HotelChatter

· It's in a very posh nabe (obvs) just steps away from Sloane Street and Sloane Square.
· There will be a lobby bar and another bar on a different floor. They are calling it a champagne bar for now but it will be something different.
· There will be a destination restaurant inside.
· There will not be a rooftop bar. Sad Face.
· The official name is The Belgraves--a Thompson Hotel.
· The hotel is expected to open in May 2011.

Brandman also told us that the hotel is being converted out of an existing hotel (it's actually the old Sheraton Belgravia!) but the entire building has been gutted, allowing Thompson "create what we really want to create" from scratch.

London is a natural fit for the Thompson brand which already caters to the jetsetting crowd (and even business travelers) in New York and Los Angeles and now, Toronto. Brandman conceded that the London hotel market is challenging right now but despite how difficult the economy has been lately, the fact that Thompson is expanding shows that the brand "delivers on service, has great staff, great people and is creating a lifestyle environment that customers are embracing."

If all goes well, Brandman said he believes the London hotel, which he called a "brilliant" project several times, could open the doors to the rest of Europe. Will we soon be staying at Thompson Paris or Thompson Barcelona? Quite possibly. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We'll just be waiting patiently until next May.