Owned by interior designer Kit Kemp and her husband Tim, Firmdale has eight hotels in London; among our favourites are the Charlotte Street Hotel and the lesser-known, completely charming Number Sixteen in South Kensington. But when Ham Yard splashed onto the scene in 2014, it felt like something fresh. Both in its big, bright spaces but also in its creation of a new shopping enclave tucked behind Piccadilly Circus. Redefining the city hotel with its own urban hub, this is a beautiful boutique stay on a big scale.



