Posts Tagged ‘South Bank’

22 Nov

citizenM Hotel, 20 Lavington St, London, SE1 0NZ, UK

Posted by Val Penny in Hotel Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

It may sound ridiculous, but last week my husband and I travelled to London, England for dinner. It gave us an citizenm-london-outsideopportunity to catch up with our daughters and son-in-law before Christmas and also to catch up with a friend I was at high school with and his husband. We needed to stay somewhere convenient and central. We chose the citizenM Hotel.

It is a hip, trendy hotel with a modern, glass facade. The citizenM Hotel is on a commercial street in central London’s South Bank. It is near London Bridge, the Shard, the Borough Market, the Tate Modern museum, Shakespeare’s Globe and Menier Chocolate Factory theatres. 

citizenmcompsWe did not really know what to expect: certainly the citizenM Hotel was not like anywhere we had stayed before. Check-in was speedy, courteous and highly computerised. The hotel has minimalist, mood-lit rooms where my husband had a lot of fun changing the colour if the lighting. Free WiFi is provided throughout the hotel, including in the rooms and a tablet was provided in the room too. Our room also had a flat-screen TVs with complimentary movies, and the room controls were operated by the touch-screen tablet. Integrated bathrooms feature rainfall showerheads. It is the best shower I have ever had in a hotel room. It is fabulous. citizenm-hotel-room2

As might be expected from a city centre hotel, the rooms are relatively small and are dominated by the enormous, comfortable, king-sized bed. There room had storage space and bottled water is supplied. There was a small desk, a stool, a chair and a safe in the room. Our room faced into the internal court yard, making it very peaceful and quiet. The only thing that would prevent me from using this hotel for a longer stay is that no tea or coffee making facilities are supplied.

citizenmloungeThe citizenM Hotel has a trendy lounge bar and lobby work space on the ground floor. There is also a 24/7 canteen for light meals where the varied buffet breakfast is between 6.30am-11am.   The staff were all extremely helpful and courteous and this hotel is eminently suitable for disabled guests. We would use the citizenM Hotel again, but not for a lengthy visit to London.citizenmshard

Valerie Penny

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19 Nov

Hotel Mercure, London Bridge, 71-79 Southwark St, London, England SE1 0JA

Posted by Val Penny in Hotel Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

mercure hotelEarlier in my life, I only seemed to go to London, England for conferences, interviews and to travel to other places. Now both my daughters live in London, at different parts of the city. So, when I go there it is usually to visit them. My husband and I usually choose a central hotel that is mutually inconvenient for them. On a recent visit this resulted in us choosing the Hotel Mercure, London Bridge, 71-79 Southwark St, London, England. We use public transport to get around the city, however prking is available at this hotel for an additional charge above the room rates.

Mercure Hotel is set in London’s arty South Bank district. This modern hotel is an 8-minute walk from Southwark Menier_Chocolate_Factorytube station and about 12 minutes walk from London Bridge tube station. It is also only 5 minutes walk from the Menier Chocolate Factory. This is a 180 seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory, close to the Tate Modern Gallery and only 1.3 miles from the medieval Tower of London.

The Mercure Hotel offers courteous service and contemporary rooms. We received a free upgrade to a premier room on the 7th floor of the hotel. It was very spacious and had complimentary Wi-Fi, 2 flat-screen TVs and work desks, a bathroom, hotel mercure insideadditional shower room well as tea and coffeemaking facilities and a Nespresso machines but the fridge did not contain the advertised complimentary drinks and these were not added throughout our stay. In this chain, children aged 11 and under stay for free with a parent. The king sized bed was very comfortable and we enjoyed the spacious sitting area.

We chose the Hotel Mercure  primarily on its location. However, we enjoyed the amenities too. They include a chic bar and a restaurant. At the Mercure Hotel London Bridge the restaurant is being up-graded to incorporate a kitchen and dining room under the auspices of mercure roomMarco Pierre White. A 24-hour room service is offered. There is also an exercise room, a business centre and 3 meeting rooms, although we did not have cause to use these. 

My husband and I very much enjoyed our stay at Hotel Mercure, London Bridge and we would use it again.

Valerie Penny