Tried & Tested

Hotel check: Mint Hotel Tower of London

27 Feb 2011 by AndrewGough

Mint Hotel is the new name for the four-star City Inn chain, which rebranded in November. Open since December, the Tower of London hotel is its seventh UK property – the first European one opens in Amsterdam in April. It’s on Pepys Street, a quiet road located minutes from Fenchurch Street and Tower Hill stations. Aldgate, Monument and Bank are a short walk.

One of the best features of this 11-floor, 583-room new-build is its lobby, which features a striking double-height atrium with a curved glass ceiling. The hotel is built around this, and one of the inner walls features a living garden. The lobby is stylish and minimalist, with sofas and armchairs in purple, green, grey and taupe, reception to the right, and a guest services desk. Modern artworks by local artists are on display in the public areas.

Rooms start from 22 sqm (for City Standard rooms – there are 435 of these) and have a fresh feel, with floor-to-ceiling windows, light wood furniture, potted orchids and a neutral colour scheme. Apple green or red chairs and London-themed black-and-white prints add character. Half of the rooms have city views and half look on to the atrium. Facilities that come as standard include an Apple iMac computer that doubles as a TV, free wifi, tea and coffee-making facilities, air conditioning, a safe, robe, minibar, iron and ironing board, 24-hour room service and White Company amenities.

The 98 City Club rooms offer benefits such as early check-in and late check-out, bottled water, fresh fruit, a daily newspaper, and 10 per cent discount on food and beverages. There are also 31 City Accessible rooms and 19 suites. The latter have a separate bath and power shower (lower categories have showers only) and turndown service.

My eighth-floor Tower corner suite had fantastic views of Tower Bridge and the new Shard building. It had a bedroom, bathroom, guest toilet and a large living room that wrapped around the corner of the building. This had a dining table, a big flatscreen TV linked to a Mac Mini computer, Bose speakers, a small sofa, two hammock-style chairs and a workdesk with another iMac. It was smart and sleek, though personally I didn’t find it very homely. The bedroom had a great bed and yet another iMac. The Apple system is clever and allows you to access satellite TV, surf the web, watch DVDs and listen to CDs (there are free libraries for both at reception). For me, as a Mac user, it is very simple to use but if you are not familiar with them it may take a little getting used to.

Food and drink is a big focus for Mint, and it shows with this property. City Café is an elegant ground-floor restaurant with full-height windows. It serves well-presented and tasty modern British cuisine using seasonal produce. An à la carte breakfast and a good continental spread is served here, as well as lunch and dinner. Service was friendly but a little disorganised – at dinner we were brought the wrong bottle of wine, and the next morning they forgot my breakfast. Hopefully these are early teething problems that will be ironed out. Also on the ground floor is the Fenchurch lounge, an airy, modern bar with booths that would be handy for informal meetings, and a food menu. Both have their own entrances. There is also a bar in the lobby.

The highlight is on the top floor – Skylounge offers spectacular views of the Tower, Thames and Shard through its glass walls. Relaxed by day, it has a more club-like feel at night, with skilled bar staff mixing excellent cocktails. There is also a covered balcony and an outdoor deck that wraps around three sections of the building. This would be a great venue for a private event.

For meetings, the mezzanine level has five Gallery rooms that together hold 240 delegates, and three Gardens rooms that jointly host 230. On the top floor, and offering lovely views, are two Northview rooms that hold 60 people combined, and three Westview spaces that together take 110 and open on to the Skylounge. There is a good-sized gym on the second floor.

VERDICT An impressive new City business hotel in the four-star bracket. The rooms are well equipped, the staff are welcoming, and the food and drink offering is excellent.

PRICE Internet rates for a midweek stay in April started from £236 for a City Standard Double room.

CONTACT 7 Pepys St; tel +44 (0)20 7709 1000; minthotel.com

Michelle Mannion

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