Last summer I visited Birch Selsdon, a newly opened hotel and members club in a renovated building in De Vere on the outskirts of London, where Croydon pushes into Surrey. Extended families ate breakfast in the restaurant, bathed in sunlight streaming through the large windows.
Outside, a few meadow flowers bloomed on the remains of the old golf course, which was redeveloped as a home for cows and sheep. We walked through the woods from the hotel until the rain came, then my kids found a room where they could play arcade games and darts. We all agreed it was pretty special.
It was this day, along with a shared workspace and gym (and recently a lido and top chef Lee Westcott in the kitchens), that convinced my husband to become a member. He loved working from the hotel, taking breaks to take walks in the grounds and have a cup of coffee in the plant-filled orangery. There were definitely teething problems - spotty service and still shabby corners of the huge, castle-like building - but we were looking forward to staying overnight and maybe trying one of Birch's classes, like pottery or forest bathing.
We never got the chance. A few months after that first visit, the hotel closed unexpectedly, along with its sister hotel, Birch Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. Administrators took over both hotels, with Selsdon citing "cash flow pressures" as the reason behind the operator's decision. The staff was fired and reportedly even the sheep were returned. An Instagram post from Westcott showed a space that was never even finished, with paintings resting against the building's old wood paneling.
Birch Selsdon had only been open for seven months, after two years of multi-million pound renovations. Birch Cheshunt, which welcomed guests for the first time in 2020, lasted three years. It was a spectacular fall from grace for Birch, who was originally launched to much excitement by former Ace Hotel London director Chris Penn and entrepreneur Chris King. Although they left the brand long before the Selsdon hotels opened (in 2022 and 2023 respectively), Penn's original vision still resonated.
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"We felt there was an opportunity to take over assets that were just outside the cities and had become unloved as conference centers and wedding venues, but had inherent beauty. They seemed very disconnected from the needs of a modern consumer. They were in such beautiful locations that people in the cities could escape to, but the offerings in those buildings did not reflect what these consumers could get on their doorstep," Penn told me over the phone a few days after the shock announcement.
Hotels do close, but are often quickly reborn in new incarnations. When Ace Hotel London closed in 2020, its operators renovated it and reopened in March 2022 as One Hundred Shoreditch. Large suburban spaces may be harder to sell and parent company Aprirose has removed all traces of Birch from its website, leaving Travelodge hotels. , Premier Inn and Hilton who feel very much at odds with the brand's original philosophy.
Birch presented itself as a hippie-ish, creative version of Soho House, aiming to "look like a hotel but feel like a festival". The idea appealed to many, but the Selsdon hotel may have been too 'hipster' for some locals (as a comment on the website Inside Croydon suggested). It wasn't polished enough for the hipsters either - and with both hotels boasting more than 140 bedrooms and cavernous public areas, adding the necessary sparkle would take dedication and a lot of money.
Rooms started at around £140 a night and reflected the price tag: more student rooms than Soho Home. The official position on Birch's lack of TVs and other amenities was that guests were encouraged to explore the grounds and participate in on-site activities rather than hanging out in their pajamas, but that seemed a lot like cutting off to some the bends. Others were not impressed with the service and environment.
Originally, Birch's reused and recycled approach came from a strong desire for sustainability. "Every decision... was made with integrity around this idea of truly caring about its impact on the consumer, the building, the natural environment and the world. That meant that sometimes we felt like it was better to reuse something than to buy something new. And I think consumers really understood that in the beginning because we were talking directly to them," Penn said.
Birch Cheshunt, meanwhile, appeared to be on a downward trajectory. Previous guests I spoke to had vowed never to return. A friend's disastrous stay a few months before closing included black stains on the carpets, strange paper signs telling everyone to be quiet, reception staff refusing to book her a table in the restaurant and telling her they had a taxi arranged when they had not. t, and a half-eaten sandwich that has been sitting by the pool all weekend.
A Google review of the Selsdon property from two months ago said: "At one point I left the pool to get something from my car, when I returned there was a queue to get back in and I was told told that the area was full and I would not be allowed back in despite all my belongings and my partner still being there along with my empty sunbed. They finally let me come back after a few minutes of arguing, but the staff was clearly excessive and not well trained."
Insiders muttered that an indefinite pause on plans to build a UK base for nearby Sunset Studios in Hollywood was the final nail in the coffin for the troubled Hertfordshire hotel.
Despite all this, Birch was right enough. Securing Westcott, who had previously worked with Jason Atherton and Tom Aikens, was a coup and his Elodie restaurant became the only one in Croydon to appear in the Michelin Guide. Meanwhile, the range of activities appealed to experience-seeking millennials and Gen Zers.
On the final day of Birch Selsdon, staff and members mourned a unique building where there was a real sense of camaraderie, a fantastic restaurant and some of the best grounds in Greater London. "This was a transformative space for me and my family and we felt great sadness at its closing. Devastated by all the friendly and dedicated staff we have met since May," said a response on LinkedIn.
What these transformative spaces will become next remains to be seen. Milan Vuceljic of Moorfields Advisory, the co-manager of Birch Selsdon, told The Telegraph: "The assets will be brought to market in due course as we continue to manage the closure of the hotel. We believe the Selsdon hotel offers a good opportunity for potential buyers."
Penn hopes the land will not be turned into luxury apartments. "I think the saddest thing would be if there was a large residential area because I believe a lot of people should love and enjoy these old estates," Penn said.
Whatever happens, there probably won't be anything like Birch anywhere else. And love them or loathe them, the suburbs of London won't be the same without them.
