the windows and doors, with non-original windows
being replaced with new ones in order to reinstate
Mountford’s original design.
EPR, Archer Humphryes and Dr Suri established
a close working relationship to create a bespoke
boutique hotel, encapsulating both the educational
heritage of the building, and an authentic Indian
experience with the luxury of high-end modern
design. The names of the public spaces has reference
to their school setting, thus the old Governors’ office,
with its LED-lit panelled walls and intricate plaster
ceiling, becomes ‘The Headmaster’s Room’, the
meeting rooms are ‘Laboratories’, and the old clerk’s
office, with its striking purple mirrored glass features,
is reincarnated as ‘The Teachers’ Room’ and the rooms
are classified as Classrooms.
use of Indian stone sculptures and topiary details on
the exterior, to the fretwork screen with its traditional
Indian Jali pattern in the reception area, deployment
of tapestries, motifs, and patterned joinery work and
the magnificent blue chandeliers in the Great Hall.
Each of the suites and bedrooms (the ‘classrooms’ and
‘cosy rooms’) is unique, with those on the top floor
enjoying 30-foot high ceilings. Of particular note are
the Mountford Suite, named in honour of the original
architect, and the Lalit Legacy Suite which occupies
what was formerly the headmaster’s office. In order
to achieve a bedroom count of 70, EPR designed an
additional storey by inserting a floor into the double-
height classroom spaces. Further development work
was carried out through the excavation of a new
basement area to house ‘Rejuve’, the hotel’s state-of-
the-art spa, gymnasium, changing areas and treatment
rooms offering Indian therapies.
Indian design finds its place throughout, from the
Website: www.thelalit.com
The jewel in the hotel’s crown is ‘Baluchi’, the award
winning pan-Indian restaurant located in the stunning
triple-high barrel-vaulted Great Hall, with gallery,
original parquet flooring, and timber panelled walls,
set off by genuine Indian chandeliers, suspended
from a royal-blue ceiling. The Naanery, a bread bar,
whose panelling repeats the Jali pattern showcased in
the reception areas, and show kitchen with tandoor
oven, and the spacious Terrace completes the dramatic
transformation from school dining hall to London’s
finest signature destination restaurant.
The Lalit London was launched on 19 November
2016—to coincide with what would have been founder
chairman Lalit Suri’s 70th birthday—and opens its
doors to the public in January 2017, guaranteeing
London a remarkable and truly memorable
Indian experience.