When aging rock stars tire of trashing hotel rooms and throwing TVs out of the window, where do they stay? Probably somewhere like London's Sanctum Soho, sanctumsoho.com. Set within the mellowed stone of a 1906 townhouse in the city's West End, the property bills itself as "a celebration of edgy glamor" and is the $17 million vision of music manager turned nightclub owner turned hotelier Mark Fuller.
All of the 30 rooms, which range in size from tiny 157 sq. ft. (14 sq m) Crash Pads to a sprawling rooftop suite complete with garden, are individually designed. Some offer a diva-pleasing vision of soft pinks and four posters; the boys will opt for rooms where use of strong mauves and browns lends a more masculine feel. In a stylish touch, key cards have been dispensed with and replaced with solid, old-school keys, which give an exclusive hotel-as-home air.
Sanctum tips its hat to Soho's red-light past in its minibars, which include high-end sexy underwear from Myla and a choice of what might be discreetly described as adult novelties. At the rooftop bar and lounge, which is open 24 hours, residents can party hard in the open-air Jacuzzi with a freshly mixed cocktail. For larger gatherings, the in-house cinema converts into a private party space for 100.
Despite Fuller's musical background, the hotel resists a kitsch reimagining of rock 'n' roll's heyday. Think of this, instead, as a Hard Rock Hotel for grown-ups. Rooms start from $290.