Firmdale Hotels

Firmdale Hotels: design-led hospitality between London and New York

Firmdale Hotels is a hotel collection founded in 1985 by Tim and Kit Kemp. The group has grown organically over the decades to bring together eleven hotels and nine restaurants and bars across London and New York. Each property is individually designed and decorated by Kit Kemp, the company's creative director.

The chain's approach is built on colour, craftsmanship and storytelling, with a style the company itself describes as modern English, alongside personalised service and meticulous attention to detail. Kit Kemp, who has been awarded an MBE, also heads Kit Kemp Design Studio, where she creates hotel and residential interiors, as well as working as a designer of textiles, fragrances and homeware.

Eleven hotels in two cities

The collection is organised across two locations. In London it operates Ham Yard, Haymarket, The Soho, Covent Garden, Charlotte Street, Number Sixteen, Dorset Square and Knightsbridge hotels, as well as Ham Yard Residences. In New York it has Warren Street Hotel, Crosby Street Hotel and The Whitby Hotel. Within its London offering, the company distinguishes between hotels and townhouse hotels, a category that includes Number Sixteen, Dorset Square and Knightsbridge.

Restaurants and bars

Firmdale's hotels are home to a series of modern brasserie-style restaurants and bars in London and New York. These include Ham Yard, Refuel at The Soho Hotel, Oscar at Charlotte Street Hotel, Brasserie Max at Covent Garden Hotel, Brumus at Haymarket Hotel and The Potting Shed at Dorset Square Hotel in London, and Warren Street Bar, The Crosby Bar and The Whitby Bar in New York. The menus combine timeless classics with reinterpretations and seasonal British and European dishes.

Private events and spaces

The chain offers spaces for private events ranging from intimate dining rooms to rooftop terraces and orangeries. Each of these spaces has been individually designed, and the company presents them as suitable for both small celebrations and larger parties. The London and New York hotels available for events are listed separately.

Cultural programme and The Firmdale Journal

Firmdale maintains a calendar of cultural activities in London and New York that includes book salons, creative workshops and seasonal pop-ups. The programme featured on the site includes literary gatherings with authors such as Jacqueline Wilson and William Boyd at Charlotte Street Hotel, art walks led by Willow Kemp, the theatre and dining offer linked to the production 'Hay Fever' at Haymarket Hotel, fashion and film screenings and talks at The Soho Hotel, calligraphy and watercolour workshops, and recurring music sessions such as live jazz at Brumus or the 'Voices of New York' and 'Jazz & Oysters' series at The Whitby Bar.

The company also publishes The Firmdale Journal, an editorial space with content on design, creative collaborations and the neighbourhoods in which its properties are located.

Kit Kemp and the design studio

Kit Kemp MBE is co-founder and creative director of Firmdale Hotels. As well as overseeing the design of all eleven hotels, she heads Kit Kemp Design Studio and remains active as an author and designer of textiles, fragrances and homeware. The company presents her work as an international benchmark in hotel and residential interiors, with attention to both contemporary makers and traditional techniques.