A hotel good for the environment...and a stay there is very good for you!

Rafayel on the Left Bank is going to be very good for the environment...when it opens in December it is going to be one of the first "green" hotels...it's also going to be good for you!

Rafayel will minimise our impact on the environment by reducing each guest’s carbon footprint dramatically. The average London guest notches up a colossal carbon footprint of 70kg per night; at Rafayel it will be reduced to a manageable 17kg. A complete LED hotel, it will reduce overall electrical costs by a staggering 80% too: a glimpse into the future for hotels and homes alike.

In short its all very impressive. It has always been our vision that luxury and environmetally friendly dont have to be mutually exclusive.

And even better a stay at Rafayel could be good for you! We are working with CONTENT Wellworld Spas. Wellworld combine the best holistic health practices and beauty treatments to provide a unique wellbeing experience.

Each Wellworld Spa is unique and focuses on a selection of local beauty and wellbeing treatments alongside the finest organic world beauty brands.

Basically a few hours in our spa and your going to come out feeling a new (and "greener") person!

New images...

These are some new Images of the hotel we took the other day...yes, we know it looks a bit like a building site (it is) and we know it was a bit of a grey London day but we hope it gives you some idea of how the hotel is going to look and just look at those stunning views! We are going down tomorrow to take some more shots, so fingers crossed for the sun shining!

Introducing Chef Troy N Thompson...

Chef Thompson Troy N Thompson has been working in kitchens since the age of 15, from filling submarine rolls to now over seeing a global hospitality consultancy...and shortly taking the helm as Executive Chef at Rafayel at the Left Bank this autumn.

Chef Thompson opened his first restaurant in Osaka Japan in the 1980’s he then went on to establish a close relationship with the Ritz-Carlton chain of hotels, opening his first hotel restaurant for them in Seoul, Korea, he then relocated to Los Angeles to launch Ritz-Carltons Jer-ne restaurant. He has also held executive chef positions at Remington restaurant in Osaka and the renowned Fusebox restaurant in Atlanta.

Chef Thompson will be bringing his “inspirational cuisine” to Rafayel at the Left Bank. “Inspirational cuisine” is Thompsons take on what might be loosely termed “world cuisine”. Flavours, cuisines, ideas, sauces, textures he has picked up, remembered, been inspired by over 30 years travelling (and eating!) around the globe. We can’t wait!

To whet your appetite...new CGI's

To whet your appetite we have had some new CGI's done - these are straight from the fancy Mac's and iBooks of the architects. In the next few days we'll hopefully be able to put up some "real" photos so you can get a better idea of how things are progressing.

A glimpse of the future...

Rafayel’s on the Left Bank is a brand new hotel complex opening in Battersea this autumn. Part of the stunning Falcon Wharf Development, this 5-star hotel is a blueprint for how hotels will look in the (not too distant) future. The hotel will incorporate the latest technological advances to help minimise the impact on the environment through reduced CO2 emissions.

In a unique partnership with Phillips Electronics, Rafayel’s will be one of the world’s first hotels to showcase the latest in low emission lighting technology. In view of the phase-out of incandescent bulbs, you will be able to see how this technology has been advanced and implemented whilst significantly reducing carbon footprints. Considering the average carbon footprint for a guest in a London hotel is 70 kg, at Rafael’s it will be just 17kg and being an all LED hotel, overall electrical costs will be reduced by 80%.

The hotel may be good for the environment but this doesn’t mean that guests will be expected to live the life of a hippee – Rafayel’s on the Left Bank is the last word in luxury. Comprising 65 guest rooms, each with fantastic views over the river and the city skyline – each generously proportioned and equipped with the most advanced technology (it’s all quite complicated but we’ll try and give you a flavour of some of the things we are doing, using as little technical jargon as possible!) seen in a hotel room – well probably ever...

The hotel boasts 2 restaurants (World-renowned chef Morimoto – ex Executive Chef at Nobu New York and of Iron Chef fame – will be overseeing this, his first European operation), bar, spa with gym and pool, meeting rooms, coffee shop and a florist. Again over the next few weeks we’ll tell you a little bit more about each of these...well we wouldn’t want to give too much away all at once now would we?