In the centre of Soho, this hotel turns five-star hospitality into a rock’n’roll fantasy
It’s Friday night in Soho. I’ve got half my makeup on while some girl complains about her ex and a distant bassline hums through the walls. However, this is not the end of a night out – I’m actually getting ready in the bathroom of my Townhouse Apartment at Chateau Denmark, and the hubbub of a nearby rooftop bar is floating through the open window. So far, so rock’n’roll.
For some hotels, this is not the vibe (The Dorchester would never), but Chateau Denmark is not here to be prim or posh or proper. It’s here to party.
When it opened in 2022, it did so with all the subtlety of a Sex Pistols riff. The design-driven hotel is spread across 16 buildings around Denmark Street – hallowed ground for London’s music scene. The Rolling Stones recorded their debut LP here; Elton John is rumoured to have written the music for Your Song at number 20; The Kinks immortalised it in Denmark Street. Rock’n’roll history thrums through the pavement.
Chateau Denmark's Townhouse Apartment: a red-panelled wall, roll-top bath beside a carved fireplace and leather sofa with claw feet
Chateau Denmark, then, is an all-in homage to that musical heritage. For one night (and one night only), I’m staying in one of the Townhouse Apartments – found behind an inconspicuous door marked only by a snake’s-head knocker. After checking in, a BTLR (as the hotel calls its butlers) dressed in subtle pop-punk regalia leads me up a creaky staircase and through a black-leather door crowned with a neon “Sinners” sign. And that’s when the interiors hit like a slam riff.
I’m immediately met with a red-panelled wall, a roll-top bath beside a carved fireplace, a leather sofa with claw feet and an industrial-size bar stocked with top-shelf bottles and etched glassware. The bedroom channels even more goth grandeur: skull-patterned wallpaper, a wardrobe made from an old confessional booth, and a giant bed crowned with a black-leather headboard. It feels like what could have happened if David Bowie had designed a den for Dracula – or the set of a glam-rock video.
There’s also a massive speaker system offering bone-shuddering surround sound, and a lighting mode called “party”, which turns the gothic chandelier down even lower. It’s like they’re asking you to throw a party – or at least to stick the Stones on and air-guitar on the bed.
The bedroom channels even more goth grandeur: skull-patterned wallpaper and a giant bed crowned with a black-leather headboard.
But you don’t come to Soho to stay in your hotel room. You come to party. So, after getting ready in the bathroom hidden behind a secret door (yep), I head to the hotel’s bar, Thirteen. It’s a similar maximalist story in here, with chain-link murals, red velvet drapes and a crucifix above the door. My boyfriend and I are ushered into two throne-like chairs by a security guard who declares us ‘the king and queen of Thirteen’ (insert rock fingers emoji here).
The food is built for drinking – sushi, sashimi and mini tacos (order the smoked duck, you won’t regret it). Cocktails keep the rock’n’roll theme alive with names such as “flower power”, “velvet revolver” and “Lady stardust”, all mixed by bartenders in florid waistcoats. It’s gloriously decadent – especially once DJ Edamame hits the decks.
You could easily stay at Thirteen all night, but there’s something delicious about knowing Soho is right outside and your bed just a stagger away. Greek Street is around the corner, along with every other bar worth its lime and salt – or you could flick on your room’s “party” lights and raid the vintage wine selection. Either way, Chateau Denmark doesn’t care where the night takes you – only that it doesn’t end quietly.
Denmark Place, London WC2H 0LA; chateaudenmark.com
