NoMad London

NoMad London occupies the former Bow Street Magistrates' Court and Police Station on Bow Street, directly opposite the Royal Opera House. It was the New York brand's first hotel outside the United States, and the courtroom heritage of the Grade II listed building runs right through the design, from the atrium restaurant to the bar in the old server room.

The site has a long association with policing and justice in London, and the conversion kept the sense of the original institution while turning cells, chambers and offices into guest space. The original Magistrates' Courtroom is now the Magistrates' Ballroom, a 9,000-square-foot space supported by smaller private dining rooms and bars set in what were once the judge's chambers and the clerks' offices.

Luxury hotel in Covent Garden opposite the Royal Opera House

There are 91 rooms and 16 suites, arranged in two wings of a new-build extension linked to the historic police station. The rooms sit around a three-storey glass-roofed atrium restaurant that joins the old and new parts of the site, and the palette of leather headboards, framed artwork and velvet seating carries the residential feel of the New York original. Room service and a concierge are part of the offering.

What to expect on a visit

The atrium restaurant, with its rattan chairs and palms, is open to visitors as well as guests, as is Side Hustle, the bar styled somewhere between a prohibition-era drinking den and a British pub. Both mean the former court can be experienced over a meal or a drink without staying overnight, and the Opera House across the road makes it a natural pre-performance stop. The piazza is a two-minute walk. See other hotels in Covent Garden, including AMANO Covent Garden on the neighbouring Russell Street.