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28th January 2021
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Hansgrohe bathrooms within earshot of the chimes of Big Ben
Opened in November 2012, the InterContinental London - Westminster Hotel is the first InterContinental to open in London for over 36 years. Just a stone's throw from the corridors of power and within earshot of the chimes of Big Ben, this new 4 star property exudes period appeal, set as it is within Queen Anne's Chambers, a former government building built in the 1800s.
Following a £150m investment by Shiraz Boghani and family of Supreme Hotels, the elegant interior of the hotel sits behind a 19th century townhouse exterior to provide sanctuary for business and leisure guests alike in the heart of Westminster. The 256 guest rooms are spread across six floors and include 45 individually decorated suites with separate lounge and bedroom.
All rooms feature well-appointed marble bathrooms with walk-in shower and separate bath. Showers and bathroom fittings are from internationally-renowned, German specialist Hansgrohe.
Celebrated Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola is one of the few female designers in the bathroom sector and her Axor Urquiola collection, created in collaboration with the designer brand Axor, has a distinctly sensual and emotional appeal. The Axor Urquiola single lever basin mixer plays a starring role at the basin in all the hotel bathrooms, where it was specially adapted to meet the design brief with the pop-up waste lever positioned to the side, rather than the standard position at the back of the tap.
With a playful nod to the design style of the sixties and seventies, the square lever with rounded corners means that the mixer can be operated intuitively and, at the same time, feels pleasant to the hand. As a characteristic design element in the collection it rises at an angle out of the base body, providing it with an unaccustomed, but pleasing asymmetry.
The bath area features the concealed control from the popular PuraVida collection from Hansgrohe. Characterised by softened shapes and a lightness of design, PuraVida is a timeless collection that blends perfectly into many interior bathroom schemes. The control operates the Croma 100 EcoSmart hand shower featuring water-saving technology to reduce consumption to just nine litres per minute while still providing an effective and enjoyable shower. The control diverts to the discreet Exafill bath filler; this best-selling and ingenious product from Hansgrohe acts as a three-in-one bath filler, waste and overflow.
The iconic Raindance AIR overhead shower from Hansgrohe is fitted with a ceiling connector so as to be directly overhead and provide a refreshing, air-infused downpour in the fully tiled walk-in showers.
Comfortable, modern design combined with strong eco credentials from Hansgrohe are on display in the hotel washrooms with the Metris electronic basin mixer. Operated by infra-red sensor, these touch-free models ensure the highest possible standards of hygiene along with responsible consumption of water as the sensor ensures that the tap cannot be left running after use.
In addition to superior quality bathroom fittings, the overall standard of fit-out of the hotel bathrooms is second to none. Richly-veined brown marble is used around the bath and basin areas complemented by a lighter brown marble on the floors. These opulent surfaces are softened by beige stone wall tiles and the basin area is framed by exotic, polished wood.
Guests at the hotel can make use of the fitness centre and gym which is open 24 hours and an extensive range of business facilities. Authentic American smoke house techniques are on hand to satisfy hungry appetites at the Blue Boar Smokehouse & Bar serving classic comfort food with a distinctly British twist. Named after Emmeline Pankhurst, founder of the suffragette movement, Emmeline's creates a genteel setting for cocktails and champagne, while the adjoining Lobby Lounge serves indulgent afternoon teas.
Ben Reed, Contracts Manager at Hansgrohe, worked on the project with architect and interior designer Dexter Moren Associates. Ben comments: "This was a fantastic project for us due to its high profile location and also being the first London hotel for InterContinental and SB hotels in over three decades. The bathrooms are finished to an extremely high specification to provide a level of luxury for hotel guests that totally befits the Hansgrohe and Axor brands. They show our products in the best possible light."
Within the international Hansgrohe Group, Hansgrohe is the premium brand for bathroom and kitchen fixtures, showers and shower systems as well as thermostat and plumbing technology. Winners of numerous awards throughout the world, the brand's products stand for modern technologies, innovative design and a superlative level of functional quality. This explains the success of the brand as a market leader in the shower segment and as one of the leading manufacturers of fixtures. With inventions such as the shower bar, adjustable spray types, the QuickClean function, the AirPower or the EcoSmart technology, Hansgrohe is regarded as one of the leading innovators in the international sanitation industry.
In the current ranking of the International Forum Design (iF) of the world's best enterprises in the field of design, Hansgrohe SE is in 6th position among 2,000 companies. With a score of 1,080 points, the Schiltach-based bathroom mixers and shower specialist even outperforms such enterprises as BMW, Daimler, Audi, Hewlett Packard, Loewe and Porsche and leads the design hit list in the sanitary industry.
22nd February 2013