Rafayel on the Left Bank

Rafayel on the Left Bank is a luxury hotel located at Falcon Wharf in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The property occupies four floors of a 17-storey riverside building situated approximately 100 metres north of London Heliport. Rather than being developed as a wholly separate hotel structure, the hotel was fitted into vacant office accommodation within an early-2000s mixed-use building. The wider Falcon Wharf development was engineered by George Wimpey and designed by architect James Burland. Its architectural form includes curved towers of varying heights, blue-clad elements and a right-angle termination beside the Thames. The hotel was fitted out and modified by East Anglia Development to designs by Latis Limited, an architectural design practice. It opened in December 2009. The accommodation and hospitality offer includes 65 bedrooms, a penthouse, conference facilities, a spa, gym, restaurant, brasserie, champagne bar, bakery and florist. The property also has moorings associated with its riverside setting. A dedicated plant level separates the hotel’s commercial areas from residential uses elsewhere in the building, helping to insulate the hotel from the other functions of the mixed-use complex. Rafayel’s positioning is built around a combination of luxury hospitality, riverside location and environmental design. Owner Iqbal Latif developed the hotel with the intention of creating an environmentally sustainable five-star property. Reported sustainability measures include energy-efficient lighting and air-conditioning systems installed in partnership with companies including Philips, the removal of plastics, rainwater harvesting, landscaping and other green systems. The hotel has stated that these measures were intended to reduce the carbon emissions associated with each room by 75 percent compared with the London average. The property was also planned with a shuttle service to Sloane Square Underground station and substantial cycle parking, linking its environmental proposition with transport accessibility. Rafayel on the Left Bank is distinct from the broader Falcon Wharf development, although the hotel’s identity and facilities are closely tied to the building’s riverside architecture and mixed-use setting. Falcon Wharf received external recognition before the hotel opened: it won a Bronze prize in the Best Apartment category at the 2006 What? House Awards and was a joint winner in the Apartment Building of the Year category at the 2007 British Home Awards. These awards concerned the wider apartment development rather than necessarily the hotel itself. Available reference material does not establish the hotel’s current ownership structure, corporate parent, financial performance, listing status, current executives or present operating status. Accordingly, those details are left unconfirmed.

Rafayel on the Left Bank was created within Falcon Wharf, a mixed-use riverside development in Battersea, London. The building was an early-2000s project engineered by George Wimpey and designed by architect James Burland. Its form is characterized by curved towers of differing heights, blue-clad sections and a right-angle end positioned beside the River Thames. The development stands near London Heliport and combines hotel and residential uses. Before the hotel opened, Falcon Wharf received recognition in residential and architectural awards. In 2006, the complex received a Bronze prize in the Best Apartment category at the What? House Awards. In 2007, it was a joint winner of Apartment Building of the Year at the British Home Awards. These distinctions relate to the wider Falcon Wharf project rather than establishing a separate award history for the hotel. Vacant offices in the building were converted into a four-floor hotel. East Anglia Development carried out the fitting-out and modification work, following designs by Latis Limited. The hotel opened in December 2009 under the name Rafayel on the Left Bank. Its facilities were planned to include 65 bedrooms, a penthouse, conference space, a spa, gym, restaurant, brasserie, champagne bar, bakery, florist and riverside moorings. A plant level was incorporated between the hotel’s commercial floors and the building’s residential areas to provide separation from the other uses in the complex. The property’s concept was associated with owner Iqbal Latif and an ambition to create an environmentally sustainable five-star hotel. Reported measures included energy-efficient lighting and air-conditioning developed with partners such as Philips, elimination of plastics, rainwater collection, landscaping and other environmental systems. The hotel stated that these measures could lower the carbon emissions attributable to each room by 75 percent relative to the London average. Its planning also included a shuttle service to Sloane Square Underground station and extensive cycle parking. The available historical record presents Rafayel on the Left Bank primarily as a hotel development and architectural sustainability project. It does not provide a sufficiently documented chronology of later ownership changes, expansions, closures, financial results or leadership appointments. The hotel’s current operating status therefore remains unconfirmed in this dossier.

• 2009

  Hotel opens

  [1]Rafayel on the Left Banken.wikipedia.org

  Rafayel on the Left Bank opened in December after vacant office space in Falcon Wharf was converted and fitted out as a hotel.

• 2007

  Falcon Wharf wins at the British Home Awards

  [1]Rafayel on the Left Banken.wikipedia.org

  Falcon Wharf was named a joint winner in the Apartment Building of the Year category at the British Home Awards.

• 2006

  Falcon Wharf receives a What? House Awards distinction

  [1]Rafayel on the Left Banken.wikipedia.org

  The wider Falcon Wharf complex received a Bronze prize in the Best Apartment category at the What? House Awards.

A London luxury eco-hotel combining riverside accommodation, hospitality facilities and sustainability-focused building systems.

• Hotel accommodation · 2009

  Guest bedrooms

  The hotel comprises 65 bedrooms within four floors of the Falcon Wharf building. The accommodation forms the core of the property’s luxury hospitality offer and is positioned within a riverside mixed-use development in Battersea.

• Hotel accommodation · 2009

  Penthouse

  A penthouse is listed among the hotel’s accommodation and facilities. The available reference material does not provide further details about its layout, capacity, services or current availability.

• Food and beverage · 2009

  Dining and hospitality venues

  The property’s reported food-and-beverage facilities include a restaurant, brasserie and champagne bar, supported by a bakery and florist. These venues extend the brand beyond overnight accommodation into dining, events and lifestyle hospitality.

• Wellness · 2009

  Spa and gym

  Rafayel on the Left Bank includes spa and gym facilities as part of its guest-focused wellness offer. The reference material does not specify the treatment menu, equipment, memberships or operating arrangements.

• Meetings and events · 2009

  Conference facilities

  The hotel provides conference facilities, including reported free use of an overhead projector. The spaces support business meetings and events, although the source does not give room capacities, packages or current booking details.

• 2009

  Conversion of vacant offices into an eco-focused hotelStrategy

  Background

  The hotel was developed within vacant office space in the Falcon Wharf mixed-use building, with the stated ambition of creating a sustainable luxury hotel.

  Action taken

  East Anglia Development fitted out and modified the space to designs by Latis Limited. Environmental systems, plastic reduction, rainwater harvesting, landscaping and transport-related measures were incorporated into the reported concept.

  Aftermath

  Rafayel on the Left Bank opened in December 2009 with accommodation, dining, wellness, conference and retail-related facilities. Later commercial results are not documented in the supplied sources.

  Source

1. 1Rafayel on the Left Banken.wikipedia.org