Design-focused serviced apartment brand Locke is set to open its sixth London property this summer.
As previously reported, the property will be housed within the former NH Kensington hotel, situated on Cromwell Road around five minutes north of Earls Court Underground station.
The group has now confirmed that the eight-storey aparthotel will be called Ember Locke, with an opening date scheduled for July 2023.
Features will include 121 apartments ranging from studios to duplex one-bedroom options, as well as a coffee shop, restaurant, co-working space, a meeting room, garden, fitness centre, laundry, and “a small stage for live performances”.
Locke said that inspiration for the hotel’s design came from “the late Kensington Roof Gardens and the laissez-faire flamboyance demonstrated by the iconic mid-century fashion brand Biba, born in Kensington’s bohemian fashion scene in the 1960s”.
Interiors will combine Art Deco styles with “21st century retro futurism”, while apartments “have been curated as a series of boudoir rooms with colourful tones, luxurious materials, vibrant patterns and Art Deco details”.
The Locke brand was launched in 2016, and currently has a portfolio of 11 aparthotels including locations in London, Cambridge, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin.
Last year Edyn announced it had secured £105 million in funding to accelerate the European expansion of the brand.
A Munich property opened in 2022 in the city’s Sendling neighbourhood, and further aparthotels are also under development in Berlin, Zurich, Lisbon and Paris.
For our reviews of the brand’s properties in Cambridge and Dublin, see:
Commenting on the news Eric Jafari, chief development officer and creative director, Locke, said:
“We’re very excited to be opening our first property in West London, in an ideal neighbourhood for Locke.
“This part of West London has long captured the attention of leisure and business travellers alike – you have some of the city’s best museums and shopping locations on your doorstep and in the last few years the area has had a real spotlight on it, with some of the best restaurants in London opening here.
“With the buzzing neighbourhood of Notting Hill close by and tranquil Hyde Park moments away, we are excited for Ember Locke to open its doors for guests.”
