“I’ve had a whale of a time in my life,” says Anouska Hempel, known as Lady Weinberg, whose singular properties are legendary for their ultimate luxury, individuality, and taste. And little wonder. Born in New Zealand, she spent her childhood in Australia before moving to England in 1962, reportedly with a mere 10 pounds in her pocket. Throughout the ’60s, her movie career found her in a number of films, including one in the James Bond franchise, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
After her marriage to financier Mark Weinberg (and acquiring her title), she began her career as a designer—a vocation inspired by her impeccable taste and a keen eye. “Being a rather second-rate actress,” she has said, “I finally thought, ‘I’d rather be a designer.’ I knew I could make things look good.” And that she did. “[When I began],” she says, “there was no place in London that had any warmth, any character, any madness.” She made it her mission to change the city’s profile.
Her influential hotels include Blakes, the Hempel, the Franklin (all in London), and Six Senses Duxton in Singapore, as well as properties in Beirut, Santiago, and Amsterdam. She has also designed yachts, retail stores, and landscapes, not to mention a bountiful line of home furnishings.
Creating a memorable “specialist world” for the traveler is her aspiration. Describing herself as the queen of beds (“four-posters in particular”), she insists that the guest experience must be more than “going to bed at night, ordering room service, and having tea in a dead teabag.” In a modest understatement, she attributes her success and icon status to “doing what I thought was right, and having a little bit of flair and a fantastic team.”
The Hempel Hotel in London
Warapuru Resort in Itacaré, Brazil
Vaduz Liechtenstein
Addison Road in London
A private residential property in Singapore
Six Senses Duxton in Singapore
Photos by Andrew Twort, Andreas Von Einsiedel, and courtesy of Anouska Hempel Design
