Where To Stay | London City Guide

If you can ignore all the city types, eating and drinking at the 5 restaurants and numerous bars at the old Midland Bank HQ turned cavernous  entertainment complex, The Ned has fast become my favorite hotel in London. The rooms have everything you want or need from a luxury hotel, the pool and gym and just wonderful, as is the temporary access you get to the hotel's private members club. It’s all super wankey, but in the best way possible. 

Before the Ace Hotel, you had the Hoxton. During the day it’s a place for co-working and meetings. At night it’s where the local tech workers who can’t quite make it into Soho House come to let their hair down and party. As such, while the rooms are nice and cozy (just the right about of bare concrete and exposed pipework), it does feel like you’re crossing a club dancefloor to get to your rooms on a Friday or Saturday night. 

This dutch hotel is built around the idea of prefabricated rooms based on the proportions of shipping containers. This makes the hotels quick and cheap to build, with the savings passed on to you. As such it’s one of the more affordable places to stay in London. They’ve done a deal with Vitra, which means the place is like a Clerkenwell furniture shop, and have thought about every element of the guest experience, from the self service check-in, to the tablet powered environmental controls.  

You know where you stand with the Ace Hotel. Model like staff, a lobby that feels more like a WeWork than a hotel, lots of exposed concrete and pipework, good coffee, a second hand record store, and a slightly overpriced restaurant hidden behind a flower shop.  

This place has all the bling. Lovely rooms, great public spaces, a cavernous steam room, and the best cocktail bar in the world. If I was married to a premier league footballer, I’d choose to stay here, but don't let that put you off.