HOTEL REVIEW: THE LONDON BRIDGE
IT’S dead easy to find the London Bridge Hotel. You just look on the skyline for Western Europe’s tallest building, The Shard, and you will find the hotel nestling right at the foot of it.
The impressive arched doorway is also just yards away from London Bridge Tube Station, and smack bang in the middle of an area rich in tourist attractions, starting of course with The Shard itself. Indeed, ‘The View from The Shard’ giving a 360 degree panorama of London and beyond is an absolute must.
Unfortunately, during our stay at The London Bridge, low cloud and poor visibility meant we had to give The Shard a miss – a real downer. But luckily a few days earlier we had managed to get a flavour of the view we would have seen from The Shard, from the Sky Garden, across the river from St Paul’s Cathedral, and even better, to take advantage of a free admission half hour window by booking in advance online for the Sky Garden experience.
The London Bridge opened as a hotel just 21 years ago, although the building itself was constructed way back in 1915 and was used as a wartime telephone exchange in the 1940s. During major work in the nineties to transform the building into a modern city centre hotel Roman artefacts were unearthed and these are now in safekeeping in the Museum of London.
Today the hotel, in the borough of Southwark, sits close to some of the capital’s major attractions. Of special interest to Northern Ireland visitors is HMS Belfast just a short walk away, while the Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s famous Globe Theatre, The London Eye, Borough Market, the London Aquarium and the London Dungeon are all little more than stone’s throw from the hotel. And for getting around, and to and from your flights, Waterloo and Victoria stations – terminus for the Gatwick Express – are just a few Tube stops from the London Bridge front door.
The Southwark area, where the London Bridge Hotel is situated, is itself now a thriving and vibrant place to be and is currently enjoying a new era of prosperity and growth. It is the location for a number of top motion pictures including Bridget Jones’s Diary, and stretches along much of the South Bank of the Thames opposite London Bridge which links the City on the North (city) side of the river.
The London Bridge Hotel itself has 138 stylish rooms and suites, giving both leisure and business guests a great city centre location from which to enjoy their time in London.
From the minute you step inside, the visitor is a million miles away from the hurly burly hectic hive of the city centre outside, to an oasis of comfort and relaxation. Guest rooms have all the latest mod cons including free high speed internet access, large flat screen LXCD Televison with radio, trouser press, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, etc…
Guests also have free access to Fitness First gymnasium, free wireless connectivity for all customers, 24 hour room and concierge service, a baby sitting service available on request and a laundry, dry-cleaning and pressing service.
The Londinium Restaurant serves modern British cuisine and is also the setting for breakfast. Set in the basement, it provides a retreat away from the hectic ground level activity and is a welcome, quiet relaxing area for a really enjoyable evening meal, or breakfast for that matter.
We enjoyed the flat iron steaks with pepper sauce and in my case a superb starter of smoked salmon with walnuts and balsamic dressing. When we were there there was only one other table occupied, perhaps because it was a Monday night, so it could have done with a bit more atmosphere, but we were told this was an exception.
Close to reception meanwhile, the Quarter Bar and Lounge has what the hotel calls “an urban edge.” It has a full bar menu available with an extensive cocktail list of the classics, together with seasonal favourites inspired by the produce at nearby Borough Market. There’s also a choice of social food ideal for relaxed conversations and meeting with hot and cold small dishes, and heartier options, plus the old favourites and afternoon tea. No matter where you go in the hotel however, the one thing which impresses is the friendly manner and helpfulness of the staff. They literally could not do too much for you. The concierge’s desk will often provide tips to get the best from your trip you won’t find in any guide book.
From the moment we arrived early morning when our room understandably wasn’t quite ready, until after we left, the staff were superb. Indeed, I misplaced my phone and they rang me in the office in Belfast the next day to apologise that hadn’t been able to find it. Luckily and embarrassingly I had it all the time…..
Brian Ogle
FACTBOX
London Bridge Hotel, 8-18 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG. Tel: 02078552200. Fax: 0207552233. Website: londonbridgehotel.com
The 'Travel' Life of Brian 