University Arms, Cambridge, is a landmark hotel located in the historic heart of Cambridge, overlooking Parker’s Piece. First opened in 1834 as the city’s original hotel, it will re-launch in early Summer 2018 after a complete £80m transformation, a unique collaboration between architect John Simpson and interior designer Martin Brudnizki.
Simpson is the nation’s foremost classical architect and has worked on extensive projects in Cambridge, including at Peterhouse and Gonville and Caius Colleges. As well as his acclaimed work on both Buckingham and Kensington Palaces, he has worked most recently on Eton College, the Royal College of Music and the University of Notre Dame. He has overseen the hotel redevelopment, including the replacement of the building’s 1960s and ‘70s extensions with an attractive, classically designed front that is in keeping with Cambridge’s better-known architectural heritage. He approached the project with a self-professed vision to “try and create this hotel so it becomes the best hotel in Cambridge again”, restoring its faded glory.
The interiors are by Martin Brudnizki, one of Europe’s foremost leading interior architects whose past projects include Miami Soho Beach House, Scott’s, The Ivy and most recently the acclaimed Beekman in New York. UNIVERSITY ARMS is the first complete hotel project in the UK that will showcase Martin Brudnizki interiors from top to bottom. Throughout the design process, he has been mindful to create an environment reminiscent of school days past, lazy afternoons spent on the banks of the River Cam and the raucous revelry of students; truly a space for locals, tourists, Cambridge students and their families alike.
University Arms will be home to 192 beautiful and ‘playfully’ designed rooms and suites, a destination restaurant, bar, library, event space, underground valet car park and gym. The hotel will be quintessentially English and the literary and academic spirit of Cambridge will be one of its defining characteristics.
