The Hospital Club

Described as the creative industries’ ‘home away from home’, The Hospital Club in Covent Garden has now added a superb new suite of 15 sumptuous contemporary style bedrooms designed by Russell Sage Studio.

The Hospital Club is a celebration of creativity, supporting its members through an extensive calendar of member events, exhibitions, social and cultural collaborations and an online community where members can create, connect and collaborate. Members of The Hospital Club join one of London’s most vibrant and rich creative communities.

The bedrooms are the club’s latest addition within seven floors of stunning interiors – with the reception, lobby area, second and fourth floors all designed by Russell Sage. Facilities include a private members’ club, an award-winning events company, a TV studio, an exhibition gallery, a screening room and a live performance space which is home to many of London’s top cultural events.

The club’s distinctive and creatively-inspired new bedrooms will provide guests with a welcoming and relaxing environment.

The fit-out of the scheme was carried out by 3I, with whom Russell Sage Studio have a close working relationship.

The bedrooms are formed on level three of the Hospital Cub. With bars and restaurants on the levels above and below, it was necessary to create an acoustic box around them to ensure soundproofing

The bedrooms include two large suites and smaller pod rooms providing a cost effective solution for those who require more simple accommodation.

The bedrooms take a unique twist on every day hotel amenities, including inspiring turndown cards, brain power tool kits by the School of Life, and an erotic mini bar by Holloway Smith Noir available for those wishing to explore their creativity in other ways!

Suite guests can also enjoy a bespoke bartending experience in their rooms, with their own personal bartender.

Rooms are available in four sizes: small, medium, large and suite. Suites will include a private terrace, walk-in showers, a bathtub and separate dividable lounge area.

“Some of the pod rooms do not have windows, which was a design challenge, but also great fun,” Russell Sage of Russell Sage Studios told Premier Hospitality. He added that the pod rooms feature a small bathroom on the right and side with a leather upholstered step leading into the bedroom area.

“It is a very comfortable environment providing everything one would need for an impromptu stay in the centre of town – including a large TV and power shower,” he added.

He went on to say:

“Because it is a creative industry venue, we have collaborated with emerging artists on each of the bedrooms to provide both artwork and other objects or effects – for example one artist created some very unusual bookshelves for one bedroom whilst another made textiles from artwork.

“We are known for making bespoke items for our designs and this project was no exception with all the carpets, wall coverings and furniture being specially designed by us and bespoke made. The beds, for instance have sweeping headboards which extend up the walls and wrap across the ceiling, creating a contemporary and almost four poster shape.

“Another particularly interesting design detail is the use of stained glass windows in the areas between bedrooms and bathrooms in some of the rooms, which helps give a sense of history to the space.

“Everything is wall-mounted, including desks, dressers and TV cabinets, opening up the floorspace and adding to the contemporary feel. Some of the rooms have high level shelves and some of these even have stepladders leading up to them creating a ‘ship’s cabin’ look – and adding to the sense of fun that the design seeks to convey.

“The design of the new bedrooms continues in the spirit of the venue which is to provide an unusual, contemporary and eclectic mix which is stimulating for the guests and also provides a striking talking point for visitors. This is in line with The Hospital Club’s concept of mixing creative ideas together under one brief.

“The project went very smoothly and feedback has been very positive so far – there have been very few changes to the design so far and everyone has been very happy,” he said.

The Hospital Club’s main ethos is to support the creative industries by providing an inspiring environment that actively encourages its members to create, connect and collaborate. Members include designers, writers, creative entrepreneurs, performers, producers, musicians and film makers.

The Hospital Club was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen through his investment company Vulcan Inc. and David A. Stewart musician (formerly of the band Eurythmics), producer and Founder of Weapons of Mass Entertainment.

The story goes that one night, Paul and Dave were having a drink in Covent Garden when they spotted a boarded-up building over the road. Between them, they hatched a plan to revive this once elegant shell, and transform it into a hub of creativity – full of people, ideas, music and life.

Paul bought the former St Paul’s Hospital in 1996. Renovations began on the interior in 1999 and The Hospital Club opened its doors in 2004. Dave Stewart worked in close collaboration with Paul on the creation of the Club Vision and continues to be a key figure in developing the club’s creative direction.

In September 2013 the Hospital Club opened the Oak Room live performance space with performances from Turin Brakes, Psychemagik, Jumoke Fashola, Gary Numan and the London Cabaret Festival to name a few, and a rolling calendar of world-class comedy, cabaret and live music several nights per week.

The Hospital Club also hosts the hClub100, a national search for the most innovative and influential people working across the creative industries. Winners include Stella McCartney, Thomas Heatherwick, Blanche MacIntyre, Grayson Perry, Kate Moross and Tom Hiddleston in 10 categories ranging from Art & Design, Advertising Marketing & PR, Fashion, Film and Music to Theatre & Performance, Broadcast, Gaming & Tech, Publishing & Writing and Creative Entrepreneurs.

The Hospital Club enjoys long-term partnerships with the BFI London Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, D & AD and BAFTA, as well as the British Fashion Council, who launched their inaugural menswear week at the club in June 2012 and continue to host London Collections: Men twice yearly.

Events include film previews, industry networking evenings and thought leadership talks, wine tastings, supper clubs and chef masterclasses, as well as a book club and writers’ salon.

Philanthropy is also an important part of The Hospital Club’s ethos. Since its opening in 2003, The club has made its facilities and the expertise of both its staff and membership available to a range of charities, mostly organisations working with young people.

The h.Club Foundation was created in 2014 to formalise the Club’s commitment to philanthropy. The Foundation, an independent charity, focuses on supporting and partnering with organisations and programmes using the creative arts to engage and inspire communities across London in order to make a positive impact.

The vision of The Foundation is to develop, support and inspire emerging creative talent and local young people, helping them to realise their potential within the creative industries.

This is achieved through: nurturing and supporting emerging creative talent; creating opportunities for young people to access and experience the creative arts and encouraging them to become involved in their community through creative programmes, as well as providing creative/arts charities and social enterprises with pro bono access to The Hospital Club’s facilities.

As its name suggests, for many years the building was home to St Paul’s Hospital, which amalgamated with St Peter’s to become a teaching hospital in the newly established NHS in 1948. In 1959 the UK’s first artificial kidney unit was established at the hospital and the first dialysis in the UK was performed there in 1961.

The hospital closed in 1992 and the building was purchased by Paul Allen. Renovation was delayed until 1999 due to local planning objections and was completed in 2003 when the Hospital Club’s TV studio and gallery opened, followed by the opening of the private members’ club, restaurant and recording studio in 2004.

Glass Fit Limited

 Glass Fit Limited specialise in the design, supply and installation of high-end, bespoke architectural glass for the construction industry. The company has been in operation for ten years and within this time Glass Fit Limited has worked on many prestigious venues, including The Connaught Hotel in London.

Outside of the commercial sector, Glass Fit Limited works with private clients, including many high profile individuals. Working on The Hospital Club, Glass Fit Limited was involved with the installation of shower enclosures into all bedrooms at the boutique hotel.

Speaking to Premier Hospitality about the project, Managing Director of Glass Fit Limited, Mark O’Connor, said:

“The main challenge was working around a tight time frame. As no two shower enclosures were the same, each shower required individual attention. They were unique in size, glass colour and component finish, and whilst this usually lends itself to a long lead time, we didn’t have the luxury of time on this project, so we had to make adjustments to the way we worked. Our surveyor utilised a 3D laser scanner to speed up the process and this allowed us to cut the lead time by a couple of weeks.”

Mark added:

“The Hospital Club is a very famous venue so to be asked to be involved in this project was great. Our fitters always appreciate working on something which offers variety and this project included a mix of blue, green and clear glass, as well as polished nickel components – a combination unique to this hotel. At the end of the job I took a look round and felt very proud of what we had achieved.”

Noble Russell

Noble Russell have been commissioned by Russell Sage Studio to custom make furniture for the boutique bedrooms that open this year at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden.

Noble Russell were delighted to be involved in the new designer bedrooms, having previously worked with Russell Sage on furniture within several areas of the private members club, including a bespoke bar and panelling for the Oak Room.

Custom made furniture for the bedrooms included TV cabinets made from American black walnut with powdered coated metal frames, matching desks, dressing tables with coloured gloss lacquered drawer fronts; all complimented with side tables in cherry wood and lacquered coffee tables.

With work continuing on a further two rooms currently, Noble Russell delivered and fitted the first collection of furniture on time and within budget, continuing their excellent working relationship with Russell Sage Studio and The Hospital Club.