Eco-friendly five-star hotel to open in Battersea

An eco-friendly five-star hotel is to be launched on Battersea London’s new Left Bank, as part of Falcon Wharf Development.

The 65-bedroom Rafayel hotel, set to open this December, is the first of hotel by developer Ike Latif, who aims to create a green hotel that is part of Battersea’s regeneration.

The hotel will also feature 15 apartments, two restaurants with indoor and outdoor dining, a bar, lounge, spa with gym and pool, meeting room, conference hall, coffee shop, brasserie and a florist. 

The hotel, which will appear alongside Von Essen’s new-build Verta hotel, aims to reduce each guest’s carbon footprint from an average of 70kg a night to 17kg and will reduce overall electrical costs by 80%.

The waterfront 120-cover restaurant, Banyan Riverside, will overlook the river and has a little something for everyone- “Indo-Japanese dishes fused with Chinese and Indian spices and simple Italian ingredients, all presented in a refined French style”.

Latif said of the development’s green ambitions: “There is no need to return to Stone Age living, but being green should be our overall goal, but without compromising on the luxury that the modern age offers us.

“The concept of the hotel on the Capital’s new Left Bank in the culturally prosperous environ of Battersea is a key step forward in formalising the renaissance of Battersea, not unlike the discovery and patronage of the Seine’s Rive Gauche by intellectual greats like Sartre, de Beauvoir, Zola, Camus or Hemingway and Fitzgerald.”

• In separate news, it was announced at the beginning of the month that the future of the derelict Battersea power station was once again in doubt. The Irish property company heading up the project, Real Estate Opportunities, was reported to be struggling for survival after making losses of £200m in the first six months of the year.

The launch of Von Essen's Thameside hotel, Verta >>

Von Essen postpones the opening date of its new luxury hotel >>

Premier Inn opens green hotel >>

Accent to manage café at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home >>

By Gemma Sharkey

E-mail your comments to Gemma Sharkey here.

If you have something to say on this story or anything else join the debate at Table Talk - Caterer's new networking forum. Go to www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk

Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next hotel job here with Caterersearch.com jobs