BACKGROUND

The Dorsett group operates and manages 18 hotels in Asia – visit businesstraveller.asia/tried-and-tested for a review of its Kwun Tong property in Hong Kong. This is its first in the UK, with a second to follow in Aldgate next year.

The group has four brands – Dorsett, Dorsett Grand, D Collection and Silka Hotels. This property belongs to the first of these, termed “contemporary mid-scale hotels in carefully chosen urban locations”.

WHAT’S IT LIKE?

The hotel is located in the former Shepherds Bush Pavilion, a cinema built in 1923, now a Grade II Listed building. The façade has been retained, with the interior completely remodelled around a glass roof, which now sits above the Jin bar.

The first desk on the right as you enter is for the concierge, with the main reception down a few steps. To the left is the Pictures restaurant, while the lifts are located around the corner towards the rear of the property.

There’s an Asian influence to the décor and furnishings, but not so much that it looks incongruous in this part of the capital.

WHERE IS IT?

Shepherds Bush, convenient for the West End via the Central line, and for Paddington via the Circle line from Shepherds Bush Market Tube station. It’s also a two-minute walk from Westfield shopping centre.

ROOM FACILITIES

The seven-storey building has 317 guestrooms on floors one to eight (there’s no fourth floor – it’s an unlucky number for the Chinese).

There are five room categories – entry-level Dorsett (20 sqm), Deluxe (25 sqm) and Executive rooms (30 sqm), suites (36-38 sqm), and Dorsett suites (50 sqm).

Guests in the Executive rooms and suites have access to the ground-floor business lounge. At the time of my stay, the evening drinks were sparse but the cooked breakfast was substantial.

All guestrooms are decorated in Chinese-themed Toile de Jouy wallpaper, and there are bespoke chandeliers in the corridors, along with a bird theme, symbolising travel. The views extend outwards over the rooftops or Shepherds Bush Green, or inwards to the interior atrium.

I imagine these are the quietest rooms, although in mine, overlooking the rear, there was some disturbance from the neighbouring room – not helped by an interconnecting door.

Free wifi, docking stations and 37-inch TVs are standard. Bathrooms are small but have good power showers (suites have separate baths).

RESTAURANTS AND BARS

There are two dining options. Pictures is open all day and serves British and Asian staples. The long, thin dining area lacks creativity, but the food is tasty – try the fried squid and Singapore noodles.

Chinese fine-dining restaurant Shikumen (shikumen.co.uk) is in the same building but is only accessible from the street and you cannot charge your meals to your room.

There is an outdoor terrace to the side of the hotel and, in the atrium, the Jin bar, deriving from the Chinese word for gold – appropriate, given the colour scheme, and the gin menu.

BUSINESS AND MEETING FACILITIES

There are three small rooms on the ground floor that can hold eight to 14 people – two of them can be combined.

LEISURE FACILITIES

On the top floor is the Pavilion spa with four treatment rooms and views over Shepherds Bush Green.

VERDICT

A good-value hotel that, despite being quite large, feels personal and is in a surprisingly convenient location.


FACT FILE 

  • HOW MANY ROOMS? 317 – 186 Dorsett, 65 Deluxe and 42 Executive rooms, 21 suites and three Dorsett suites.
  • HIGHLIGHTS Free high-speed wifi throughout the hotel and a convenient location for both the West End and Heathrow airport.
  • PRICE Internet rates for a flexible midweek stay in March started from £130 for a Dorsett room.
  • CONTACT Dorsett Shepherds Bush, 58 Shepherds Bush Green; tel +44 (0)20 3262 1026; dorsett.com

Tom Otley