On a recent visit to London Bridge, I discovered a real gem of a hotel perfectly located by the river in Southwalk on the Shard’s doorstep and many of London’s other top attractions. The London Bridge Hotel.
Why We Love This Hotel
As well as that great location, the hotel is smart, trendy, and comfortable, with friendly staff and a really rather fabulous bar – the Quarter Bar and Lounge.
Location
As the name suggests, the hotel is tucked a couple of streets back from London Bridge. The super-convenient location means you are literally steps from the London Bridge Mainline and Underground stations, so getting about the city couldn’t be easier. You are also right at the base of The Shard, so why not take a cruise to the top to fully appreciate the views from this lovely area of the capital. The hotel is located in Southwalk; famously one of London’s most diverse boroughs. If you are traveling for business, then the City is nearby, or you’ll find the quirky stalls of the South Bank and Borough Market in the other direction if your visit is more social. We travel with young children, and so a short stroll along the Thames and a visit up Tower Bridge was the perfect way to while away a crisp Autumnal London afternoon.
Best Time To Visit
There can be no bad time to visit London. Although late Spring and Summer bring the most visitors, early Spring is a great time to visit as the city’s parks are in full bloom. Even on rainy days, the museums and galleries beckon, and Christmas time is just magical with the lights of Regent Street, Bond Street, Oxford Street, and Covent Garden.
How To Get There
It really couldn’t be easier with the Mainline and Underground stations being on your doorstep. London Bridge Underground station can be found on the Jubilee line, two stops from London Waterloo, and on the Northern Line. The Mainline Railway station is the UK’s fourth busiest station; it mainly serves south London and numerous destinations in South East England.
Style & Character
The hotel is stylish, smart, and carefully treads the line between a traditional London vibe and a contemporary, boutique look. One of my favorite things was that the lobby and other public areas were bursting with wonderfully diverse modern art pieces. This is part of a collaboration with Team London Bridge to bring Art out of galleries and into all sorts of interesting locations such as hotels. It’s a fantastic way to support local artists and made for real talking points bringing guests together in that magical way that only art can. The pieces are for sale too, so if you fall in love, you can take one home with you. They also rotate regularly.
Service & Facilities
The hotel has access to the adjoining Fitness First Health Club, which is equipped with a gym and a relaxing sauna. There is also a concierge desk that were very welcoming and always on hand to assist with any queries. We expected to leave our bags with them, but our room was ready nice and early! The hotel is independently owned, which shone through in the friendly staff who offer personal service. The staff in Quarter Bar were particularly memorable and really made our stay a special one with that clever service that manages to be efficient and warm but not intrusive.
Rooms
There are 138 rooms, all contemporary and luxurious in design, decorated in a warm sea of brown, cream, and neutrals. There are lots of helpful extras; an iron and ironing board, tea and coffee making facilities, and ours had a large flat-screen Smart TV that you could rotate to the desired angle – extra useful when you’ve got a bed, a sofa bed, and a seating area! There’s also a well-stocked mini-bar, a safe, and a selection of magazines. USD ports, an iHome Bluetooth music station, and a wonderfully sensible Wi-Fi (login just the once with no messing about with passwords each time) certainly pleased the techies in the family. The private bathroom boasted White Company toiletries, and ours had a soaking tub with a shower over. We were perhaps most impressed with the size of the room, especially given this is central London. We never felt cramped, and it also made clever use of the space (open table legs, an unusual shaped room, and a separate dressing room), making it seem even bigger still.
As well as the rooms and suites, there are three Apartments that sleep 6 and have their own private entrances and a fully-equipped kitchen; these would work well for longer stays and offer that real home-from-home experience in a great location.
Best Rooms
Choose from Standard, Superior, Deluxe or Executive Rooms or if budget allows, the Studio Suites really demonstrate the idea of space even further and include a separate lounge and dining area so you can really spread out. Personally, as a traveling family, the Deluxe Room was just perfect for us; with the sofa bed set in its own alcove, it meant we were all comfortable, and it felt as though the room was meant to have two beds rather than one being an obvious additional; something we find rare with sofa bed setups.
Food & Drink
Breakfast was served at the sophisticated Londinium restaurant located in the basement, where a classically British menu is also served weeknights. The ultra-chic Quarter Bar and Lounge was a stunning space with a relaxed ambiance where the artwork display continued from the lobby with particularly spectacular results. It was buzzing here from mid-afternoon onwards and proved the ideal transition spot to take you from coffee time to pre-dinner cocktails. Cocktails are a big thing here; they have all the usual’s, a selection of champagne cocktails, their own range of signature cocktails, three premium cocktails, and a cocktail of the month option. The problem is selecting just one, something we totally avoided by opting for two each!
We returned for a bite to eat and found a menu packed with sharing plates, burgers, sandwiches, and bar classics. The menu was both Asian and Italian in influence, and we tucked into a varied and delicious feast. The chocolate brownie to end was the icing on the cake! As well as those cocktails, there’s a full wine list and a range of spirits and beers—everything you need to see the evening out in style.
If you would like to book a stay at this luxury hotel, or a business class flight, contact our luxury travel concierge to get a quote before booking. We offer free upgrades, free breakfasts, deals, and special benefits.
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