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Rates: From $920
After 10 years of London life, and no shortage of opportunities as a travel editor to work through the city’s hottest hotel openings, I arrived at the Newman hotel feeling sheepish. How had I never properly explored Fitzrovia? A storied central London district flush with notable pubs, top restaurants, and history-packed streets, it had been hiding in plain sight.
But that’s part of the charm of the Newman, London’s latest independent retreat. The debut property from new hospitality group Kinsfolk & Co. (founded by Paul Brackley, former managing director of Mayfair’s Beaumont Hotel) opened in February 2026 with a clear sense of purpose. The Newman reflects Fitzrovia’s quirky character in design and direction, bringing local residents through the hotel’s doors while also sending guests back out into the streets.
The hotel recently launched a neighborhood membership program that offers discounts at both the Newman and local businesses, and it donates all profits to Fitzrovia charities.
Who’s the Newman for?
City explorers who care about design, value warmth from hotel staff over deference, prefer neighborhoods over landmarks, and want a hotel that functions as an entry point into a city.
The Newman’s interiors draw on Fitzrovia’s creative history while embracing a contemporary London sensibility.
Courtesy of the Newman
Who it isn’t for
Those seeking a quiet urban refuge. The Newman is designed to immerse you in the neighborhood.
The location: Fitzrovia, London
Fitzrovia tends to get skipped, overshadowed by Soho’s novelties to the south and Marylebone’s elegance to the west, which is a shame because it arguably has more personality than either.
Today it’s well-heeled and full of independent cafés (try Archetype), bakeries (French-influenced, female-owned Miel is a winner), and restaurants (Portuguese Luso, celebrated West African restaurant Akoko, and the Moorish-inspired Norma are highlights), all centered around lively Charlotte Street.
In its former life, Fitzrovia was properly bohemian: George Orwell, Dylan Thomas, Virginia Woolf, and George Bernard Shaw, along with artists including John Constable and Ford Madox Brown, all haunted its pub-strewn streets.
The area’s architecture reflects that rich history, with Georgian and Victorian brick townhouses, winding alleyways, and shops with an old-school vibe, like Taylors Buttons, a British haberdashery.
The nearest tube station to the hotel is Tottenham Court Road, with access to the Elizabeth line from all Heathrow airport terminals. From the station, it’s a five-minute walk to the hotel—and you should walk it, to get a feel for the neighborhood.
The Newman reflects Fitzrovia’s quirky character in design and direction, bringing local residents through the hotel’s doors while also sending guests back out into the streets.
The design
The Newman’s interiors, designed by London-based Lind + Almond, are art deco without tipping into Great Gatsby–esque glitz. The movement’s signature motifs appear in the subtle curve of bathroom mirrors, in shower tiles inspired by the glazed brick facade of the nearby Gem Langham Court building dating to 1901, and most emphatically in the subterranean Gambit Bar, where sweeping lines, structured pendant lights, and a long, highly polished walnut bar give the room something of a cruise-liner grandeur.
Throughout the hotel, black-and-white photographs by a local photographer show residents and neighborhood institutions like H.T. Harris Delicatessen, reinforcing the hotel’s connection to the world outside its walls.
The rooms
Guest rooms feature custom furnishings, parquet floors, and artwork inspired by notable figures associated with Fitzrovia.
Courtesy of the Newman
The hotel’s 81 rooms, including 15 suites and a 1,184-square-foot penthouse with a terrace, sauna, and plunge pool, draw on Fitzrovia’s notable figures for design inspiration.
Earth-toned woods, marble, and stainless steel form the backdrop, while bedposts are shaped like the bangles worn by avant-garde writer and political activist Nancy Cunard and ink drawings of notable Fitzrovia residents—George Orwell among them—gaze down above each bed.
I particularly liked the curving writing desk with its hammered silver sides and the pale-wood parquet underfoot. Rooms have all the expected basics: black-out blinds and curtains, televisions, Wi-Fi, a well-stocked mini bar, plus a drawer stocked with face masks and other beauty products.
If you have the option, pick a street-facing room for endless people-watching opportunities.
Gambit Bar and Brasserie Angelica
Brasserie Angelica serves an all-day menu centered on live-fire cooking and Nordic-inspired flavors.
Courtesy of the Newman
There’s one restaurant, Brasserie Angelica, named for Virginia Woolf’s niece, and open all day, and one bar. Start in the subterranean Gambit Bar: Its kaleidoscopically patterned carpet, shimmering chandelier, and laid-back energy make it one of the more enjoyable rooms to sit in anywhere in London right now. A regular calendar of events adds to that convivial vibe; check the website for details on live music nights, chess evenings, and more.
Then, head upstairs for dinner, where chef Christian Turner, previously at the celebrated Wolseley café and restaurant, runs a Nordic-inspired kitchen, with an all-day menu built around dishes cooked over live fire.
The Scandinavian angle (herring plates, rösti potatoes) feels slightly unexplained in a hotel that otherwise feels thoroughly British, but the kitchen executes it well. The seafood dishes and steak tartare are standouts, and the brown-butter-washed house aquavit is worth ordering, even if you’re skeptical of schnapps. Breakfast is à la carte only.
Staff and service
Earnest, in the best possible sense. I found the staff across the hotel to be warm, chatty, and genuinely helpful, quick to read what I actually needed rather than defaulting to a script. In keeping with the hotel’s commitment to the community, a number of individuals from the surrounding area who faced barriers to employment have been trained and employed by the hotel.
Accessibility
The Newman offers step-free access via a ramped entrance, lift access to all floors, and accessible guest rooms with roll-in wet rooms, grab rails, shower seating, and emergency call buttons. Accessible changing rooms are also available in the wellness area. To discuss specific requirements, call +44 20 3989 8100 or email [email protected].
The spa
The penthouse includes a private terrace, plunge pool, and sauna overlooking Fitzrovia.
Courtesy of the Newman
The underground spa is compact but impressive: There’s a pine-clad Finnish sauna, steam room, ice room, salt-walled halotherapy room, and a hydrotherapy plunge pool. The multi-sensory showers include a tropical fog setting, but they feel slightly gimmicky—a minor gripe in an otherwise serene space. Those who are not hotel guests can access the spa from $130 per day.
Treatments, which use Scandi beauty brand Nuori products, open with a ginger tea before you’re led to one of four rooms (mine was painted a deep, seductive purple). The brightly lit gym next door is stocked with up-to-date equipment; the studio runs three wellness classes daily.
What’s nearby?
Pubs, glorious pubs. In typical British fashion, Fitzrovia’s pub culture is in rude health and has informed elements of the Newman’s identity; note that the Gambit Bar’s walls are hung with small paintings by Freddy Dark depicting scenes from local public houses.
General manager Oliver Milne-Watson names the Guy Ritchie–owned Lore of the Land as his first choice for a drink. A close second is the Newman Arms, which, occupying a less-than-fragrant alleyway, claims George Orwell as a former regular.
Afar was a guest of the Newman hotel. Our coverage is independent; the hotel did not review or approve this story.
