The Whiteley

What is it?

One of London’s first department stores went to sleep for the best part of a decade, and it’s finally woken up. The Whiteley is the grand emporium on Queensway and first opened in 1911, spending its later years as a shopping centre before closing for a top-to-toe restoration. It reopened in stages from late 2025, and it’s a very different beast.

The big headline is Six Senses London, the wellness brand’s first UK hotel, which takes up a whole quarter of the building. Its spa also has London’s first hotel magnesium pool. You don’t need to be staying, though, as the ground and lower floors are now home to a handpicked mix of food, fitness and culture. There’s a flagship Everyman cinema, a Third Space gym, Duck & Dry for a blow-dry and 3812 Gallery, which shows contemporary Chinese and Western artists. Grab a coffee and a pastry at Guillam Coffee House, then lose half an hour in the Adventures in Furniture showroom.

Why go?

It’s one of west London’s great buildings, restored to its former glory, and the best reason in years to spend an afternoon on Queensway.

Don’t miss

A film at the Everyman. It’s the chain’s largest London site, with five screens across three floors, velvet sofas, two bars and pizzas brought to your seat. Make a night of it with dinner first at Whiteley’s Kitchen, Bar and Café in the Six Senses, which does veg-forward British cooking and cocktails that come with or without alcohol.

When to visit

Evenings, when the restaurants and cinema are at their buzziest. Or come for breakfast, when the same restaurant turns into a café serving bread and pastries baked in-house.

Time Out tip

It’s still a work in progress, so keep an eye out for new arrivals. Healthy restaurant chain atis opens in November, with lemon-yellow seating out on Queensway and its first ever wraps on the menu. The coming months should also bring indoor golf at 14 Clubs, mochi bar Yuum, Mayfair café LALÏ and posh deli Willy’s.