Alex Calderwood, the man who created Ace chain, found dead at 47 in one of his hotel rooms

The man who launched the fashionable Ace Hotel chain has been found dead in his London hotel room.

Alex Calderwood, 47, was found by staff at the company’s newest venture in Shoreditch. Paramedics rushed to the hotel but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The company confirmed the death on its website and called Calderwood “our teacher, mentor, guru and most importantly our dear friend”.

Company spokesman, Ryan Bukstein said: “His humility, spirit of collaboration and tireless work ethic has influenced our family at Atelier Ace and creatives across the globe.

“We all plan to continue moving forward with the ideals Alex championed so naturally,” adding: “We are all in mourning.”

A spokeswoman for the London hotel said: “We are all very saddened that Alex Calderwood, one of our co-founders, passed away, but at this time we have no further information.”

Calderwood, described as a “maverick”, was reported to have had problems with drug and alcohol addiction in the past, but his cause of death is not yet known.

Ace Hotels are renowned for their style, with vintage and repurposed furniture and street art prominent in all rooms, and are thought of as some of the world’s “hippest” hotels.

It describes itself on its website as “a collection of individuals - multiple and inclusive, held together by an affinity for the soulful”.

In an interview with the New York Times in 2011, Calderwood told how he had been sober for five months, saying: “I am very proud of my sobriety. You get to a certain age, and you get to a certain point, where you realise this is just, like, dragging me down. It’s not fun anymore. I’m not enjoying it.”

The son of a contractor and a newspaper columnist, Calderwood became a party promoter and vintage-clothing seller before opening a series of rock-themed barber shops.

He went on to open a popular Seattle nightclub before becoming a hotelier, launching Ace Hotel in Seattle in 1999 with two friends.

He described its quirky design style as intending to “celebrate the everyday with utilitarian objects”.

The company opened its London branch in Shoreditch High Street in September.

Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to the businessman.

Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre Hotels, called him “a lovely dreamer”, adding: “He had an uncanny knack of creating spaces where people felt a sense of belonging. And, he loved creating these spaces as he got great joy out of designing that kind of habitat.”

A spokesman for the Met said they were called at 2.45pm on Thursday, adding that they were not treating the death as suspicious.