Nobu Hospitality Announces Its First European Hotel: Nobu Hotel Shoreditch, London

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

London—Nobu Hospitality, inspired by world-renowned Japanese Chef Nobu Matsuhisa and championed by Academy award-winning actor Robert De Niro and Hollywood producer Meir Teper, over the course of the past months announced an aggressive expansion plan. New hotel properties in development have been announced in various global markets, from the West Loop of Chicago, to Eden Roc Miami, City of Dreams Manila or Riyadh. The luxury hospitality brand has now announced a new development: its first European hotel. The Nobu Hotel Shoreditch London, which is currently under construction, is projected to open in the first quarter of 2016 and Nobu Hospitality has entered a long-term management agreement with the Willow Corp Sarl, the owner of the hotel.

“The Nobu Hotel Shoreditch in London is our first European hotel joining our growing portfolio collection of hotels covering select locations in the Americas, Middle East and Asia,” explains Trevor Horwell, CEO of Nobu Hospitality. “Our proven business algorithm for hotel owners is our tactical and competitive advantage, focusing our effort on maximizing return per square foot.  We are as such continuing to expand our global hotel footprint with a robust development pipeline working with the best strategic partners.”

Located at 10-50 Willow Street in the Shoreditch area of London, the hotel is being developed by London-based Meir Abutbul and the overall interior design will be a collaboration between Ben Adams Architects and Studio PCH. The 156-room hotel will feature banqueting and meeting rooms, a state-of-the-art fitness center and modern amenities. Chef Nobu will develop the food and beverage menus specifically and uniquely for the hotel.

From an architectural point of view the design of the five-story hotel draws on the vibrant cultural and industrial context.  The stories are fractured into angular, concrete balconies with cantilevered steel beams, which form a seemingly frayed edge to the northern façade. At the site’s eastern edge is located an intimate landscaped garden that articulates into terraces.

“The Nobu Hotel Shoreditch is a critical and valuable chapter in the ongoing evolutionary tale of London. For an area conceived through, and shaped by, contemporary culture and creativity, our architectural design is the obvious gesture,” says Meir Abutbul.  “The demonstration of beauty, drama and instinctive elegance has found a perfect home with the Nobu Hotel Shoreditch.”