I spent most of last week in London drifting from restaurant to restaurant with some of my favourite people. Our three day trip involved sampling cocktails at The Shard, sipping champagne at Bob Bob Ricard and snacking on scones at Claridges as well as shopping for a Mother of the Bride outfit not forgetting ANOTHER wedding dress fitting. London is huge and in order to get from A (Aspinal of London) to B (Balenciaga) as quickly as possible, a central base is essential. Introducing CitizenM.
Finding affordable accommodation in London that is right, slap, bang in the middle of the action is not an easy feat. Thankfully for shopaholics and afternoon tea enthusiasts there is a little gem of hotel hiding no further than five minutes away from The Shard! You can roll out of its cloud-like beds and have a cocktail in your hand within minutes.
It’s super convenient but that’s only one of the reasons that I love this hotel. The Dutch hotel group CitizenM operates a no room envy policy due to the fact that every room boasts the same facilities ensuring every guest receives a royal welcome. There are oodles of quirky touches that make a stay here that little bit extra special.
The room is tablet operated and you can control everything from the blinds and the TV to the heating and the mood lighting at the touch of a button. Take a tech savvy person with you as the colour-changing shower cubicle with its waterfall shower is not to be missed.
The rooms are compact and minimalistic but not a scrap of comfort is compromised due to the super king bed that literally takes up half of the space not to mention the fluffy towels and soft linens.
The hotel lobby is packed with cosy corners and provides the perfect place to grab a snack, read a book or catch up on emails (free Wi-Fi for all). 24 hour service means midnight feasts are encouraged and a snack is never far away. Each room comes with a free catalogue of movies should you not wish to leave your bed.
The help-yourself breakfast buffet has everything you need to fuel up for the day. Pastries, orange juice, cereal and other lovely things (Nutella sachets, Mini babybells) as well as hot breakfast options are available for a small fee.
When it comes to customer service, CitizenM excels. You won’t run in to London’s elite while staying here but thanks to the simple self-check in and check out service, you can spend more time doing the things you came to London to do while waving goodbye to extortionate room prices. Prices start from just £109. Fancy becoming a Citizen and getting 15% off? Check it out here.
*CitizenM treated me to a free one night stay at the London Bankside hotel but rest assured all of the opinions stated in this post are my own.
