Stayed at the Arch a handful of times and thoroughly enjoyed my time - I thought it was a great boutique hotel.
I cannot see any improvements with the facelift, the furniture is very IKEA and everyone seems very rigid, the very warm welcome I used to receive is now gone and replaced with formality. Lots of pleases and thank you’s but where have the smiles gone ??
Maybe it’s just the Arch was so good makes my visit this time so disappointing.

I had stayed at The Arch Hotel - the predecessor hotel to The Prince Akatoki dozens of times - maybe 35 times or more. I haven’t stayed in another London hotel for maybe 5 years.

When I heard that The Arch has been bought and was being redesigned and refurbished I was a bit worried but was reassured that the best of The Arch would be maintained.

I stayed regularly over the summer through all the refurbishment and did not complain - I am not a complainer!

The blurb said the hotel would be a ‘fusion’ of the best of East and West. I assumed this meant we would still see the same fabulous seasonally changing British / European food as in the former Hunter 486 restaurant but with some Japanese influences? No - the menu is now limited to sushi, tempura etc - with a tiny room service menu. Even the traditional ‘afternoon tea’ has sushi instead of sandwiches. As a result during our 2 day stay we went out to eat on both nights. The menu was previously excellent and changed with the seasons - unfortunately the new menu is limited and pretty awful.

The rooms are bland, beige, boring and all the same. I’ve probably stayed in most of the former Arch rooms they were comfortable, plush, and colourful, with lovely artwork and chairs / soft furnishings etc. These rooms are soulless and as someone said to me today ‘ the heart has been torn out of The Arch and a shell has been left behind..’

The former Martini library, plush, comfortable and colourful has been replaced with a bar made up of lots of dark wood which juts out / takes up a lot of space / meaning the tables are very close together. It’s dark, dim and horrible.

The dining room / restaurant has more of the dark wood, the lovely views outside on the courtyard are obscured by more dark wood, the private dining areas / booths have gone.

On a positive note the beds are very comfy and the breakfast remains the same. Not enough for me to return though sadly - I have booked my next London stay in The Montcalm just up the street.

I’m so sad - Goodbye The Arch and team - you were fabulous and you’ve been taken away!!

Photos show my room - says it all