The 190-room hotel will be a part of the new Foster + Partners project, 250 City Road, in the Old Street roundabout area of Shoreditch, which has become known as “tech city”.
The nhow brand focuses on working with creative designers such as Norman Foster’s studio, Rem Koolhaas, Karim Rashid, Sergei Tchoban and Matteo Thun and is already open in Milan, Berlin and Rotterdam.
Speaking at WTM London, NH Hotel Group’s chief commercial officer Rufino Perez Fernandez said: “Business travellers and leisure guests tell us they love this nhow brand; design is a key focus, as is making them feel like they belong in the area when they stay with us. We also like to encourage locals to come and spend time in our bars and restaurants – the bar at the nhow hotel in Rotterdam was voted the best in the Netherlands for example.”
By 2018, the brand – which is one of four operated by NH Hotel Group – will have opened another 15 hotels, including in Santiago de Chile and Amsterdam, which when it opens will be the biggest hotel in the Netherlands.
“Among many places on the shortlist where we would also like to be are Miami, Paris and Barcelona,” said Perez Fernandez. “We see a gap in the market for our type of hotel in those cities; there is plenty of room for growth for us.”
The group’s most high-end brand NH Collection is also set for big growth, he said, and already has 49 hotels in 11 countries. “It has been so successful since launching only a year and a half ago. Again, all the indicators so far are that there is plenty of space in the market for this brand too.”
