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The New York Times Decides Sanctum Soho 'Looks Cheap'

Where: 20 Warwick Street, London, United Kingdom, W1B 5ND

Well, we went into London's brand new "rockstar hotel", The Sanctum Soho, and checked it out for ourselves — and we dug it. It was a cool concept, what with the teensy "Crash Pad" rooms meant to appeal to the just-here-for-the-night partiers, the always-open bar to appeal to the post-gig rockers, etc.

But the New York Times didn't really share our sentiments. To be exact, the Times writes in their The Moment blog:

When I stayed last week, I didn’t actually see any rock stars or groupies boozing in the roof garden. Instead, I saw a pair of older women with shiny leather purses the size of potato sacks checking in at the front desk.

Sigh. Yes, well, this happens. But the other big thing:

The real problem is that the hotel looks cheap. Maybe it was the diamante-studded door handles or the custard and rhubarb walls, the copper booths and red velvet chairs in Sanctum’s No. 20 Bar and Restaurant that had me thinking, “Two years of remodeling and this is rock-star luxury?” Some of the suites have white or black Rococo-inspired furniture that appears plastic, uninviting and uncomfortable. Other suites, most costing upwards of £350 per night, are dressed in gaudy mirror tiles and windows covered with curlicue decals for privacy.

Lovely. The only two things the reviewer did seem to like? The bathrooms — which are "superbly appointed," and the Crash Pads, the design and price (£175) of which the reviewer was diggin'.

Tags: Hotel Video Tours / Hotel Openings / London Hotels / Sneak Peek / → All Tags

Sneak Peek at London's 'Rockstar Hotel,' The Sanctum Soho

Where: 20 Warwick Street, London, United Kingdom, W1B 5ND

It's ready! The Sanctum Soho — London's new "rock star hotel," and possibly the one we've heard the most rumors about in a long time (recall the Iron Maiden thing), opens its doors tomorrow.

Luckily for us, we got a sneak peek on Monday. Unfortunately, it was at the very un-rockstar time of 8am, so most of the rooms were taken (friends of owner Mark Fuller have been road-testing it for the past few weeks) and there wasn't really a distinctive "vibe" established — but we liked it.

There are only 30 rooms, all of which are built for romping, from huge suites to (our favorites) the "crashpads," called-so because they're for crashing when you get caught late in town or happen to find yourself on a date that's going particularly well (but your moldy apartment might endanger the mood). There are no wardrobes in these ones; there's just about room for a bed, a minibar, a TV and a bathroom — but that's part of the fun, isn't it? The decor's fab too: in the room we saw, the wallpaper was a combo of dark brown, sparkly lurex, and brown sheeny pebbles. It was very dark, but that, again, was probably intentional.

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Tags: Hotel Openings / Rock and Roll Hotels / London Hotels / Design Hotels / → All Tags

Sanctum SoHo Will Serve You Jack Daniels in the Bath

Where: 20 Warwick Street, London, United Kingdom, W1B 5ND

Remember that hotel for rockstars that some journalists dubbed the "Iron Maiden Hotel" because, um, the hotel was meant to appeal to musicians and also because one of Iron Maiden's managers was involved in the company behind the hotel? Yes, well. It's called Sanctum Soho, and it opened today.

Owner Mark Fuller, in an interview with Sky News, was all about getting across the anything-goes vibe of the place, emphasizing that all are welcome — whether they're John Legend-types dressed in suave suits, or drunk, sweaty and fresh-off-the-stage rockers rolling in past midnight.

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Tags: Rock and Roll Hotels / London Hotels / Design Hotels / → All Tags

Iron Maiden's Managers to Open Rockstar Hotel in London

Where: 20 Warwick Street, London, United Kingdom, W1B 5ND

[UPDATE: Apparently, this hotel has very little to do with Iron Maiden and is a venture of Concept Venues. According to an article in CatererSearch: "Concept Venues counts Iron Maiden co-manager Andy Taylor as an investor, which led The Sunday Times to report that the band were the driving force behind the hotel. But Fuller told Caterersearch that, while the hotel would appeal to musicians, it was not a "rock & roll hotel."]

We're not quite sure how to adequately communicate the awesomeness of this news to you, so we're just going to come right out and say it: Iron Maiden's management is opening up a luxury hotel in Britain for rockstars. A rockstar hotel. Seriously. And it's not a Hard Rock.

According to the Times UK, the management team of legendary rockers Iron Maiden has teamed up with nightclub owner Mark Fuller to build a £6.5m, 30-room boutique hotel called the Sanctum Soho in London. It's supposed to be a bit of a sanctuary for musicians — heavy security to keep out the paps and screaming fans, lots of luxe amenities abound — so it's not necessarily a get-wasted-and-trash-the-place sort of establishment. Well, at least they're trying to make us believe it's not trash-able; as we all know, there's no telling what kinds of terrors Hurricane Wino might bring.

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