Most expensive London

Hey, it's Sarah. Luxury London living has reached new heights, so follow me on a tour of the new Peninsula residences and discover what else the UK capital has on offer in the year ahead. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hello, I’m [Sarah Rappaport](, and I cover luxury for Pursuits in London—whether that’s the [deluge of sparkling new five-star hotels](, the [Queen’s Range Rover]( going up for sale or the [best shows to see on the West End](. I also cover real estate, and on Jan. 31 I was one of the first journalists to get a tour of some of the most expensive property in the UK capital. The residences at the [Peninsula London]( in Belgravia overlook Buckingham Palace gardens, and a one-bedroom apartment sold for £10 million ($12.6 million), or around £5,882 per square foot. That’s over three times the average per square foot sale value for Prime Central London, which was £1,733 in 2023, according to data from LonRes. The residences are designed by in-demand architect Peter Marino. Photographer: Taran Wilkhu Hedge fund billionaire [Ken Griffin]( was widely reported to have [bought the penthouse for £100 million](, though the Peninsula team would not confirm individual buyers. Residents are entitled to the hotel’s five-star services, including room service from the [newly two-Michelin-starred Brooklands](, as well as their own amenities such as a private 25-meter pool. They can come home to a fully stocked fridge and all plants watered, with fresh flowers and handmade chocolates laid out for them. Housekeeping service is also available, naturally. The hotel itself has been open since September and charges [£1,300 a night for an entry-level room](.  The 25-meter private pool for residents. Speakers pipe classical music underwater. Source: The Peninsula Residence manager Lydia Varaona previously worked at luxury development One Hyde Park, where a Qatari sheikh had been testing the market with [a £220 million triplex penthouse]( just a five-minute walk from [Harrods](. Varaona tells me her team is available to scan mail and send it to residents’ personal assistants or family managers, arrange council tax payments and even ship supercars from London to the French Riviera during the summer. There’s not an ask they’d say no to—within reason. To me, these concierge services seem like one of the biggest draws, alongside [the Peter Marino design](. Count me a little obsessed with marble bathrooms. Source: The Peninsula If this sounds like the life for you and you’d like to count [King Charles III]( as a neighbor, there are just five units left: 80% of the apartments have sold, namely to Americans and people from the Middle East, “where you’d expect ultra-high net worth buyers in London” to come from, according to the sales team. As of last week, though, no one had actually moved in. Connect with Sarah on [Instagram]( What else is new in the UK From the best gastropubs in London to the chance to own your own 900-year-old castle, we have you covered on the latest luxury news.  [These Are the Best Restaurants in the UK and Ireland, Says Michelin]( The Ledbury in London is now a three-star restaurant. [A 900-Year Old Castle in the UK Is on the Market for $12 MillionÂ]( Norman keep included. [The Best Gastropub in the UK Is the Unruly Pig in Suffolk]( Meanwhile London grabbed eight spots on this year’s Estrella Damm Top 50 list. [These Ar]([e the 16 Best Restaurants to Book in 2024Â]( The UK capital will be swimming in French food and wine this year. [The Four Best New UK Spas to Relax and Detox]( If you want a fitness expert who trains prime ministers and CEOs or a menu designed by a star chef, there’s a hotel spa in the UK just for you. Think outside the heart-shaped box This year, we’ve been thinking about ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day that don’t involve flowers or a box of chocolates. How about tequila and fancy Japanese strawberries instead? [Kat Odell]( has a [whole anti-chocolate Valentine’s Day gift guide](—I wouldn’t say no to Bridgerton-inspired gelato roses. How about a heart-shaped bag? Source: Louis Vuitton If you’re looking for more traditional gifts, [Kristen Shirley]( has a gift guide, [with ideas from $15 to $11,000](, perfect for last-minute inspiration. But Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be only for romance, and luxury hotels are starting to realize that. There’s a new trend where hospitality businesses are working to [capture dollars from solo travelers.]( There’​​​​s a whole new line of business in solo travel. Source: The Dominick Take the Logan Hotel in Philadelphia, which will print your ex’s photo onto a punching bag for you to jab, hook and uppercut in a private fitness class. That’s just one part of the property’s new $500 Romance Detox package, which includes meditation and spa sessions as well. In New York the Dominick can arrange a boudoir photo shoot, meant to empower individuals and make them feel great on their own. As for what I’m doing, I’ll leave my boxing gloves behind for one of my favorite British escapes: [a countryside hotel](, still great even during the gloomy winter months. My boyfriend and I will be headed to [Coworth Park]( in Berkshire, where I’ve been hearing tons of acclaim about the hotel, especially its indoor pool and spa area. [Follow my Insta]( for reports from the ground. Eco-friendly fitness? There’s a climate cost to your yoga pants. Photographer: (c) 2022 Fay Lam Lululemon, a company practically synonymous with yoga and whose high-end products are aimed toward a wealthier “new age” clientele, seems like it’d be a leader on climate change. But according to thousands of yoga enthusiasts who have petitioned the company, it’s not doing enough to curb its emissions. This week Bloomberg Green [looks into their concerns](, especially with the athleisure giant’s heavy reliance on coal-powered facilities in countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia to produce its wares. If that piques your interest, here’s some more Greener Living + Pursuits inspo from the archives. [Living Greener Doesn’t Require as Much Sacrifice As You Think]( [A Wool T-Shirt Is Best for Traveling]( [Autonomous Electric Lawn Mowers Save Time and Cut Carbon]( [Inside an Adidas Veteran’s Plan to Make Sneakers Free From Plastic]( [Three Books on Climate Change That Won’t Bum You Out]( [House Paint Has a Microplastic Problem]( You had some questions... So here’s some answers! Keep them coming for next week via our [Bloomberg Pursuits InstagramÂ](and [e-mail](mailto:askpursuits@bloomberg.net?subject=I%20have%20a%20question). Is London’s hotel scene going to be as hot this year as it was last year? Last year was unprecedented with the new [Raffles London at the OWO]( and the [Peninsula London]( (both costing over £1 billion each to build), plus a bevy of other stellar boutique options such as the Broadwick and 1 Hotel Mayfair opening their doors. London’s [on track to have more hotel rooms than Vegas](. This year is a little quieter than 2023, but there is still plenty to get excited about. On Tuesday, I saw the spectacular new suite at [the Connaught]( called the [King’s Lodge](. It was created in partnership with King Charles III’s charity Turquoise Mountain and features woodwork from Syrian artisans, marble from India and hand-woven rugs from Afghanistan. I see a lot of hotel rooms, some of which can look very same-y in varying shades of white and beige, so I appreciated the fact that this was something different. Sleeping like a king will cost you around £2,000 a night. The Connaught’s King’s Lodge suite looks more Marrakesh than Mayfair and was a breath of fresh air as far as luxury London hotel design goes. Source: The Connaught [The Emory](, a new, all-suite offering has drawn my attention the most. Each floor will feature renowned designers such as André Fu, who did the [serene new spa at Claridge’s](. Rooms will start at £2,000 and include things like airport pickup both ways, breakfast, butler service and access to Surrenne, a new member’s club focused on wellness. The Surrenne offers a longevity clinic—check back here as I try to figure out exactly what that means—and the first UK studio from workout guru Tracy Anderson. That’s all opening in April. If we look even further ahead, 2025 should be hot, too, with the [Chancery Rosewood]( opening within the old US embassy in Mayfair. I was last in the building for a 2016 election night party, which was held in what seemed like a windowless basement. There was a pop-up Shake Shack, and none of it screamed five-star hotel; [now there’ll be a Carbone](. [Rosewood]( being [Rosewood,]( I can’t wait to see what they’ve done to transform the building. The DarkSide lounge at the Rosewood Hong Kong. Photographer: Wilson Lee for Bloomberg Businessweek Where in Europe should I go this summer? Malta, which we explored in our [Best Places to Go in 2024 feature](, and is now bumped way up on my own travel list. The Mediterranean island-state is opening [Europe’s most significant museum of the year](, a 16,000-square-foot contemporary art space housed inside a 17th century fortress and overlooking the dramatic Marsamxett Harbour in the capital, Valletta. There’s also a [new art biennale opening mid-March]( through end of May. If culture isn’t your thing, Malta also has great beaches, and it’s one of the sunniest places in Europe. It’s also a lot cheaper than some of its neighbors like Sicily, which has benefitted massively [from being the host of The White Lotus season two](. SCOOP: What hotels The White Lotus season three is filming at in Thailand. Courtesy Anantara Greece is also always a great place to go on vacation, and I try to go to once a year if I can. There’s nothing better than swimming all day and eating fresh fish in a taverna at night. Some Greek islands are too crowded, a victim of their own success, so this summer I’m going to try some of the [lesser-known ones]( instead. Especially appealing is [the tiny island of Folegandros](, where new luxury hotel Gundari offers a little wine bar featuring local wines, a cliffside spa and rooms that all have private pools. Sounds incredible. Glamping on a beach not far from downtown Athens doesn’t look too shabby either. Source: 91 Athens Riviera You get to try fancy spas—what are your favorite budget spas or beauty experiences in London? Honestly, London and budget are two words that don’t go together well. I feel like every single time I leave my flat, I’m hit with a London “tax” where a little takeaway coffee and treat is somehow £10. (New Yorkers reading this, you’ll know exactly what I mean.) [The Porchester Spa]( is a good exception. It’s owned by the Westminster Council and has been around the better part of a century. While it’s not fancy (bring your own towels and flip-flops and coins for the lockers), there is a lovely sauna and steam room and Turkish baths, and it only costs £30 for the day. I also have a bad back from my terrible posture and hours hunched over laptops, and [Thai Manee spa]( in Muswell Hill has been sorting me out recently. An hour hot stone massage is only £70, and I feel so incredible afterward. Meanwhile on the luxe end, the famous outdoor pool at Cliveden House is part of one of the UK’s best new spas. Source: Cliveden House Why does London real estate suck? Where’s the Binghatti in London? That’s a bit of an unfair question, @g.sing3. Binghatti, of course, is the Emirati mega-developer doing luxury projects such as the Bugatti Residences and [a $1 billion Mercedes-branded tower in Dubai](. But Dubai is a new city compared with London and pretty much everywhere else. I’m sitting writing this in a (cute) but very standard 200-year-old flat in North London. Around half of London’s housing stock is from before 1945, but some people do like historic homes. They have character, if also very drafty windows! But back to your question, there are huge differences in both the housing stock and development rules and regulations in London versus Dubai. There’s obviously also just more plain open usable space in Dubai to build new things, and completely different government attitudes toward growth. A digital rendering of the Mercedes-Benz Places. Source: Binghatti Consider this: In Westminster, developers aren’t allowed to build new flats over 150 square meters, something Nick Candy of One Hyde Park was just speaking about [on Bloomberg’s In the City podcast](. He said if he was now starting out, he’d run to the Middle East instead of building up a business in London. But each city has its own highlights, and London can’t be that terrible if there are so many Middle Eastern buyers scooping up big properties here as second (or third or 10th) homes, like at the spectacular new Peninsula. New for subscribers: Free article gifting. Bloomberg.com subscribers can now gift up to five free articles a month to anyone you want. Just look for the "Gift this article" button on stories. (Not a subscriber? Unlock limited access and [sign up here](.) Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Pursuits newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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