SUITS ME FINE

It’s not every day that Sir Norman Foster designs a hotel, but ME London (336-337 The Strand, London; 44-845/601-8980; melia.com; doubles from US$508)—remarkably, the Pritzker laureate’s first such project in the UK—is a welcome addition to a fairly bland stretch of the Strand. Built on a wedge-shaped site once occupied by the Gaiety Theatre and integrated into the adjacent Marconi House (the original home of BBC Radio), the 157-room hotel features a minimalist facade of Portland stone and a corner tower topped by a glass cupola, the latter housing a penthouse suite with a 360-degree sweep of the city. Foster, who also designed the interiors, has kept the rooms elegantly spare with a palette of white leather walls, black lacquered cabinets, and onyx shelves. With London now basking in spring warmth, the best seats in the house are on the rooftop terrace, where the views extend to the Thames and Westminster.  –DAVEN WU

Originally appeared in the April/May 2013 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Suits Me Fine”)