London’s 5 Best Design Hotels

London is a design city and hosts many design events through out the year – art, fashion, furniture, fabric – so it’s no surprise the city also boasts several amazing design hotels.

Design-savvy travellers not only want to rest their head but also want top enjoy a sensory experience while travelling. From trendy hipster hangouts to converted shipping containers, London is full of cool design hotels. Here are my favourites:

Ham Yard Hotel 

The newest and chicest hotel in the Firmdale Group, this cool five star hotel was designed by London “it” designer Kit Kemp and is a visual feast for the eyes. The hotel is full of guest-only spaces, including its very own basement bowling alley, but even if you don’t stay, visit the bar and restaurant if you can. We stayed here recently and LOVED it – centrally located amongst some of London’s best shopping and just beautifully designed.

Ace Hotel London Shoreditch

The Ace Hotel in Shoreditch is part of the uber-cool Ace Hotel chain and doesn’t disappoint. Each room has its own personality, fitting in with the hotel’s hipster surrounds – Brick Lane Markets, plenty of modern art galleries, Old Spitalfields Market and small theatres are everywhere. It’s all about creativity in Shoreditch. Larger rooms have terraces looking out over the city skyline but even the entry level rooms have an eclectic mix of vintage furniture, black and white prints and a very well stocked mini bar.

The Soho Hotel

One of London’s most famous, or perhaps infamous, hotels, the Soho Hotel isn’t new but still has a cool design feel. We sipped cocktails at the downstairs bar one evening and thoroughly enjoyed the people watching. It’s conveniently located slap bang in the middle of town, as the name suggests, in uber trendy Soho.

Mondrian London

The Mondrian London is a lesson in less-is-more. Super slick and cool, the hotel is modern design at its best. Simple, minimal but not cold, rooms are super comfortable and decorated in signature shades of black, white and grey with a splash of pink. The hotel is conveniently located by the river, with easy to access the city’s main attractions and shopping areas, with a great bar and restaurant on site.

Dean Street Townhouse

Another Soho favourite, this beautiful boutique hotel feels more like a stylish terrace house than a hotel. That’s because the hotel spans two beautiful Georgian residences. Rooms are all different shapes and sizes – suites looking out on the street have gorgeous free standing claw-foot bath tubs while cute, more affordable rooms are tucked away in the back with just enough room for your bag and the bed but still with a nice big bathroom and big bottles of Cowshed bath products. Make sure you pop next door to the famous Dean Street Townhouse restaurant – a favourite celebrity haunt.

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