Jun. 14--Next month the world's ultimate corporate hotel chain opens its first "designer" stopover in a listed neo-classical building on the corner of Trafalgar Square. The Trafalgar is Hilton's 370th hotel but, in a break with tradition, there will be no logo above the door, no Hilton-liveried doormen and not even a book of matches to remind the guest they are in the latest outpost of the biggest and, some might say, blandest hotel group on the planet. 

In a parallel development, Nomura, the new owner of the Waldorf Hotel, on Aldwych, is planning to convert the palm-trimmed palace of traditional London hotel style into a minimalist temple for a cool UKpound 10 million. 

The Japanese investment bank, which has raised UKpound 360 million to convert some of its recently acquired Le Meridien chain, will also attempt to turn the Hyde Park monstrosity Grosvenor House into a contemporary design-led haven. The Trafalgar's arrival and Le Meridien revamp will ring alarm bells among trendy operators such as Ian Schrager. Their monopoly on modernity is under serious threat from the big international chains which are determined to win back the jet-setters they have lost to the new generation of contemporary hotels. 

Andreas Jersabeck, general manager of the Trafalgar, says: "The kind of people we are trying to attract are affluent 25-40-year-old executives in fashion, entertainment, media and advertising. 
 

"These people are not attracted to the traditional Hilton brand. We felt that if it were a non-branded hotel we would appeal to that market, as long as we could provide the service."  The usual Hilton fare aimed at business people and middle-aged tourists has been abandoned in favour of personal yoga teachers and hippy-chic La Stone therapy. Guests will have complementary membership to one of London's coolest new gyms and staying at the Trafalgar will ensure entry to London's hottest

Behind the historic façade of the former Cunard Boardroom, a state-of-the-art hotel is taking shape. Due to open in spring 2001 the Hilton London Trafalgar Square will be one of the capitals most impressive locations. The hotel offers 129 luxury bedroms and an exclusive roof garden with exceptional views over Trafalgar Square.

The minimalist-style bedrooms feature pale walls, sleek, dark-wooden furniture while the bathrooms glisten with glass, white tiles and chrome and come complete with Pure spa products. 

Robbie Bargh -- the man behind fashionable members' club Street -- is responsible for the gleaming, ground-floor bourbon bar Rockwell, while the Trafalgar's rooftop gardens will be hired out for film and fashion parties. 

Rivals are watching Hilton's experiment with interest. Simon Hirst, general manager of One Aldwych -- the hotel mentioned most often by Hilton and Nomura when discussing contemporary hotels they admire -- says: "You can't recreate the Dorchester or the Savoy, so the trend is towards a more contemporary approach." 

Yet he wonders whether Hilton can do a "different" hotel. "It's a question of creating the right cache," he adds. 

Nicholas Rettie, general manager at Sir Terence Conran's Great Eastern Hotel, expands on the theme. "Design-led hotels are now an aspirational thing. It's not unrelated to people being conscious of the clothes they wear saying something about them. In the same way, the hotels they stay in also say something." 

Staying at a Hilton does not say "cutting-edge". It is a thorny marketing dilemma for Jersabeck, but one he believes he can solve with better service than that on offer at some of the ultra-trendy hotels. 

He knows he cannot compete with the likes of Schrager when it comes to being hip. There are no theatrical flourishes in the lobby along the lines of Schrager's nearby St Martins Lane. 

However, Jersabeck believes there is a middle-market between punters happy to sacrifice service and room size for style and those who put traditional five-star hotel treatment above any notion of trendiness. 

Nomura has its eye on this market too. Juergen Bartels, the man appointed to head the bid and the new company, is an old pro having run the massive US group Starwood Hotels. 

The UKpound 360 million revamp of the Le Meridien portfolio includes UKpound 90 million on Grosvenor House Hotel, UKpound 70 million on the Cumberland in Oxford Street and UKpound 10 million on the Waldorf. 

Bartels will not give details until the deal goes unconditional on 6 July, but early hints from those close to the plans clearly spell the end for the gilded swirls, floral patterns and swagged curtains that swamp the properties. 

Like Hilton, Bartels will avoid the visual stunts that pepper the Schrager properties -- such as swinging chairs and giant, televised fish tanks. 

But the Waldorf's historic palm court can look forward to offering something a little more exciting than a cream tea and cucumber sandwiches. 

-----To see more of the Evening Standard, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thisislondon.co.uk UKpound preceding a numeral refers to the United Kingdom's pound sterling. (c) 2001, Evening Standard, London. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. HLTGY, HOT,