Haymarket Hotel – John Nash's stage, Kit Kemp's curtain call

On Suffolk Place, two minutes from the crush of Piccadilly Circus, the Haymarket Hotel occupies a Regency building raised alongside the Theatre Royal Haymarket, both designed and built by John Nash in about 1820. Tim and Kit Kemp opened it in 2007 as their seventh London property, turning Nash's restrained colonnaded front into one of Firmdale's most theatrical interiors: a lemon-hued lobby anchored by a Tony Cragg steel sculpture, a Library with its honesty bar, and an 18-metre pool lit to suggest a horizon at dusk. Fifty-three bedrooms and suites, including seventeen suites, sit behind the Suffolk Place columns, alongside a separate two-to-five-bedroom townhouse. The MICHELIN Guide awards the hotel Two Keys, a distinction it has now held for three consecutive years. Ground-floor Brumus, named after one of the Kemps' King Charles Spaniels, keeps the hotel busy with theatregoers long after most London kitchens have gone quiet.

01The house

The Haymarket Hotel and its neighbour were conceived as one: Haymarket Hotel is in the heart of London’s theatre district, sitting next door to the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and both buildings were designed and built by John Nash in about 1820. The architect behind Buckingham Palace and Regent Street gave the hotel's exterior the same Georgian restraint; the façade features a dramatic row of columns that runs the length of Suffolk Place. In recognition of what the Kemps did with the interior, in 2007 they were awarded the Crown Estate's Urban Business Award for the regeneration of Haymarket Hotel.

Step through the columns and the mood changes entirely. The reception is built around a Tony Cragg sculpture: taking centre stage in the lobby is the dynamic sculpture by Sir Tony Cragg, titled 'Constant Change'. Nearby, artist Sue Lawty has created a 22-foot long landscape artwork out of small pebbles that runs along the back wall, a quiet counterpoint to the lobby's colour and the sculpture's movement.

02Rooms and suites

The hotel holds fifty-three rooms, including 17 suites, and a separate two- to five-bedroom townhouse. Each room is individually dressed by Kit Kemp, with cloth-covered walls and custom-made furniture, such as Shagreen coffee tables with ivory-wood-toned details. Some pieces carry private references: furniture has been named after past and present team members of the Kit Kemp Design Studio, including Susan's chair, Ruby's headboard and Leo's armchair. Room 101 has an Asafo-inspired headboard; it is black with a witty appliqué of an airplane flying through clouds and an interesting embroidered windblown tree with red leaves.

Insider tip

Piccadilly Circus 3 min walk, Leicester Square 9 min, Charing Cross Station 6 min.

The townhouse, reached by its own entrance, is run as a fully serviced private house for longer family stays or small groups wanting the run of several bedrooms without sharing corridors with other guests.

03Where to eat

Brumus is named with Firmdale's usual mischief: it is named for one of Kit and Tim Kemp's beloved King Charles Spaniels, a light-flooded brasserie and bar space combining intimate booths with banquette seating, all the better for people-watching over a cocktail. Kit Kemp built the room from unlikely references: she combined Moroccan motifs on the wallpaper, Indian-inflected imagery in the art, and British textures - boiled wool and herringbone - on the chairs and banquettes.

The kitchen cooks for theatregoers as much as residents, with a pre-theatre set menu timed around curtain-up at the houses along Haymarket and Shaftesbury Avenue, and a breakfast service that opens early for guests heading into meetings in St James's or Mayfair. The restaurant and bar are open to the public as well as hotel guests, and walk-ins are welcome outside peak sitting times.

04The bar

Brumus Bar trades on its location: cocktails on the current list take their names from productions playing within sight of the hotel, and live jazz brings musicians into the room midweek. For a quieter drink, the Library's honesty bar has long been part of the house ritual - while Brumus undoubtedly attracts non-residents, the drawing room provides a retreat where guests can withdraw and make use of the honesty bar.

Afternoon tea takes the same local approach. The London Calling Afternoon Tea at Brumus steps into a world where London's history meets a very British ritual, with sweet and savoury treats inspired by the most iconic sights within a half an hour walk of the hotel, paying homage to the capital's rich heritage.

05Pool and wellbeing

The hotel's best-kept surprise is below ground. After a few laps in the 18-metre pool, facing a light installation by Martin Richman, guests are ready to resume their forays into the city. The lighting is deliberately illusory: Martin Richman's bespoke installation in the pool room captures the soft gradients of a horizon, turning the space into something reminiscent of an expansive landscape.

A gym and treatment rooms sit alongside the pool for guests who want to work out or book a massage without leaving the building, continuing the Firmdale habit of tucking serious wellbeing facilities below street level, out of sight of the public rooms above.

06The neighbourhood

Theatreland surrounds the hotel on every side. The hotel sits on the corner of Haymarket and Suffolk Place in the heart of London's theatre district, next door to the famous Theatre Royal Haymarket. From the front door, Piccadilly Circus is a 3-minute walk, Leicester Square a 9-minute walk, and Charing Cross Station a 6-minute walk.

Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery and the shops of Regent Street are all within a short stroll, making the Haymarket a natural base for a long weekend built around matinees and evening performances rather than sightseeing by taxi.

07Making the most of a stay

The hotel leans into its setting with themed offers: a swim-and-lunch package pairs the pool with a Brumus meal, while seasonal theatre-and-dining packages bundle a set menu with tickets to a nearby West End production. Live jazz nights at Brumus run midweek, and the hotel builds a full Christmas programme around its Library and private dining rooms each winter.

Ask for a room on the upper floors for rooftop views over Suffolk Place and the theatre next door, and book the pool for an early-morning swim before the day's meetings or matinees begin - it is at its quietest, and its lighting at its most effective, before the hotel's day guests arrive.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.