When it comes to elegance and personalized service, The Milestone Hotel and Residences is a London landmark. Renovations, currently underway in select spaces of the property promise to provide guests with an even more memorable stay. During a recent trip to the city, we caught up with General Manager Andrew Pike to discuss the changes in this esteemed member of the Red Carnation Hotels collection.

Global Traveler: Tell us a little bit about the team behind the new renovations.

Andrew Pike: Our talented in-house design team includes Toni Tollman, head of global design, The Travel Corporation; Brian Brennan, projects director building & interior design; and designer Terry Gelfand. The designers bestowed their creative talents on many of the hotels in the Red Carnation Hotel Collection. Toni and Brian also lent their expertise to the design of the luxurious ships of our sister brand, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises.

GT: Would you term the design changes as transformation, or simply a re-imagining of the hotel’s spaces?

AP: No two rooms or suites throughout the entire Red Carnation collection are alike, so every design modification is fundamental to the overall style of a space. Every single element of the room is considered in the design process — from the lush hand-woven carpets to the fine fabrics, antique furnishings, polished brass four-poster bed frames and rare artwork on the walls. The guests’ needs are always top of mind, and this is even the case for the layout and style of the reimagined suites.

GT: What is the biggest challenge when making a change to a property with such a storied history?

AP: Many features of the hotel are considered of special architectural and historic interest so they are listed: the ceiling in our Cheneston’s restaurant, the building’s original chapel, now called The Oratory, and even the leded windows in a number of the rooms and suites. The design team is mindful of the storied pasts of our properties, so the refurbishment’s design concepts complement the buildings’ rich history, which dates as far back as the 1880s. However, modern touches that guests come to expect from a 5-star property, such as electronic blinds and interactive TVs, have been incorporated into the overall design of the space in a subtle manner.

GT: Do you have a personal favorite so far when it comes to new rooms and suites?

AP: The suites and residences have been refurbished to an exceptional manner, so it’s almost impossible to choose a favorite! Although one of the new suites features a striking wall of vintage Hermès scarves, which I’m sure will become a favorite amongst our guests.