Six Senses, The Whiteley London

Designing a hotel centred on wellness demands attention to every detail. It is not just how a space looks but how it feels to move through it at different hours of the day. 

At Six Senses’ UK debut, The Whiteley this thinking carried through every layer of the design. Over five years, our dedicated projects team worked closely with AvroKO and Blue Moon Procurement to deliver bespoke decorative lighting across 109 guestrooms, suites and public areas. In total, we developed 27 entirely bespoke designs spanning table lamps, wall lights, ceiling fittings and pendants. 

We previously spoke with Senior Design Manager at AvroKO, Luca Ferraro to explore the thinking behind their concept - a scheme grounded in intention, where wellness is considered throughout the guest journey. Here, we turn to the reality of translating that vision into a finished scheme and how our lighting played a defining role in shaping the experience. 

Six Senses’ first UK address is set within a Grade II listed building of both architectural and cultural significance, formerly home to the historic Whiteleys department store. While carefully protecting and celebrating its heritage, AvroKO’s brief placed wellness at the centre of every design decision. That meant the lighting scheme had to honour the building's heritage while supporting the wellness experience throughout.  

As Luca describes: "A major challenge was limiting the use of technical lighting and focusing on the decorative lighting; the challenge was supplying not only great lighting but also the right amount of it. The scheme evolved to ensure the lights supported the architecture and design by creating spaces that are not only beautiful but also make you feel and look great. The transition involved intense operational mock-ups—testing and sleeping in rooms—to perfectly calibrate the lighting balance for actual guest comfort."

It is at that stage when testing moves into refinement that communication between the designer and our team becomes critical. Drawings evolve, samples go back and forth, and what reads correctly on paper can behave entirely differently in a finished room. Throughout that process, our team worked closely with AvroKO and Blue Moon, iterating on samples, refining dimensions and finishes, and resolving the technical challenges that come with integrating new electrical components into a protected historic building. As Luca describes it, this level of hands-on collaboration was not optional: "Delivering a massive project with 109 rooms and sprawling public spaces requires a partner who can manufacture at scale without losing the artisanal, hand-crafted feel. Working with a collaborator who could appreciate details and refinement while remaining cost-effective was critical."

All 27 Heathfield & Co designs were assembled and quality controlled at our workshop in Kent - a process that allowed us to maintain the level of craft the project required while meeting the scale and timeline that a hospitality project of this complexity demands.

Maintaining cohesion across such varied spaces - from the restaurant to the spa to the stillness of a guestroom at 3am - was solved through a consistent colour temperature held throughout the property, with atmosphere shaped by the nature of each fitting rather than by changing the quality of light. 

"Cohesion across wildly diverse environments (from bustling restaurants to the tranquil spa) was achieved by maintaining a strict, consistent lighting colour temperature but also a light that changes harmoniously through the hours of the day. The choice of fixtures provided a consistent level of sophistication while creating different atmospheres based on the spaces and their functions." says Luca. "This ensures a consistent feel that ties the spaces together, keeping the brand's visual identity intact and providing a unique experience for the guests."

What a project like Six Senses London demonstrates, more than anything, is the importance of decorative lighting in a wellness hospitality scheme. Not as a finishing touch, but as a structural part of the guest experience, designed and refined from the very start.

Working on a hospitality project? Our projects team works directly with interior designers, procurement specialists and hotel operators to develop bespoke lighting from concept through to installation. Get in touch to discuss your project.