The Londoner Hotel Guide: Owner, 5-Star Status, Celebrity Stays

The Londoner, a 350-room “super boutique” hotel that opened in September 2021 on the former Odeon Cinema site in Leicester Square, has quickly become a magnet for A-list travellers and West End insiders. Owned and operated by Edwardian Hotels London, the hotel combines a prime theatre-district address with an unusually deep subterranean wellness floor, private screening rooms and six dining concepts. This guide draws on the hotel’s official records, verified guest reviews and established editorial coverage to answer the questions searchers most often ask — from its ownership and five-star status to the real story behind its celebrity reputation.

Last checked: 2026-09-27

Rooftop terrace: Present · Indoor pool: Present · Fitness center: Present · Private screening rooms: Two

Who is the owner of The Londoner?

The Londoner is owned and operated by Edwardian Hotels London, a privately held hotel group founded by Jasminder Singh OBE in 1977 (The Londoner). The group developed the property on the former site of the Odeon Cinema West End, with construction beginning in 2015 (Forbes). Edwardian Hotels London also operates other hotels across the capital, but The Londoner is its flagship — the first project the group branded as a “super boutique hotel.”

The bottom line: Ownership sits firmly with a single family-owned British group, which gives the hotel a degree of institutional continuity that chain-managed properties do not always share.

Is The Londoner a 5 star hotel?

The hotel markets itself as a “5 Star Luxury Hotel Leicester Square, London” on its own website (The Londoner). This five-star claim is a marketing classification rather than a formal statutory grade from the UK’s official hotel-rating schemes — which are voluntary — but it aligns with the property’s room rates, amenity set and service positioning. The property opened in September 2021 and has maintained a guest rating of 4.5 out of 5 on TripAdvisor UK from roughly 900 reviews, with particular praise for cleanliness, service and the spa facilities.

What this means: Without a compulsory national star system in the UK, the five-star descriptor functions as a reliable indicator of the hotel’s intended market positioning and price point, not a government-verified classification.

What is The Londoner famous for?

The hotel is known for three overlapping features: its subterranean architecture and wellness facilities, its West End location and its celebrity-linked reputation.

The Londoner’s rooftop terrace

The rooftop terrace is part of a Japanese-inspired lounge that sits eight storeys above Leicester Square. It is one of six dining and drinking concepts on site, alongside Whitcomb’s, a Mediterranean restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner (Expedia).

Indoor pool and fitness center

The Retreat, the hotel’s underground wellness floor, houses an indoor pool, a hydropool with poolside cabanas, a sauna, a steam room, a gym and several treatment rooms. Brands associated with treatments include Omorovicza, Ila, Ishga and Gentlemen’s Tonic (Luxury Travel Advisor). Pool access hours are listed as 06:00–22:00, with separate child-access windows by weekday and weekend (Expedia).

Private screening rooms

Two private screening rooms offer guests a cinema experience on site, adding to the property’s appeal for entertainment-industry visitors (The Hollywood Reporter). This amenity, combined with a ballroom that accommodates up to 850 guests, positions The Londoner as a venue for media events, fashion shows and private parties.

The pattern: What makes The Londoner distinctive is not any single feature but the combination — a hotel that is simultaneously a spa destination, an entertainment venue and a celebrity-adjacent address.

Where do most celebrities stay in London?

London’s luxury hotel scene has long included a set of elite addresses favoured by visiting celebrities: The Savoy, Claridge’s, The Goring, The Langham and The Corinthia are among the most frequently cited (The Hollywood Reporter). The Londoner has joined that tier since its 2021 opening, with editorial coverage naming Ryan Gosling, Adele, Patrick Dempsey, Sylvester Stallone and Ed Sheeran as guests. The hotel has also been associated with London Fashion Week activity and British Vogue parties (Aglaia Magazine).

Kate Middleton at The Goring

The Goring, near Buckingham Palace, is the hotel most commonly associated with the British royal family; Kate Middleton stayed there the night before her wedding.

Justin Bieber at The Langham

The Langham, on Regent Street, has hosted numerous touring musicians, including Justin Bieber on multiple London visits.

Taylor Swift at The Corinthia

The Corinthia, on Whitehall Place, has been a regular base for Taylor Swift during her London concert runs.

The trade-off: Celebrity patronage can shift quickly — a hotel’s cachet with A-listers depends as much on current events and album cycles as on the quality of its suites. The Londoner’s private screening rooms and event spaces give it structural advantages for the entertainment industry that go beyond overnight stays.

The Londoner’s pricing and what to expect

Standard-room rates on TripAdvisor fall in a range of £416–£876, based on average rates and subject to date, occupancy and availability (TripAdvisor UK). On KAYAK, average nightly rates are reported at roughly $530 in January and $734 in June (KAYAK). These figures are dynamic — they shift with season, booking window and occupancy — but they place The Londoner firmly in the upper tier of central London hotels.

Guest reviews consistently praise the hotel’s cleanliness, service, location, breakfast and spa facilities. A common criticism, however, is that standard rooms are smaller than some guests expect for the price point (TripAdvisor UK).

The implication: Searchers who prioritise room square footage may want to consider a suite upgrade or compare against other Leicester Square hotels before booking.

Alternatives to The Londoner in central London

Guests researching The Londoner often compare it against neighbouring five-star hotels in the West End. The Savoy (on the Strand) and Claridge’s (in Mayfair) offer traditional British luxury with larger historical footprints. The Goring, near Victoria, is known for royal connections and a quieter garden setting. The Langham, on Regent Street, combines a central location with a celebrated afternoon tea service. Each property has a different trade-off between room size, wellness facilities and celebrity profile.

The bottom line: The Londoner’s unique advantage is its all-in-one package — subterranean spa, screening rooms, multiple restaurants and a Leicester Square address — which few competitors replicate under one roof.

Sources cited

• The Londoner official website — location, five-star positioning, “super boutique” claim
• The Londoner — About Us — ownership, operator, founding year
• Luxury Travel Advisor — room count, suites, design (Yabu Pushelberg), spa details
• Forbes — construction start, former cinema site, planned investment, ballroom capacity
• The Hollywood Reporter — celebrity associations, private screening rooms, dining count
• Aglaia Magazine — 8-above/8-below storeys, Retreat definition, fashion events
• TripAdvisor UK — guest rating, price range, standard-room size feedback
• Expedia — Whitcomb’s restaurant, pool hours, sample rate, amenities list
• KAYAK — seasonal average rates, reviewer praise for spa and gym

The Londoner offers a distinctive combination of West End location, subterranean wellness facilities, private cinema and celebrity cachet that few central London hotels match. Its ownership under Edwardian Hotels London provides a stable, single-group operation, while its six dining concepts and event-ready ballroom make it as much a venue as a hotel. For searchers weighing a stay, the key trade-off is between the hotel’s exceptional amenity density and its compact standard rooms — a detail worth checking against your own priorities before booking.