Ask any unsuspecting tourist where Fitzrovia is on London’s map, and chances are they would eye you with the most puzzled of looks. But those who have previously looked at this quarter with an air of suspicion—especially any Londoners who consider it an afterthought—are missing out.
The central London district offers the best of all worlds. While minutes away from the chaos of Oxford Street and the glitz of Shaftesbury Avenue, the main theater strip of London’s West End, Fitzrovia also gives visitors to the British capital one thing its other boroughs do not: the opportunity to experience quaint urban “village living” right in the centre of one of the world’s biggest metropolises.
Like New York neighborhoods such as the West Village and Soho, Fitzrovia has always been a countercultural hub. A historic bohemian sanctuary, it’s a hotspot for literary thought and artistic experimentation—George Bernard Shaw, Quentin Crisp, George Orwell, and Dylan Thomas all lived here—and thanks to its academic credentials, with half a dozen university campuses spread across its leafy Georgian terraces, it remains a beacon for young minds thinking outside of the box. Now, it’s known as one of London’s major creative business hotspots, packed with all sorts of advertising, PR, media, and film agencies—Netflix included.
If you’re of the mind that London is having a bit of an image problem right now—or at least feel that popular luxury hotel enclaves like Mayfair, Belgravia, and Knightsbridge are a bit of a snoozefest—then Fitzrovia is just the tonic. Here, in this alternate universe, you are in the land of the independents, where slick boutiques and forward-thinking stores—from Labstore for the latest Rick Owens and Yohji Yamamoto collectsions, to Margaret Howell for reliable British classics—trump the grandeur of all the high-end fashion flagships that line Bond Street.
But why, exactly, is Fitzrovia having such a moment? You could chalk up at least some of that buzz to the arrival of newbie hotel The Newman, which hits the block this month. (The block being a corner of Newman Street, a tucked-away spot just steps from the Byzantine splendor of Fitzrovia Chapel as well as the lively pubs and restaurants of Charlotte Street.) The Art Deco-inspired 81-room property is the first hotel from London-based hospitality group Kinsfolk & Co, whose directors have worked on a handful of other beloved British hotel institutions like The Goring—a go-to of the royal family—and The Beaumont in Mayfair. Three years in the making, the building has lived many lives, formerly existing as a post office and the headquarters of a major PR agency.
The interiors are the work of Lind + Almond, a design studio based in London whose other hotel credentials have taken them as far as Copenhagen, where they designed the boutique bolthole, Hotel Sanders. All of The Newman’s main spaces are inspired by the locale: famous Fitzrovians, architectural icons like the nearby BT Tower, and local characters past and present, including the legendary novelist and essayist Virginia Woolf.
As a self-confessed local, I was always a little skeptical of The Newman’s arrival. I live next door in Bloomsbury and often scour Fitzrovia for its restaurants and shops. For the last 14 years, I have walked this neighborhood’s streets both as a literature student and a journalist, and have seen it transform from sleepy student hub to a sexy (and somewhat polemical) word-of-mouth haunt. Does the hotel capture this spirit? In short, yes—especially in the bohemian flair in its architecture.
Geometric shapes, golden color pops, and obtuse angles feature heavily throughout all of The Newman’s spaces, as do textured paintings by artists including Nadia Tuercke, Adriana Jaros, and Anastasija Kulda in the penthouse suite. A vast collectsion of black-and-white prints immortalizing locals captured by photographer Rory Langdon-Down also features heavily throughout the hotel’s moody, dimly lit corridors. Timber and deep wood tones are offset with polished stainless steel mirrors to create a synergy between the hotel and the outside urban environment.
Over a dozen artists, such as illustrators Christopher Brown and Marcel Garbi, as well as painting duo Sandhills Studios, were also specially commissioned to capture the spirit of Fitzrovia past and present. Think abstract interpretations of the neighborhood’s colors, as well as miniature drawings of its famous residents (Virginia Woolf and smartly suited dandies included) across all of the rooms and public spaces. Nothing is overtly commercial here—and in an age where branded cookie-cutter hotels rule, that feels refreshing.
As for the rooms and suites? They vary from petite hideaways to one-bedroom balcony suites and the stand-out penthouse, complete with a long terrace—and private sauna—overlooking Fitzrovia’s chimneys and rooftops. All, especially the larger suites, offer a natural symbiosis with the area, with many of the furniture and art pieces mirroring the quirky architectural world of London outside: the elongated curves of the cushy sofas, jazzy bed top portraiture, bathroom basins that take their cue from the balustrades of a nearby Art Deco building and subway-style tiling which mirrors the nearby Langham Court Hotel’s Victorian glazed brick façade. The bedposts also echo the elaborate bangles of former Fitzrovia resident, the heiress Nancy Cunard, a muse to famous writers Ezra Pound and Aldous Huxley. It’s stylish, but wholly unpretentious.
Downstairs in the basement, The Gambit Bar serves as The Newman’s beating heart. The graphic-patterned floor, flickers of chrome, and groovy chandeliers give it a sexiness most London bars would kill for, with Percy Wyndham Lewis, founder of the Vorticist movement, referenced in the patterns of its coffered ceiling. It’s been a hit with locals and residents since it opened, not just for its creative medley of cocktails, but also for its live music scene that marries grunge with ’80s hip-hop and pop.
Upstairs, Angelica—The Newman’s well-lit community-style brasserie—plates up a Scandi-French menu round the clock. Seasonality is at the heart of Chef Christian Turner’s dishes, with a particular emphasis on live-fire cooking to give guests both a show and an extra hint of char to their meat and root veggies. Vibe-wise, it’s “neighborhood-y” and “warm,” something general manager Oliver Milne-Watson wanted from the moment the Newman opened its doors to the local community. The steaks are highlights, as are the grilled prawns and oyster snacks. The Swedish West Coast salad—a medley of prawn, mussel, crab, and mushroom—was a personal favorite, and something I have no shame in saying I devoured in seconds.
And for a touch of R&R, the hotel’s subterranean spa delivers with its holistic approach to urban wellness. It’s a cosseting cocoon of a space with sauna, steam, salt, and ice rooms in which you can contrast therapies for the entire duration of your stay. There’s also a quartet of treatment rooms for soft-touch Swedish massages and deep facials pioneered by Scandi beauty brand, Nuori. I opted for a massage focusing on my legs and feet. Every part of it was tailored and unique—including my oil selection to help combat my dry and dehydrated skin following a trip to the Arctic Circle—to ensure the most bespoke experience possible. Half an hour in, I had fallen asleep—which for any masseuse, I am told, is the greatest compliment.
What to Do in Fitzrovia Now
Neighbored by trendy Marylebone to the west, literary Bloomsbury to the east (home of The British Museum and London’s most iconic leafy squares), and Soho to the south, life at The Newman extends way beyond the walls of the hotel. Eating out in Fitzrovia is a major perk of a stay at The Newman. Hot ticket Luso takes you on a Portuguese journey courtesy of Chef Leandro Carreira; local favorite Carousel serves up made-to-share wonders from crispy kale salads to seabass crudo; and Akoko takes you on a Michelin-starred culinary odyssey into the depth and diversity of the West African palate.
Elsewhere, Pied à Terre on Charlotte Street is pioneering vegan fine dining, offering plant-based versions of its incredible tasting menus, and Norma, thanks to chef Ben Tish, brings the Moorish-inspired cuisine of Sicily straight to the tables of an eatery that looks like a jewel box. For all of you coffee types, you’ll find the best filter roasts at Archetype, Attendant, and Qima Café.
As for shopping, focus on Mortimer Street and the roads that snake through it. Y London is worth checking out for colorful womenswear, alongside Margaret Howell for a minimalist touch and timeless tailoring. High-end Italian furniture store Minotti is also worth a browse for its contemporary collectsion of living pieces, as is Vola, a niche Danish brand specializing in architectural taps and fixtures for luxury interiors.