The Soho Hotel

Tucked down Richmond Mews, on a quiet cul-de-sac off Dean Street, The Soho Hotel is Kit Kemp and Tim Kemp's Firmdale flagship in the heart of the West End. It opened in 2004 on the site of a former NCP car park, and Soho's first proper luxury hotel announced itself with Fernando Botero's giant bronze cat in the lobby, a piece that still greets every arrival. Behind the warehouse-style brick facade are 96 individually designed bedrooms and suites, the Refuel bar and brasserie, a Library, a Drawing Room, two screening rooms and a spa, all wrapped in Kemp's signature mix of bold pattern, contemporary art and colour.

The social heart is Refuel, where an oak-and-pewter bar runs the length of the room beneath Alexander Hollweg's sweeping mural, with deep banquettes and a brasserie menu that carries through to a late drink. For private events the hotel keeps a cluster of dedicated rooms on the lower ground floor: the Indigo and Sandra Blow Rooms, each able to shift from a dressed dining table to a standing reception and to interconnect for larger parties, and the Crimson Bar, a snug cocktail room with its own bar and a jukebox.

The two screening rooms set the hotel apart. The larger seats up to 100 in red leather under a fibre-optic star ceiling; the smaller is upholstered in cowhide and red hide for 45. Both are built for premieres, launches and press nights, and the whole private-events floor takes a DJ comfortably once the tables are cleared. It is one of the few places in Soho where a launch can run from cinema to dancefloor without leaving the building.