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Inhabit Queen's Gardens

Precis Advisory

London, UK

Set across a crescent of Grade II listed mid-19th century townhouses in Bayswater, Inhabit Queen’s Gardens comprises 159 bedrooms, alongside a 70-cover restaurant and bar, lounge, library and wellness area, including treatment rooms, a fitness suite and a yoga studio.

The site was the second opening for Inhabit Hotels, following the brand's successful launch at Inhabit Southwick Street, also by Holland Harvey. The project presented the opportunity to promote further the hotel's ethos - prioritising guest wellbeing and celebrating people and the planet through the design and specification decisions that were made.

The hotel promises a commitment to environmental initiatives and meaningful community partnerships, pledging to work with 100 social enterprises and small, socially conscious businesses. Every design decision was made through the lens of ensuring a positive and meaningful environmental or social impact.

Substantial renovations were made to the exterior of the building to restore it to its 19th-century appearance.

The hotel as seen from Cleveland Square © Jack Hobhouse

Cleveland Square Ordnance Survey 1896 © Wikimedia Commons

Video short © Jim Stephenson

Ground floor plan

Basement plan

Concept Design

Early concepts explored ideas about eroding the traditional boundaries between front and back of house, within the constraints of the existing heritage building.

The property had been heavily refurbished in the 1990s and much of the historic fabric had been removed. Close collaboration with the local authority and Historic England explored opportunities to open up the spaces within the building to facilitate modern hotel operations.

Sketch of initial concept design

An early axonometric sketch of a bedroom suite

Collaborators

Holland Harvey worked alongside interior designer Caitlin Henderson, lighting designer There’s Light, and art curators Culture A to create a design that blends contemporary Scandi inspiration, Eastern philosophical awareness, and quintessentially British design.

The project prioritised the use of a “social supply chain” that uses British SMEs or organisations with specific environmental or social purposes.

Key design features include a fire surround made by Granby Workshop from waste materials salvaged on-site, custom sinks by Sheffield-based SME Kelham Island Concrete and a range of furniture developed with social enterprise Goldfinger.

99% of the waste created during construction was redirected from landfills, either through recycling, energy recovery, or donations to the third sector.