Shiva Hotels to open sustainable-focused hotel in Covent Garden

Shiva Hotels has revealed it is set to open and operate a new sustainable luxury lifestyle hotel in London's Covent Garden in May.

Middle Eight on Great Queen Street will have 180 bedrooms, including 12 suites, and multiple food and beverage outlets. Shiva founder Rishi Sachdev has appointed a dedicated "purpose team" to work with general manager Christian Graf (previously general manager of DoubleTree by Hilton London ExCeL) to create an "engaged, responsible and purpose-driven" hotel which can "push boundaries, innovate sustainably, enrich employee wellbeing and have meaningful social impact with a small environmental footprint".

London-based design practice Tonik Associates and architects Ray Hole are behind the hotel's interiors, which are inspired by nature and use materials such as stone and wood. Motifs inspired by the elements will include an undulating feature wall in the hotel atrium, featuring open fireplaces, as well as hundreds of burnished leaves suspended over the Sycamore bar.

Outlets will include Sycamore Vino Cucina with an all-day menu of Italian and Californian sharing dishes. Overlooking Sycamore, the more relaxed Balcony will serve an all-day, globally inspired menu; while downstairs will be QT, a space for performances and screenings.

Rishi Sachdev said: "At Middle Eight we will choose to do things not because they are easy, nor because it's what everybody does. We will choose to do them because they represent our collective vision of what's right. We will inspire guests, teams, communities and partners to believe in and share our world view. We will challenge our competitors by disrupting the status quo and by offering our guests a genuinely new option: a conscious choice to experience luxury with purpose."

Room rates will start from £350 per room and £1,250 per suite per night. The hotel is already a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts marketing consortium.

Cola Holdings sold the site, formerly the Kingsway Hall hotel, to Shiva Hotels in 2014 for a reported £96m. Shiva operates five hotels: the Lincoln Plaza London, the Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, the DoubleTree by Hilton London ExCeL, Hampton by Hilton London Waterloo and the DoubleTree by Hilton York. The group is also due to open the Guardsman in London's Buckingham Gate in April.