The Webster Hotel Brings Country-House Calm to Covent Garden

A two-week guest from Harrogate summed up The Webster Hotel better than any press release could: 'Here I feel like I've stepped into a countryside manor. I've been here for two weeks and eaten dinner at the restaurant almost every night and loved every minute. It's been wonderful.' He delivered the verdict in the lift, trench coat smoothed, clearly reluctant to leave. Wallpaper*'s reviewer agreed. So do we, on the evidence.

The Webster sits in Covent Garden, opposite Lincoln's Inn Fields, the moody backdrop Dickens chose for Bleak House. It's a two-minute walk from Holborn station and ten from Tottenham Court Road. The location does half the work. The hotel does the rest.

What makes it different from other London hotels?

Scale, mostly. Where London hotels chase grand entrances and cavernous lobbies, The Webster keeps things domestic: an intimate reception, a bijou check-in desk that nods to 1970s boutique hotels, and no intimidating entryways or unused lounges. The atmosphere reads country house rather than city hotel, minus the period flourishes. There are 167 keys, which is a lot of intimacy to sustain. Apparently it holds.

London-based architecture firm Red Deer designed the interiors, describing the approach as 'magical realism'. 'This felt like a natural expression of the playfulness we wanted for The Webster: something familiar and welcoming, with moments that gently interrupt your expectations,' said Lucas Che Tizard, co-founder, lead architect and designer. 'There's a freedom to hotel design because people arrive ready to step outside their everyday lives. We wanted to encourage that curiosity.'

The materials do the talking: bespoke terrazzo, hand-painted murals, tactile fabrics, mohair headboards in the guestrooms. Che Tizard framed the design through the hotel's surroundings: 'The relationship with Lincoln's Inn Fields, the energy of Holborn and the idea of a hotel as a creative meeting place all helped shape its character.' A terrace connects the hotel to the square.

Which room should you book?

The King Deluxe with a park view shows off the hotel's strengths: bespoke joinery built for longer stays, a design-led minibar stocked with Torres crisps, Form protein bars and 'healthy' sweets, plus a generous bathroom with contemporary tiling and Malin + Goetz products.

What about dinner and drinks?

Carmelina's, down a set of hidden steps to the right of the entrance, feels more New York than London: low ceilings, wood-clad walls, an open kitchen, velvety green booths, black-and-white tiled floors and petal-shaped chandeliers. Head chef Simone Serafini and restaurant manager Francesco Patti run a menu rooted in Italian cooking, without the usual trattoria shorthand.

Behind the restaurant hides Carla's, a cloaked bar with a 90s energy, helmed by bar manager Peppe Corallo. Each cocktail references family dining traditions, from the woody scent of the special-occasion drinks cabinet to remedy concoctions for a cold or a bad day. The centrepiece is La Conserva, a fragrant martini with strong basil notes that salutes the late-summer Italian ritual of jarring fresh tomatoes. Worth the visit alone.

Is there somewhere to actually sit?

The lounge off reception shifts character through the day, which charms the designer. 'In the morning, there's something quite studious about it,' Che Tizard said. 'By evening, it becomes more animated, with conversation and people gathering. The furniture and materials provide the setting, but the guests continually change the atmosphere.'

The Webster is a new brand, and it's already planning a second outpost in Times Square, New York, for 2028. If the London original keeps easing Harrogate businessmen into morning greetings, Times Square should be easy.