Recent converts
Words: Sophy Grimshaw If you fancy doing something a bit different, a visit to one of these clever conversions might just be the thing London From Bath House To Restaurant Looking at the exterior, it’s not a surprise to learn that Ciro’s Pizza Pomodoro restaurant in London was at one point a Victorian bath house. [...]
Words: Sophy Grimshaw
If you fancy doing something a bit different, a visit to one of these clever conversions might just be the thing
London
From Bath House To Restaurant
Looking at the exterior, it’s not a surprise to learn that
Ciro’s Pizza Pomodoro restaurant in London was at
one point a Victorian bath house. The Old Broad Street
Turkish Baths were built in 1894 by architect Harold
Elphick. The idea was to lure City workers from the
nearby Lloyds Bank and Stock Exchange to a luxurious
place to unwind and relax. These days it attracts
anyone who needs a pizza fix. Try the Ciro’s Favourite,
a mozzarella and pepperoni calzone.
Ciro’s Pizza Pomodoro, 7-8 Bishopsgate Churchyard,
London, +44 (0)20 7920 9207; www.ciros-bishopsgate.co.uk
href="http://www.excaliburchicago.com">www.excaliburchicago.com
Chicago
From Historic Building To Nightclub
If you’ve checked out the Chicago nightlife
scene in the past year you may well have
been to Vision and Excalibur, the two linked
nightclubs that recently hosted Barbadian
singer Rihanna and superstar DJ Tiësto. Both
occupy the space that was once the legendary
Limelight nightclub of the 1980s, famous
around the world for taking over former
churches. Here, the church-like 1892 building
was originally the headquarters of the Chicago
Historical Society. The cavernous interior
provides a dramatic setting for parties.
Vision/Excalibur, 632 North Dearborn Street,
Chicago, +1 312 266 1944; www.visionnightclub.com,
Zurich
From Aeroplane To Bar/Restaurant
You don’t need to be airborne to
enjoy a drink in an aeroplane. In
Glattbrugg, near Zurich’s airport,
the bar/restaurant Runway 34 is
housed in a former plane. Reto Siepel,
a professional pilot and aeroplane
enthusiast, and his architect brother
Andri worked with restaurateur Stefan
Hunziker to create a fully functioning
bar inside an out-of-use passenger
plane, with restaurant tables in the
aircraft hangar and flight attendantstyle
waiting staff.
Runway 34, 67 Rohrholzstrasse,
Glattbrugg, +41 43 816 3434:
www.runway34.ch
Dublin
From School To Hotel
After you check into your room
at Dublin’s Schoolhouse Hotel,
you might get a sudden urge
to recite your times tables.
Original headmaster Isaac
Woodley opened the doors
of St Stephen’s Paraochial
School in 1861. These days it’s
a boutique hotel where spa
treatments like Aveda facials
and reiki healing are available
in your room.
The Schoolhouse Hotel,
2-8 Northumberland Road,
Dublin, +353 (0)1 667 5014;
www.schoolhousehotel.com
Copenhagen
From Department Store To Hotel
It’s not by coincidence that Hotel Skt.
Petri is in the heart of Copenhagen’s
pedestrianised shopping district. It
was previously the Daells Varehus
department store (nicknamed Dalle
Valle), a popular shopping hub in the
Danish capital from 1928 to 1999.
Since 2003 its high ceilings have
housed a super-chic hotel, but the
escalators are a nod to its past. The
downstairs bar is a popular meeting
place for city locals as well as guests.
Hotel Skt. Petri, 22 Krystalgade,
Copenhagen, +45 3345 9100;
www.hotelsktpetri.com
