You have a blank canvas, so you can build the perfect hotel – the size of this lobby, for example. The level of detail. Have we succeeded? Time will tell, but walking around the building, it’s an amazing privilege to operate in such a space.

We’re a global brand, of course. But we’re still fairly local in the way we do things. In this hotel, for example, there are a lot of elements that are very British. We never want to be this foreign company that just sets foot somewhere. We wanted to be part of London, and we want London to be part of us. This lobby, for instance, was intended to be a meeting place, somewhere people can come together – look, everyone is drinking tea!

When you look at pricing, you have to look at the space you get for that price, right? Our entry-level rooms are the same size as junior suites at some of our competitors. So you’re comparing the price of a junior suite elsewhere with our entry-level room. It’s a matter of how you look at it. And, with our product, you have very large bathrooms, separate dressing rooms. That’s where the luxury of space comes in.

I think all of London’s hotels complement each other. Every luxury hotel is helping London cement itself as a luxury destination. Every hotel is unique in what it represents. I think the London market is large enough for us all to share.

There’s definitely a lot of opportunity in that market, a lot of untapped potential. We’re working on a few packages that are geared to locals. One thing that sets us apart is that you can drive to the hotel. We have parking, so you can leave your car somewhere safe overnight.

It’s very important, in terms of positioning. In London, a lot of hotels have the names of famous chefs above their [restaurant] doors. You don’t find this in a lot of other cities. I mean, you see it in New York, to an extent. But London is quite unique in that.

They are both world cities, but I like to think that London feels like a Sunday New York. I find London quite calm and peaceful.

It is nice, especially as I haven’t really travelled in Europe that much. After hotel school I went to the United States and Asia. I’ve never been to Greece, for example, or Barcelona! They’re both on my bucket list. So is Lisbon.

I lived in Asia for a long time, and I absolutely love Tokyo. The food and the lights and the intensity is fantastic. Although you always need to go somewhere else after Tokyo to calm down.

I hired an intern in New York whose family has a little hotel in Puglia. She said she got the internship to gain some knowledge that she could take back home to run this hotel – a small, family place. So I promised that one day I’d come and stay with her.

I like watch brands. I like the precision they represent, the craftsmanship, the fact they are passed down through generations.

Hmm… Well, we are understated luxury. I don’t think we are a flashy watch brand. We are something you’d buy, put on your wrist, and people who were into watches would realise you were wearing something special.

I didn’t want to name a brand, but yes. If you look at a Patek Philippe, you’ve got this very understated watch, but with incredible attention to detail, amazing craftsmanship.

Hong Kong.

I like The Polo Bar in New York.

This hotel!

Countryside. My dream is to one day own a vineyard with a donkey and make lots of wine.

Mountains. I grew up in mountains in a village close to Interlaken. Every summer my parents would send me to a farm for five weeks, to help make cheese, cut the grass and make hay to feed the cows in winter. There was no running water back then. It was amazing. I loved being so close to nature. I still long for that.