Rock'n'Roll Hotels

London’s latest hotel offering is - wait for it - strictly for rock’n’roll superstars. But rock and roll seems to have grown up and the hotel is positioned as ‘sexy’ not ‘rowdy’.

Out: throwing TVs from the window.
In: serious relaxation, decent beauty sleep and 24 hour food and drink and an offering all geared to the needs of touring artistes.

A bouncer is on the staff, apparently, to keep the paparazzi and autograph hunters firmly at bay.

The hotel has been created in a partnership between the management of Iron Maiden, the heavy metal band, and Mark Fuller, a nightclub owner. The hotel is billed as a retreat for musicians playing in London, including Iron Maiden themselves.

The band’s co-manager Andy Taylor claims the hotel will meet the specific needs of rock ‘n’ roll guests.

"The hotel will be rock ‘n’ roll at its best," Taylor said. "The desk clerk will definitely be dressed in black just as in Elvis’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel.’ It will be a fairly elite environment. The bar will be open for 24 hours to cater for bands who come off stage at venues such as the O2 at 11 p.m. or midnight."

The £6.5m project, called Sanctum Soho and rumored to open in either February or April 2009, has 30 boutique rooms. A stay will cost from £150 for a “crash room” to £260 for rooms which have names such as Purple Haze and Naked Baroque to £500 for suites called Naked Luxe.