Targeted at Gen Z, the new Selina hotel in London will house vegan restaurant Powerplant, demonstrating a wholesale commitment to more ethical eating. Rose Dykins reports

Lifestyle, travel and hospitality brand Selina, which is known for its trendy co-working and surf hubs, is opening a new hotel in the heart of London’s Camden. It will also add another option to London’s vegan dining scene, with the arrival of its Powerplant restaurant, proving that Globetrender’s prediction that Vegan Travel is taking off.

Back in 2019, Globetrender editor and founder Jenny Southan wrote about the shift for Conde Nast Traveller: “In the Highlands, Saorsa 1875 opened in June as the UK’s first 100-per-cent vegan hotel, following the likes of the Treehouse, a shaman-chic space in Bel Air, Los Angeles.

“Pastels, flower pots and parrot wallpaper fill the baronial stone house on the edge of Pitlochry, which has 11 rooms powered by Vegan Society-approved Ecotricity, plant-based potions and bedding, and haggis made with pulses on the restaurant menu.

“Meanwhile, companies such as VeganTravel and VegVoyages have sprung up to arrange tours on the Nile and epic Malaysian rainforest trips. Intrepid Travel also joined the fray this year, launching a series of small-group food adventures, including one through Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, with input from influencers such as ethical Vancouver baker Erin Ireland.”

Set to open when the UK lockdown lifts in the spring, the 30-room Selina Camden will be located on Chalk Farm Road opposite the Camden Roundhouse music venue, making it an ideal place to stay when nightlife and live music eventually return to the capital. Selina Camden Hotel © Ben Broomfield PhotographyHoused in the new Selina hotel, the “neighbourhood-style” Powerplant restaurant will serve plant-based dishes such as watermelon tartare with yuzu, avocado, charred corn, tomato, miso ginger mayo and tapioca; aubergine manti with tomato butter, grilled onion, wild herbs and zataar-infused oil; and potato flatbread with cashew-infused cream, grilled courgette, enoki mushrooms and Thai basil pesto.Selina Camden Selina Camden

A signature cocktail offering will also be available in the basement bar – where vinyl records will play.

Selina CamdenSelina Camden

Selina Camden’s compact, stylish rooms have individual flourishes, such as murals, eclectic contemporary furniture and splashes of millennial pink.

There are options for a range of budgets, depending on the view and the floor – all with private ensuite bathrooms. Each room will have free wifi, and pets are welcome to stay at the property.

The hotel also has a communal kitchen, a movie room and a changing programme of events and “unique wellness experiences”.

Named after a fictitious millennial character, Selina is a Latin American, nomad-focused brand, offering a combination of hostels, hotels, co-working spaces and restaurants. It currently has 70 locations in 20 different countries.

Selina Camden is part of the brand’s £80 million expansion across Europe, and will be its fifth British launch. Its other sites across the UK are in Manchester, Birmingham (both opened in 2019) and Brighton and Liverpool (both opened last year).

Last year, Selina acquired Remote Year, a company that arranges “work from anywhere” programmes for digital nomads. Remote Year’s travel programmes will now make use of Selina’s accommodation and workspaces around the globe as part of the acquisition.

At the same time, Selina will be dedicating more than 50 per cent of its global rooms to a new subscription programme that will allow travellers to move freely among Selina properties for one set monthly or yearly fee, inclusive of accommodation, coworking space, daily wellness activities, weekly laundry and discounts for F&B, surf and retail, starting at just US$500 per month.

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