2021

It’s easy to perhaps mistake the Royal Lancaster as just another London building block. But the star of the iconic film The Italian Job – is no standard hotel.  Step inside the revolving doors and delegates/guests are surrounded by metres of stunning glass reflecting natural sunlight.  And it isn’t long before your eyes swiftly see warm, friendly smiles an immediate but important clue that customer service is key, with no request too small. The hotel can “fly you” to the 19th floor, where you will be stopped in your tracks as you emerge into the breath-taking skyline of London, finding yourself looking at Hyde Park’s Italian gardens or the West End. With no over-looking buildings in sight, this really is a special view!

The Royal Lancaster already has an excellent reputation for being one of Europe’s top hotels for large meeting spaces and face to face events, but things are about to get shaken up virtually!

With hybrid and virtual events playing a big part in the now normal “Covid World”, The Royal Lancaster is host to a show-stopping studio with the latest technology never seen in a hotel before. Welcome to the SmartStudio XR, mixing reality with virtual, allowing up to 30 delegates (current guideline max numbers) to socially distance in the hotel whilst broadcasting live and on-demand to colleagues and guests anywhere in the world.

On the doorstep of Royal Lancaster London, is Notting Hill, Oxford Street, Kensington and Knightsbridge. Lancaster Gate tube station is just next door, the line connects with Oxford Circus, Holborn and Liverpool Street. Heathrow Airport is 20 minutes from the nearby Paddington train station which is only a 6-minute walk from the hotel.  Royal Lancaster London also has a secure, private car park for hotel guests with 29 car parking spaces including one disabled parking space

The Royal Lancaster London offers a range of 19 stylish meeting and conference rooms, excellent facilities and top cuisine. From impressive corporate events and meetings, the hotel can cater for every type and size of gathering, with a truly personalised and family-like service – rare in many large London hotels.

Four hundred and eleven bedrooms and suites offering delightful comfort. Each room has been designed with luxury and amenity in mind. Plus, check out the amazing views from ceiling touching windows!

Royal Lancaster London’s newest addition includes their Virtual Reality event space – The XR Mixed Reality Production Studio & Event Space, with thirteen smaller spaces which can accommodate from 2 to 200 delegates with natural daylight. The Nine Kings Suite holds up to 1,200 guests for dinner, as well as 650 guests in the adjoining reception foyer, whilst the Westbourne Suite has an impressive 1500 capacity.

Max Capacity: 1500 / Bedrooms: 411 / Meeting Rooms: 19 

1. Show stopping virtual/hybrid SmartStudio XR
2. Large meeting spaces with own entrance available for corporate events 
3. Great sustainability values 
4. Personalised, family-feel service 
5. Easy access central London location with stunning skyline views  

With Covid 19 the new normal, the Royal Lancaster has taken extraordinary creative steps to provide innovative solutions for anyone looking to hold a conference or event. The Smart Studio XR meeting & event space, offers extraordinary technology tailored to organisers needs.

Lead by Technical Director Scott Tompkins, from 4Wall, XR mixes virtual with reality enabling delegates to engage in a safe and welcoming environment cleverly blending state of the art technology with a personalised service. The SmartStudio features a 10m wide stage, with LED backdrop, audio, cameras and TV-ready lighting and is being used already for live streamed events and virtual conferences.  High definition output ensures those watching online and actively engaged.

For each event, The 4Wall team has an initial client meeting arranged by the Royal Lancaster, to ensure objectives are understood, delivered and on message. Space in the studio can be organised for delegates, with content and production values considered for online guests tuning in on the day. For those watching from home or a remote location, the system is very easy to access via Microsoft Teams or Zoom and works well either as a live events or an on-demand pre-record. With a 1GB Wi-Fi connection onsite, security is also a top priority with point to point encryption making it secure and reliable for all business use.

Extended Reality (XR) can be used for 360-degree virtual spaces, live panel discussions, interactive sets and augmented reality. And the 4Wall team are always on-hand behind the scenes to help with technical changes in the form of graphic (PowerPoint) transitions and can even provide some really whizzy, impressive tricks including impressive 3-D modelling of a client product.

Looking into the future, the Extended Reality Meeting Room is likely to continue, once the Covid-19 epidemic is over, particularly with climate change still very much on the agenda. Reducing business travel will be important in an eco-friendly world and will of course prove to be much more cost effective option for organisations.

With a family-like work dynamic, the refreshing attitude of each staff member is reflected in long-term employment opportunities at the Royal Lancaster. Apprenticeships and training programmes create a positive workplace, which really shows in the service delivery standards. Anticipated action is often taken by staff, long before the need is ever identified by the guest or delegate. Great service can be experience all over the hotel, from the restaurant to meeting rooms and it’s clear that everyone lives and breathes the values ‘we always care’.

Something close to the heart of General Manager, Sally Beck’s is the importance of running a sustainable hotel. The Royal Lancaster has an impressive carbon reduction commitment scheme including a 100% no landfill policy with a mission to be plastic free by 2030. They recycle, re-use or give to charity many items. Bedrooms have biodegradable coffee pods. Some bedrooms even have views of the Royal Lancaster’s very own beehives and guests can try the hotel’s very own honey, known to have a signature lime taste, thanks to nectar visits to nearby Hyde Park! The kitchen also works upon eliminating vast food wastages by investing in seasonal foods, sourcing meat from Oxford and offering alternative cheese boards which have a radius of 40 miles.

Not enough information? Well, search no further. The hotel offers their very own sensors room! This gives an inspiring and exclusive experience to watch the chefs hard at work and prepare you and your delegates plates. Having the chance to meet the new head chef Fred Tobin and hear some of his plans for 2020, these menu’s will be sure to satisfy those taste buds!

You can start to feel the luxury of this hotel as you enter the impressive rooms. Upon entering each of these bedrooms, the natural daylight floods the room with large windows that touch the high-rise ceilings. With no over-looking buildings in sight, you can see for miles over the city day or night. Looking clean and fresh, the bedrooms and bathrooms look as though they have just been made. Each room has been uniquely put together where you may find a personalised toy car from the Italian Job amongst the décor, or one of their commissioned dogs which have a spin off from a 60’s magazine collage-like touch. And this is if you are not completely distracted by the London skyline before your eyes!  The bathroom’s meet commodity with opulence as you witness a raw marble layout. Detail is really at the heart of this hotel, and this even reflects in their choice of indulgent bed linen, so even when you drift off after a busy day you feel on cloud 9.

With an expansion of the nine kings’ suites, delegates can hire their separate entrance which can be personalised to represent the heart of any brand. Offering a range of rooms on this wing, of up to 280 guests. And if you or your delegates have stayed in a VIP room, you will be treated to a jar of the hotel’s famous honey to take home!

The hotel is reacting to government guidelines in line with Covid-19, offering hand sanitiser at key touch points including reception and on each floor level. It is advised to wear a face covering in any communal areas including corridors, seating or at reception. Face coverings are not needed when eating and drinking, or in meeting rooms or bedrooms. In align with their sustainability values, any amenities in meeting rooms and bedrooms are wrapped in paper rather than single-use plastic!

To further create ease of service, Royal Lancaster are offering a QR code system where you can scan and order food and drink from your smartphone. Enquire with the Royal Lancaster for any specific requirements regarding being safe and secure in Covid-19, where they can create a personalised Covid secure plan for you and your delegates.

Combining personal service with a hybrid virtual World, the Royal Lancaster has a unique spin on adapting to the new Covid-19 norm’. General Manager, Sally Beck has created a culture that is far from standard. With no corporate head office, Sally promotes a refreshing “If you like it, you can have it” attitude. Her staff know and understand this philosophy, with most of them working for the Royal Lancaster for over 20 years. Clearly, loyalty is important at this special London hotel.