As a eco-activist I rate this effort to combine green with luxury as a brave effort.

I would rate Rafayel a great hotel for business. Battersea sounds distant but I was pleasantly surprised that it took me 20 minutes to get to Mayfair from the hotel.

The unique features that I would like to highlight are:

1- The beds which are just grand.
2- The corridors- I have never seen wider corridors in a new build with shared lobbies on a typical floor.
3. Carpets- very good quality.
4. Decor- sculptures and art all over
5- Wide plasma TV screens, Power jet showers
7- Amenities- organic
8- Technology- every room has a user guide
9- Earth friendly- all low energy LEDs
10- No paper or plastics, can be inconvenient when you need to take notes instead of electronic notes
11- Free hispeed internet, office table and room to work in the room, BT rates for telephones
12- Board room facility and attached large common areas.
13- Nice lobby and great bar
14- Free shuttle to Sloane square, a big plus
15- Jacuzzi and bathroom TVs in my Amazon room
16- SPA was not ready, that was a disappointment but hopefully in the next visit it will be
17- I think great value for what I paid for and the staff was keen to please
18- Linen and pillows- extremely good

I was most impressed by the eco friendly credentials and the very welcoming staff.

Bathrooms were sometimes cold (though the temperatures outside were below freezing) I was informed that the eco-friendly nature of the hotel resulted in no towel heaters. No doubt towel heaters are the worst eco offenders. They consume anywhere between 2.5 to 3 kw and can single-handedly destroy any saving of energy through LED.

Will customers accept a slightly cold bathroom on a day of temperatures at minus 1 and still be happy? Eco friendly does mean some compromise on trigger free nature of consumption and this is tricky ground they are playing on. I think we need to change our idea of “luxury”. I hope they can maintain these high standards and that the technology works.

The eco-friendly and unique boutique design of the hotel has coalesced to produce a grand result. I would like my design work team to stay there from now on. I am delighted that we finally have a top class product in the area. My pick in rating the concept of the design would be the grand lobby closely followed by the large rooms with their jaw-dropping bathrooms.

I would rate it far better than so called top boutique hotels in London since it is what a boutique hotel should be like. I hope they can provide the service that this unique product will deserve.