HotelLondon · Newly redesigned
voco London Bloomsbury, a former Mercure redesigned by 3Stories
A colourful, more sociable makeover for a 114-room hotel a few steps from the British Museum, with an all-day marble bar.
The Bloomsbury hotel that used to trade as a Mercure has a new name and a bit more personality. Now part of IHG's voco collection, it sits a few steps from the British Museum and has been reworked by London hospitality studio 3Stories, who leaned on colour, custom furniture and a more open ground floor to make it feel less like a place you simply sleep.
New awnings sharpen the frontage. Inside, blue timber panelling and brass mark the reception, where small pods stand in for a conventional front desk, and views run through to the bar and restaurant. A former meeting room is now a lounge with warm joinery, easy seating and a media wall, its low lighting shifting from workspace to evening retreat. The bar is the detail to notice: a Carrara marble top, tiled front and brass gantry, with booths and corners for coffee by day and drinks later on.
The 114 rooms pick up the brand's blue and mustard, with bespoke rugs, asymmetric headboards in contrasting upholstery and joinery that mixes open shelving with hidden storage, fitted to rooms of varying proportions. Ben Webb, managing director of 3Stories, says the team thought about "the different rhythms of a stay".
A handy, sociable base for a museum-heavy London trip; the piece gives no rates, so check those directly.
Our summary of a story from We Heart, published 21 October 2026. Read the original
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From We Heart