Where being green dosen’t mean you have to compromise on style, luxury or comfort
Rafayel on the Left Bank, on Battersea’s new bohemian Left Bank, is set to be one of the world’s first ‘green’ hotels. Officially opening in December 2009, this 5-star hotel is part of the pioneering Falcon Wharf Development, and a blueprint for future hotels.
Rafayel is the first of a dynamic concept headed by developer Mr Ike Latif, who aims to create a branded product that embraces technological advances yet is ecologically aware.
Showcasing the latest technological advances in LED lightings, air-conditioning and VDA efficiencies, Rafayel will minimise our impact on the environment by reducing each guest’s carbon footprint dramatically. The average London guest notches up a colossal carbon footprint of 70kg per night; at Rafayel it will be reduced to a manageable 17kg. A complete LED hotel, Rafayel will reduce overall electrical costs by a staggering 80% too: a glimpse into the future for hotels and homes alike.
Rafayel’s interior design is sleek and modern, yet retains a warm charm through its bespoke furnishings. The hotel has a myriad of state of the art facilities, including: 65 guestrooms all with state of the art technology, 15 apartments, 2 restaurants with indoor and outdoor dining, bar, lounge, spa with gym and pool, meeting room, conference hall to accommodate 150, coffee shop, brasserie, and to top it all, a florist. The hotel’s curved blocks create stunning 360° views of London from the roof terrace. Many rooms enjoy expansive views over the river and city skyline, boasting floor-to-ceiling windows, flooding them with natural daylight.
The waterfront restaurant, Banyan on Thames, with its crystal bar overlooking the river, will offer inspired cooking: its distinctive Indo-Japanese roots fuse with Chinese and Indian spices and simple Italian ingredients, all presented in a refined French style. Rafayel’s restaurants will offer both formal and casual dining, breakfast, morning brunches, and traditional afternoon tea, a first in the Battersea area.
The Rafayel Wa Michi Wellbeing spa will be run by award-winning Content alongside Wellworld Spas. Combining holistic health and beauty treatments, spa clients will be free to choose from locally sourced beauty brands as well as a selection of the world’s finest organic brands. Guest rooms in the hotel will be furnished with natural Content own brand body products.
The hotel’s developer Mr Ike Latif aims high at low emissions, but believes - ‘‘there is no need to return to Stone Age living. Being “green” should be our overall goal, but without compromising on the luxury that the modern age offers us’’. He continues: ‘‘The concept of the hotel on the Capital’s new Left Bank in the culturally prosperous environ of a bustling Battersea is a key step forward in formalizing the intellectual renaissance of Battersea, not unlike the discovery and patronage of the Seine’s Rive Gauche by intellectual greats like Sartre, de Beauvoir, Zola, Camus or Hemingway and Fitzgerald’’
At Rafayel on the Left Bank Mr Ike Latif hopes to offer guests exceptional value for a luxurious stay in a conscience-free oasis. The story doesn't say whether Internation travellers will find the Battersea area attractive enough compared to the West End.
The Hotel Opening (1) - W Barcelona
This is a new weekly section of Hotel Blogs where we will feature interesting and innovative new hotel openings all around the world. This will be based on releases we receive but also on the amount of pictures/videos available to preview the hotel. Pictures and videos are worth much more than 1000 words on a hotel description.So I couldn't imagine a better way to start this new serie of posts witht the W hotel opening in Barcelona on the 1st October.I have checked their website and I could find a nightly rate on a Friday night at €283.55 (taxes included).
You can already book the hotel on Expedia or Booking but don't think you will get a better deal. There is rate parity (for now) with their website and these two online travel agents.
The hotel has built their Facebook page with more than 200 fans already. People talk about the hotel opening on Twitter and of course the hotel has their own Twitter account @W_BARCELONA.
Apparently this new opening in the luxury cool hip market will probably going to hurt established hotels like Hotel Arts. And you can see why on Google (see the sponsored link and the search)...cheeky marketing techniques!
