Mitre hotel to be first in new Signet Collection

The Mitre hotel in London’s Hampton Court will be the first hotel of a new group called the Signet Collection, with the property set to open in September.

The Signet Collection has been founded by Hector Ross, former chief operating officer of Longshot, which owns the luxury Beaverbrook hotel in Surrey and Bel & the Dragon Group, and culinary and operations director Ronnie Kimbugwe, who has previously worked as senior sous chef at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s and spent a decade as group head chef of the Bel & the Dragon Country Inns.

The new collection of boutique properties will focus on informal design, F&B and service and will each be individually designed properties.

The Mitre is a Grade II-listed property dating to 1665, originally used as ancillary accommodation for guests of King Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace. Set on the banks of the River Thames, the 36-bedroom hotel will include a 60-cover riverside all day dining and wine bar, a 70-cover brasserie and bar, an 60-cover orangery, a large riverside terrace, meeting rooms and private dining areas.

Ross said: “We start with a special place. Our hotels have history, stories to tell. Each one is imbued with generations of tales, legacies, myths and legends. We unearth this history, these stories. We restore them, reimagining them, passing them on for our guests to enjoy, layered with a British sense of humour, top-notch F&B and memorable experiences.”

Kimbugwe added: “We hope our two new riverside restaurants, Coppernose and Signet 1665, will be a welcome addition to both the local community, hotel residents and Hampton Court Palace visitors.”

Interior designer Nicola Harding is overseeing the design of the properties, having previously worked on the Garden House at Beaverbrook and the Rose hotel in Deal.

She said: “The Signet Collection hotels will blend the old with the new, the refined with the comfortable, and the local with the worldly. Through design we aim to connect our guests with the history and the location of each hotel, providing characterful bedrooms, and playful lively public spaces where people quickly feel at home.”