Business Traveller reviews four new London hotels
APEX LONDON WALL
Located in the heart of London’s business district on Copthall Avenue, five minutes from Moorgate and Liverpool Street tube stations, this “luxury four-star boutique” property opened its doors to guests in November last year. It is the capital’s second Apex hotel, after the 179-room City of London property opened in 2005. A third one, the Apex Temple Court, just off Fleet Street, is due to open next year.
The property may look like a new-build but is in fact an office block conversion, with a new light stone façade replacing the old one. An additional two levels have been built, with broad, open-air balconies extending from the sixth floor.
While this might be a hotel aimed squarely at the corporate market, step inside the ground floor lobby and you will be greeted by designer lighting, plenty of glass, dark wood and brown leather, and the latest chart grooves playing. Once a youthful member of staff has processed your booking, you will be asked to sign a electronic tablet. While this may sound pretentious, it’s not – the general vibe is relaxed and upmarket, and service is efficient.
The 89 bedrooms are stylishly decorated with curtains, cushions and bedspreads in four different colour schemes, which add vigour to the otherwise neutral palette. Facilities that come as standard include free wired and wifi internet and local calls, 40-inch LED TVs, Bose sound docks, free tea, coffee, snacks and bottled water, 24-hour room service, robes and slippers, and a free newspaper. En suite bathrooms have steam-free mirrors, pale stone floors, bathtubs and walk-in rainshowers.
The Off the Wall bar and restaurant on the ground floor specialises in rum-based cocktails, and the food changes seasonally. There are no dedicated meeting spaces, although a glass-walled dining room in the restaurant can seat ten people. A well-equipped gym in the basement has Life Fitness machines but no changing rooms as the facility is for guests only.
VERDICT A stylish, upmarket business hotel in an excellent location, with good in-room amenities and friendly staff.
PRICE From £206
CONTACT Apex London Wall hotel, 7-9 Copthall Avenue; tel +44 (0)20 7562 3030; apexhotels.co.uk
Jenny Southan
ARCH London
This family-owned contemporary townhouse hotel has been carefully restored over four years before opening in February. The 82-room property, which takes its name from nearby Marble Arch, spans seven Georgian townhouses and two mews homes. With original artwork in the public spaces, feature wallpaper in the bedrooms and no scrimping on technology, the attention to detail is impressive.
The hotel is well located for the West End and rail connections for Heathrow airport – it’s within easy walking distance of Marylebone, Hyde Park and Bond Street, while Paddington station is a five-minute drive. Despite being a stone’s throw from Oxford Street, the area feels surprisingly residential.
I stayed in a Deluxe room, a little larger than the Standard, with a separate desk area. It had creamy yellow walls and a brown herringbone-patterned carpet, with bold print wallpaper behind the bed (the pattern varies in each room – some feature huge goldfish). Rooms look on to the quiet mews at the back of the property or Great Cumberland Place at the front. They come with electric “call”, “sleep” and “clean” buttons by the door, an iPod docking station, internet radio, DVD player, Sky HD box and high-definition LCD television. Soft drinks in the minibar are free, and there is also a kettle and Nespresso machine. The working space is good, with a large wooden desk, leather chair, retro desk lamp, UK and US plug sockets and a phone designed by Jacob Jensen.
Bathrooms feature black granite surfaces and Malin and Goetz toiletries, and most come with a combined bath and rainshower and a waterproof flatscreen TV.
The bar/restaurant, Hunter 486, is to the right of reception and is divided into three areas – the Bar, with Philippe Starck stools; Le Salon de Champagne, with chairs by Tom Dixon; and the Kitchen with a wood-fired oven (the pizza was delicious). Down a corridor is the Martini Library, with armchairs and sofas, stone fireplaces and a great collection of books. As the name suggests, shaken martinis are on the menu, along with Jing teas.
Breakfast is served in the Kitchen from 6am to 10am (until 10.30am at the weekend). A full hot breakfast plus the continental buffet costs £18.50, while the cheapest option was the £12.50 “cold table” of meats, cheeses, cereals, yoghurt, breads and fruit. However, the spread wasn’t overly generous.
The Arch has one dedicated meeting room, Whitehall 944, which has projector screens and mood lighting, and can hold 60 for cocktails. It can also be combined with the bedroom suites next door to host receptions for up to 70. Free wifi is available throughout the hotel, and there is a well-equipped gym in the basement.
VERDICT A design-led property that mixes modern art with the classic Georgian features of the building. A warm, friendly haven of calm with attentive service and an excellent central London location.
PRICE From £212
CONTACT The Arch London, 50 Great Cumberland Place; tel +44 (0)20 7724 4700; thearchlondon.com
Sara Turner
Ten Manchester Street
This 45-room luxury boutique hotel, part of Bespoke Hotels’ portfolio, opened last autumn just off Marylebone High Street, north of Oxford Street. Reception is a small lobby with the hotel’s lounge bar to the right. I was in a Superior Double room overlooking the rear courtyard. It was quite small, with a bay window and space for a glass-topped circular table and two chairs. There was another small, glass-topped table under the 32-inch flatscreen TV on the wall opposite the bed – it was just about possible to use it as a worktable if you sat on the end of the bed or pulled out the small stool from under the table, although neither option was very comfortable so if you intend to work for long in your room, this would be a problem.
Rooms are well equipped with tea- and coffee-making facilities, a safe, Aveda toiletries in the small bathroom (shower only, but a good one), free wifi and local calls, and European and US plug sockets. The double beds are small, and too soft for my liking.
The Ten lounge bar is on the ground floor by the lift. Service here was poor, and the food was adequate. There were three red wines available by the glass – the merlot was unavailable, so I had a pinot noir. The music – Paul McCartney live – was too loud, and the restaurant a little cold as the door out to the cigar terrace was open. Breakfast was slightly better, with service friendly but still struggling. For example, orders were memorised rather than written down and then immediately put into the till, but since breakfast was à la carte rather than buffet, complicated orders could easily become confused. As I was dining alone, I asked for a newspaper and was told there weren’t any, but there “might be in ten minutes”. There weren’t.
There are no business, meeting or leisure facilities, although Hyde Park is fairly close by if you want to go jogging.
VERDICT A nice position and an attractive design, but poorly organised service and lots of features that just don’t add up make this more of a leisure choice than one for business.
PRICE From £199
CONTACT Ten Manchester Street; tel +44 (0)870 111 1627; bespokehotels.com
Tom Otley
Crowne Plaza London Kensington
This former Holiday Inn has been rebranded following an £8 million renovation last year and is now modern and cheerful with contemporary paintings on display. The lobby is open-plan, and towards the back are doors leading on to the hotel’s one-acre private garden, a fabulous place just off the busy Cromwell Road.
The lobby has free wifi and a couple of computers with a printer and wired internet. The 162 bedrooms overlook either the road at the front or the garden at the back – despite the triple-glazing, light sleepers would be better off asking for one at the rear. Rooms have Arran Aromatics toiletries, free mineral water, tea- and coffee-making facilities, safes, wired internet (£12 for 24 hours), 32-inch flatscreen TVs and iPod docks.
The executive floor is on the fourth level, and guests staying in one of the 30 Club rooms or 20 suites have extra facilities. To upgrade to an Executive Club room costs £50, and for that you also get a newspaper, breakfast and use of the lounge on the ground floor, with free alcoholic drinks from 6pm to 8pm. The lounge also has a PC and a Mac computer with free internet access and a seated area with a large TV.
The Traffic bar is a modern space just off reception, while Traffic Too is a comfy seating area with doors to the garden. Streetside restaurant is on the ground floor and is open all day. It serves a buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. Room service is available 24 hours. There are two meeting rooms on the ground floor, both with natural light and access to the garden, and another three venues are on the lower ground floor. The largest space can host up to 150 delegates. There is also a new and impressive gym on the lower ground floor, along with a sauna, two changing rooms and lockers.
VERDICT Very good value, especially in summer, when the use of the private garden is something many five-star properties would be envious of. It’s in a good position for central London, Heathrow airport and the Earls Court exhibition venue.
PRICE From £148
CONTACT Crowne Plaza London Kensington, 100 Cromwell Road; tel +44 (0)20 7373 2222; ichotelsgroup.com
Tom Otley
