The BoTree London Puts Las Vegas in Marylebone

It used to be that Marylebone was where you went for that artfully bedraggled, raffish special sauce that only certain London neighbourhoods are still able to offer. Or, at least, still able to offer without pretense or that touch of self-awareness that so much of London finds itself prone to these days. We would go to Marylebone for London in it’s most ‘London’ form: elegant and chic but in a way that felt more homely and eclectic than Chelsea, a less commercialised shopping experience, a sophisticated yet unpretentious restaurant scene, and more stayed cultural hotspots like Daunt Books.

These days, we can still go to Marylebone for all those things, but its eclecticism has diversified somewhat. It’s no bad thing – not by any means – since no closed ecosystem can really thrive forever, and London’s propensity to welcome fresh faces into its distinct little corners is what has always made it so worth being in.

This fact is perfectly exemplified by BoTree’s 77 – a quaint club within Hilton’s Curio Collection hotel on 30 Marylebone lane. While the hotel itself – which describes itself as combining “Mayfair luxury and Soho Charisma” – is a bright and vibrant space dedicated to wellness (think red light therapy and ice cold plunges), mediterranean dining and London’s very above-ground commitment to that executive, on-the-go aesthetic defined by strong taste and understated finishes.

But, deep within the building, 77 represents an immersive departure from the streets of Marylebone and London itself. With groundbreaking lighting rigged into the very architecture of the space, video and sound, the space is a Tardis that transports nightlifers and event attendees clean across the world to some of the most innovative spaces in Las Vegas. The audiovisual elements, designed to project throughout the unorthodox shape of the venue, are evocative of The Sphere, which drenches audiences in visuals and turns a simple DJ set into a four-dimensional experience. It’s modern, but in a way that feels like modernity from elsewhere, rather than London’s own brand, which is far more evident upstairs.

The BoTree’s Director of Music, Eniz Hilmi, described the space as “giving artists freedom to tell a full story with their music, while fans get to experience them in a way they can’t

anywhere else in the city.” True enough, it’s an atmosphere that so far has only arrived on Marylebone’s shores in the form of online casino games, or visits to surrounding parts of the city from Vegas’s most prolific DJs like Anyma, who appeared at Silverworks Island this June.

The BoTree may seem like another high-end Marylebone hotel for luxury travellers and professionals ‘just passing through’, but it conceals a delicious secret that encapsulates Marylebone’s eclectic past, and its transitional present: finding little corners, hidden spaces, where new culture can sneak in and ensure that the neighbourhood never grows tired or fussy. This is the tradition that keeps the area feeling so London, in its truest form.

The club has an exciting future as a space for hosting brand launches, fashion shows, exhibitions and private events, and for transporting its attendees to another part of the world. When they surface from the basement, they will find themselves right back in the very heart of London.