room2’s Luxury Hometel to be Centrepiece of Grade II Listed Fulham Town Hall Restoration, London

Main Photo: The current Fulham Town Hall building

Date: February 2020

Location: Fulham Broadway, near Chelsea Football Club, London, UK

Name: Fulham Town Hall by room2 – opening 2022

No. of Keys: 90

Seller: London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham sold the 1890 51,350 sqf building in 2014 to a buyer that had interesting financial issues. Finally, a private company sold the building on to Ziser for £10m in Frbruary 2019

Buyer: room2, the world’s first hometel brand, has agreed a 30-year lease to be the headline tenant at Fulham Town Hall, the iconic West London community landmark that is being restored to its former glory by Ziser London.

Fulham Town Hall by room2, with 90 rooms at the centre of the luxury leisure and co-working destination that will bring together a range of specialist expert operators. The restored former civic centre will include a mix of event and co-working space, as well as food & beverage offerings, to create a vibrant community destination. The project, which will reclaim and enhance some of the elegant building’s oldest artwork and features including the council chamber, is due to be finished by Q4 2021.

Fulham Town Hall by room2 will be housed across the elegantly restored wings of the building and newly developed space. The high-end product will deliver an interior that will be designed to push the boundaries of artistic rebelliousness and juxtapose with the Grade II listed building’s historic façade, with each room individually curated to appeal to the diverse range of guests. Subject to planning permission being granted, construction of the 90-room hometel is expected to commence in May, with the first guests welcomed in early 2022.

Fulham Town Hall by room2, will be heavily influenced by the latest in sustainable building design and fit out with the majority of rooms featuring kitchenettes, whilst guests will also have the ability to select their own type of mattress and check in via their mobile. room2’s highly flexible offer also includes 24-hour stays as standard with residences available from one night to one year and beyond.

Located on London’s Fulham Road, Fulham Town Hall was constructed of Portland stone in a classical style between 1888 and 1890 and extended between 1904 and 1905. The Grade II listed building was acquired by Ziser in 2019 from a private vendor. Ziser will leverage its extensive track record in investing and developing London based residential and commercial properties, and those with architectural significance or a unique heritage in particular, to deliver a landmark venue.

The brainchild of brothers Robert and Stuart Godwin, former members of the British Olympic Development Sailing team, hometels combine the best elements from Airbnb, serviced apartments and boutique hotels in an offering designed to appeal equally to corporate and leisure guests and those seeking alternative forms of residential accommodation. Fulham Town Hall by room2 will be the fifth operating hometel when it opens. room2 currently has two operational locations, the Southampton hometel and Hammersmith Townhouse, both of which have performed strongly since opening. An 89-room hometel in Chiswick is scheduled to welcome guests in Q2 2021, followed by a 59-key Manchester offering.

Robert Godwin, Co-founder of room2, commented: “Ziser London’s vision for transforming Fulham Town Hall, one of West London’s most iconic and unique buildings, excited us from the outset. The location is in a neighbourhood that our family business has been active in for nearly half a century and we are proud to have the opportunity to be a part of this landmark project. As a dynamic and family run business, Ziser’s approach and ethos perfectly complements our own, which gives us huge encouragement that this partnership can be a success.

“Our creative outreach was key to being chosen as the centrepiece offering of this landmark redevelopment and we see Ziser’s decision as a strong endorsement of our pioneering hometel concept. As our first premium hometel, Fulham Town Hall by room2 is a natural evolution of our business model and demonstrates our ability to curate the product to fulfil a range of guest needs. We are incredibly excited by the potential complementary mix of operators being lined up to join us, bringing together like-minded experts focused on delivering discerning customers a world class experience.”

Guy Ziser, CEO of Ziser London, added: “We are excited to have room2 on board for its first high end location in London; we believe hometels to be a forward thinking product which will complement the other proposed uses within Fulham Town Hall. This is a refurbishment that will breathe much deserved and long awaited new life into what is a truly special building for the community and which will further position Fulham as a destination of a choice.”

THPT Comment: After many years of indecision, we are delighted that the iconic building is finally in good hands and will, yet again, be saved by being made into a hotel. This little enclave around Fulham Broadway, with the fully refurbished tube station and Chelsea FC, is becoming a come-to destination in it’s own right.

First Seen: room2 hometel press release

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