insideKENT Magazine Issue 101 - September 2020 | Page 44

LONDON
SENTENCED TO A STAYCATION IN STYLE AT
THE DIXON
BY SAMANTHA READY
NESTLED JUST A STONE’S THROW FROM TOWER BRIDGE LIES SE LONDON’S MOST
CUTTING-EDGE, DESIGN-INSPIRED LUXURY HOTEL. PROVING THAT COOL INTERIORS,
SLEEK FURNISHINGS AND SEAMLESS SERVICE CAN WIN OUT IN OUR POST-LOCKDOWN
LIVES, THE DIXON IS READY TO PUT YOUR STAY BANG TO RIGHTS.
Everything in The Dixon has been painstakingly thought of. There are nods to
its past life as a magistrates’ court echoed throughout the design and every detail
tells a story. Its name is taken from John Dixon Butler, the Edwardian architect
who designed the now listed building that dates back to 1905, and imposing,
solid oak entrance doors automatically open into an entrance hallway that’s
dominated by two design triumphs: a grand central staircase leading to the
upstairs chambers with stunning vaulted ceiling and skylight, and a beautiful
hand-blown Italian chandelier containing 60 delicate glass handcuffs.
The painstaking attention to detail continues with a team who rallied to reopen
in a COVID-adapted world. The once design-led entrance way now serves as
a dual-purpose, non-contact entrance way, visitors are immediately temperature
checked via a handy thermometer-scanner-come-sanitiser station, which leads
to a well-spaced check in area.
There have of course been some other necessary changes. Provisioners, the
hotel’s iconic restaurant remains closed for lunch and dinner, and its decadent
breakfast buffet stations have been replaced with the choice of a ‘grab & go’
continental pack-up or a pre-ordered, time-specified, full English option, menus
throughout are now in the form of scanned QR codes and there are sanitiser
stations throughout.
Whilst it is devastating that occupancy
rates in our great capital are at
unheard of levels, for those seeking a
sophisticated staycation there really
has never been a better time to venture
out. Many streets still have a buzz,
but the often overbearing
overcrowding and jostling has been
replaced with a calmer, more
thoughtful journey around the city,
and dare I say it, I loved it! You can
lose yourself more fully in the
ambience and atmosphere at this new
slower pace.
And at The Dixon the whole urbancool,
authentic design and stylish
staycation vibe remains intact.
The dramatic hallway – far more art
gallery than thoroughfare – boasts
monochrome photos of famous former
SE1 residents (Charlie Chaplin
included) as well as preserved original
benches upon which local scoundrels
carved out their names while waiting
to be led into the dock.
The outer lift wall is awash with
original keys salvaged from the
building, some with their original
Metropolitan Police insignias and all
dipped and sprayed to the same
metallic finish evident throughout the
hotel’s design scheme. Intricately
designed console tables on each
landing are carved from the salvaged
court benches and dipped in
metal, and artwork by local artists or
featuring local faces pops with
contemporary colour from a largely
black and white palette.
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