Six Senses London, United Kingdom
A Historic Department Store Reimagined as an Urban Wellness Retreat
Why DNA Hotels Loves It
● The transformation of the Grade II-listed Whiteleys department store into a richly layered hotel by Foster + Partners, EPR Architects, and AvroKO.
● Interiors that reinterpret Victorian retail grandeur through Art Deco curves, crafted materials, and playful references to the building’s past.
● An extraordinary 2,300-square-metre spa that brings the restorative philosophy of Six Senses into the heart of London.
The Universal Provider Returns
Six Senses London occupies one of Bayswater’s most storied landmarks. Whiteleys began as William Whiteley’s pioneering department store, inspired by the spectacle and international craftsmanship of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Once known as the “Universal Provider”, it promised almost anything beneath one roof. The building has now been restored as part of a major redevelopment led by Foster + Partners, preserving its Grade II-listed façade and monumental architectural presence. The spirit of discovery remains. Only the objects of desire have changed.
A Retro-Future Emporium
AvroKO approached the interiors as a journey through the imagined world of Whiteley himself. Post-Victorian grandeur, Streamline Moderne forms, and early modernist influences meet within a dreamlike sequence of vitrines, counters, cabinets, and display-inspired details. Deep greens, inky blues, polished plaster, marble, brass, warm timber, and hand-finished tiles give the hotel a sense of quiet patina, while lighting references range from Parisian street lamps to the interiors of historic steamships. History remains visible. Never literal.
Rooms with a Residential Rhythm
The 109 rooms and suites replace conventional hotel formality with softer, more adaptable spaces. Chevron timber floors, curved cabinetry, capsule-shaped mirrors, deep-blue textiles, and warm woods create a calm backdrop, while glass showers can be screened by fabric curtains to preserve a sense of intimacy. Handmade Moroccan zellige tiles and sculptural hardware introduce character without overwhelming the rooms. Around thirty feature private terraces, opening the interiors towards the surrounding rooftops. At the top of the building, the Whiteley Suite imagines the founder’s former home as an expansive private residence with two bedrooms, marble bathrooms, a kitchen, and a tree-lined terrace. Luxury feels lived in.
Wellness Beneath the City
The former storage vaults now contain one of London’s most ambitious hotel spas. Spread across 2,300 square metres, the subterranean retreat is organised around vaulted passages, bridges, reflecting pools, green tiles, and filtered daylight. A 20-metre swimming pool forms its centrepiece, accompanied by a magnesium pool, hammam, sauna, steam room, flotation therapies, cryotherapy, red-light treatments, and a biohacking recovery lounge. The Alchemy Bar offers a more elemental approach, transforming locally foraged herbs and botanicals into oils, tinctures, and skincare products. Nearby, the Earth Lab explores conservation and material reuse through practical workshops. The atmosphere shifts below ground. From spectacle to stillness.
A New Social Heart for Bayswater
Whiteley’s Kitchen, Bar and Café brings energy back to the ground floor through a theatrical open kitchen, botanical displays, glass chandeliers, and the familiar proportions of a grand European café. Above it, Six Senses Place introduces the brand’s first members’ club, combining lounges, dining rooms, wellness spaces, and lush planting beneath a sculptural skylight. Hyde Park, Notting Hill, and the increasingly dynamic streets of Queensway are all close by, but the hotel creates a complete world within its historic walls.
Why It Works
Six Senses London succeeds because it treats Whiteleys as more than an architectural shell. Its history as a place of spectacle, commerce, and discovery informs every layer of the design, from retail-inspired guestrooms to the sanctuary hidden within the former vaults. Past and future meet without nostalgia. The result is theatrical, restorative, and unmistakably London.
