Hotel of the Week: Broadwick Soho Is a Love Letter to the Bohemian Spirit of London’s West End
Designed by the legendary Martin Brudnizki, this 57-key hotel is a maximalist, disco-chic dream with a 370-piece art collection boasting works by Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, and Bridget Riley
It is not every day that a group of friends get together and plan to open a five-star hotel. But the Broadwick Soho, London’s hottest new boutique hotel, was never meant to be conventional. Nestled in the heart of London’s vibrant West End area, this 57-room townhouse on the corner of Broadwick and Berwick Street is the brainchild of visionary owner Noel Hayden, with longtime buddies Jo Ringestad, Joshua Gardner, Andrea Gelardin, and Jamie Poulton.
The backstory is a fascinating one. Hayden, a self-taught tech whiz and entrepreneur, spent his childhood living at his family’s Bournemouth hotel, Mon Ami, which would later go bankrupt. After making his own personal fortune, launching a billion-pound tech business, Hayden soon set his sights on opening a luxury hotel—his first hospitality venture—as a love letter to his parents and family legacy and the spirit of the neighborhood.
To turn this wild and ambitious dream into a reality, Hayden and the group turned to interior designer Martin Brudnizki, the man behind some of the world’s most iconic venues, including Annabel’s, the bar at the Dorchester, the Beekman Hotel, and more. What followed was a seven-year journey to create a character-filled, narrative-driven retreat where no detail or expense was spared.
The vision for the property is flamboyant and eclectic, artfully infusing a range of global inspirations and eras, all layered with a dash of British eccentricity and a dose of disco chic. The result is a feast for the senses that perfectly balances high-end luxury with the comforting, familiar feeling of a friend’s private residence. “Heavy maximalist design can easily go wrong, and we had to be careful it didn’t turn into too much of a theme,” says Gardner. “Brudnizki was so fantastic from day one; he understood the backstory and what we were trying to do.”
Guests are welcomed through a glossy salmon-pink entrance, a sharp contrast from the grey London street outside. Inside, the concierge are wearing electric-blue animal print blazers with oversized dickie bows, setting the theatrical, lavish tone of what is to come.
Guest rooms and suites on the hotel’s upper floors are filled with bespoke furniture and striking works of art. Walls are painted with solid blues and pinks, while others are wrapped with patterned wallpapers. In each suite, artworks by Peter Samuelson, an unsung hero of British queer art, hang above the beds, while the guest rooms display a set of paintings Laura Gee in the style of British artist Vanessa Bell.
Custom design touches in the rooms include fringed wardrobes depicting hand-painted 1920s garden scenes or handmade Murano glass floor mirrors embellished with intricate cut-glass flowers, and charming, elephant-shaped bronze mini-bars in the suites, all masterfully handcrafted in Jaipur. (The elephant is the hotel’s signature motif, chosen for the values and loyalty it represents, and can be found dotted throughout the property.)
The team took the unusual extra step of buying the exclusive rights to all the designs, championing small, generational family businesses throughout Europe to ensure impeccable quality. During the pandemic when development was at a standstill, the group spent three years sourcing the wares from across the globe, meeting the makers, and “literally mixing the colors of the deep red terrazzo walls by hand in Livorno” or “standing in a forest in Portugal to mix the wallpaper,” says Gardner. Even the smallest details have a story; a magnificent vintage 1970s chandelier in The Nook, a private guest-only drawing room tucked away at the back of the ground floor, was spotted by chance in a gallery near a train station on the way to Verona.
In the subterranean level, the Italian restaurant, Dear Jackie, named after Noel’s mother, features tables made of volcanic stone and hand-painted in Florence by Deruta, while the chandeliers are Murano glass crafted by a single family on the island. The rich red-silk walls made in Como are lined with 170 playful ceramic plates by Michaela Gall that pay homage to Soho’s history, with illustrations ranging from royal history to references to the area’s past underbelly. Meanwhile, in the private dining room upstairs, guests can admire Andy Warhol’s series of “shoe” prints that were once part of David Bowie’s collection, and a cheeky phallic sculpture by William Turnbull.
The art collection at Broadwick Soho is as impressive as the design and architecture, boasting 370 pieces curated by art adviser Jonathan Brook, ranging from Old Masters, fascinating flea market finds, and important contemporary pieces. In the reception area, for example, guests will find six original Francis Bacon lithographs alongside a large-scale work by Bridget Riley, displayed against a floral fabric wallcovering. Hayden’s mother had a passion for Italy, and the collection, which is mostly Hayden’s own, focuses heavily on female artists. “We wanted to create a glorious townhouse in honor of his parents, filled with all the lovely things they collected during their travels,” suggests Gardner. Respecting Soho’s artistic legacy, Brook placed works by local contemporary talents such as Isaac Benigson, whose portraits are deeply rooted in a passion for 20th-century outsider art, Chica Seal known for her whimsical, surrealist paintings, or Callum Green’s vibrant playful pieces.
After opening in late 2023, the hotel has become much more than simply a place to sleep and is now at the center of London’s vibrant party scene. Upstairs on the seventh floor, the iconic rooftop bar Flute contrasts pops of pink with leopard and zebra print, surrounded by cork walls, 1970s chandeliers, and even a shiny gold DJ booth. The whimsical, independent spirit that Hayden fostered from the start continues to permeate throughout, with his family’s honor living on.
“It captures the spirit of that time,” says Gardner “A place of love and family and memories.”