If you find a room in London – the most expensive city in Europe – for around £150, you tend to run the risk of it coming with added extras like bedbugs or in-a-bad-way floral décor. Not so at the new Doubletree by Hilton London Docklands Riverside – the 11th Doubletree in London – which has just opened in the Docklands area (after an extensive renovation of what was the Hilton London Docklands Riverside).
Or, to be precise, south of Docklands, south of the river to the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf, and way out east compared to everywhere else. That’ll explain the affordable prices, but don’t write it off. Even if you’re not in town for meetings, Docklands is exceptionally well connected to the rest of the city. The downside is that it’s probably too expensive for a taxi so you’d have to rely on public transport, and although there are restaurants and bars, it’s creepily empty at night.
The hotel might just make these sacrifices worth it, though – not least for the private pier onto the Thames with a free shuttle to Canary Wharf. Does this sound new? It should – it’s the first hotel in London to have a pier.
There are 378 rooms, mostly overlooking the river. The look is an extremely nice surprise, actually – brick feature walls, feature feature walls, big windows and clean parquet flooring - who knew this was a Doubletree? - but this place is all about the views of the Thames and Canary Wharf. Nature, history and capitalism – what finer site could there be?
Restaurant Columbia (a modern British menu with a “maritime theme” and an outdoor Thameside terrace) will open next week.
Want to hit the water? Rooms tonight start from a really not bad £159. If you're on a tight schedule or it's your first trip to London, we'd advise spending more and staying more central - but if you're an old hander and you can handle public transport, this is definitely one to try.
No comments:
Post a Comment