iconic Angel of the North, and thus ROOM was born.
Yes, you read that right. The three-story sculpture is actually a bookable space to sleep in. If you venture to the hotel’s second floor, you’ll find an Art Deco living room and a white marble bathroom. But, hidden behind a secret staircase, you’ll find a dark, oak-clad room reminiscent of a cave with a bed.
There is no other furniture in it, with the walls bare of a few hooks. A single window keeps all distractions out, with the angle letting in just a glimpse of the sky.
Sir Gormley wanted the threshold between the suite and the ‘world’ of ROOM to be pure white. At that point, he wanted guests to take off their clothes and move up the statue in the state you were born in, essentially going from the womb to the grave.
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Although technically part of The Beaumont, ROOM remains a sculpture and can be moved to another location at any time. On that basis alone, it must be included in the selection of London’s most unique hotel rooms.
Unfortunately, that means the experience comes along quite the price tag. A night inside the ROOM will set you back at least £500, but that includes a basket of pastries – so that’s okay then. For a virtual look inside, visit ROOM’s website here.
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