Lifestyle hotel operator art’otel has signed a deal to operate the 160-room hotel at the heart of London’s £8bn (US$10bn, €8.8bn) redevelopment of Battersea Power Station.

The hotel will sit within a building designed by Foster + Partners. Progress is being overseen by the Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) and the hotel will be managed by art’otel’s parent company, PPHE Hotel Group, when it opens in early 2019.

Art’otel beat off competition from a number of leading hotel brands from around the world to secure the contract. BPSDC chose the brand for its “art-inspired vision”, which envisaged the hotel featuring public galleries, lounges and cafes showcasing artworks from around the world.

BPSDC has revealed that skyline floors in the hotel will provide panoramic views leading up to the roof garden, which has been designed by James Corner Field Operations – the creative team behind the New York High Line. Here, a dramatic rooftop pool will allow swimmers to take in views of the power station’s iconic chimneys and the surrounding London skyline.



Announcing the agreement with art’otel, Rob Tincknell, CEO of BPSDC, said: “We are incredibly excited to be announcing this important transaction and for it to be with such an innovative hotel company … art’otel was a standout winner, a brand unlike anything we have seen in London to date, and it is particularly fitting for it to have art at the very heart of the brand and the hotel itself.”

Boris Ivesha, president and CEO of PPHE Hotel Group, echoed the excitement building around the development of Battersea Power Station. He said: “As a company we take pride in opening hotels, restaurants and bars in areas which are embarking on new urban and community journeys and the Battersea Power Station project is a spectacular example of this.”

The hotel – which will be named the ‘art’otel london battersea power station’ – is a key component of Phase 3 of the Battersea development, designed by Foster + Partners and Gehry Partners. Phase 3 also comprises Electric Boulevard – a new pedestrian high street that will be the main gateway to the entire development – 1,300 residential homes, a new London Underground Station and a community hub known as The Prospect.

Elsewhere, a 4,281sq m (261,360sq ft) public park, created by LDA Design, will feature event lawns, festival spaces and terraced gardens running alongside the River Thames.

The overall development of Battersea Power Station is based on a masterplan provided by architect Rafael Viñoly. It is the largest single development project in London since Canary Wharf.