CitzenM is my new favourite London hotel.
Earlier in March I was once again called upon to hop over to London for work. (I know, I know, it’s a hard old life…) I’ve been to the capital with work a handful of times since moving to Germany and the trips were always fine: an overnight stay in a chain hotel, a regular pilgrimage to Wagamama’s and the usual schlep around the shops in Heathrow to stock up on British biscuits – nothing too glamourous.
But this last visit was different. The reason? CitizenM hotel.
Due to the location of our work event, my colleague and I decided to stay in Southwark, south of the river and chose CitizenM. Being used to characterless chains, we really weren’t expecting much.
But pretty quickly I fell in love.
First impressions
On arrival, it seemed obvious that CitizenM was a design hotel. The open-plan lobby was nice and spacious, encompassing a lounge area, bar and a dining area, but what really drew our attention was the huge pieces of pop art, the quirky sculpture and the circular sweeping staircase. So far, so good.
So far we liked the place, but the rooms really stole the show.
Smart hotel rooms
To say that the rooms at CitizenM are cool is putting it mildly – the list of amazing features is almost endless.
Let’s start with the most important thing: sleeping. The king-size bed is ridiculously large and comfortable and, being nestled between two walls with the LED TV on the opposite wall, makes for some really cosy TV viewing.
Oh and did I mention that the TV is stocked with tonnes of free films? There’s nothing like preparing for a day of business by chilling out in your King-size bed with a British romantic comedy. (About Time, if you must know…)
Moving on, the bathroom is small but sleek with a great rainforest shower head (although admittedly the distance between the toilet and the shower could be a teeny bit bigger…)
But the real piece de resistance was the iPad control. I was pretty surprised to find a seemingly free iPad in my room, I’ll admit, until I realised that it controlled everything: the blinds, the curtain, the lights, the TV, the films and – quite literally – the mood. Each room comes fitted with mood lights of various colours that can be changed via the iPad (this is a really cool function to play around with), in addition to a series of set ‘filters’, which automatically change the lighting, colour, curtains and evening heating. The ‘movie’ filter plunged me into cinema-like darkness to enjoy my romcom.
The iPad control is pretty innovative and let me control every aspect of the room to fit my needs, making it a totally personalised experience. It was also really easy-to-use – I managed fine and I am useless with iPads.
Getting technical, the room also has some functional wardrobe space, some free stationery and a variety of different connection ports including USB, UK and EU plug sockets.
Friendly staff
We checked in on what can only be described as a glorified self-service scanner, but one of the employees nevertheless took the time the chat to us about the hotel’s facilities and breakfast offerings. (The same girl was also really polite when I asked to borrow an EU-UK adapter, before informing me there was already one in the room…)
Similarly, whilst checking out, I got chatting to another enthusiastic member of staff from Brazil who kept me company while I waited for my colleague. He seemed genuinely proud to work for the hotel chain, which I really liked.
As an added bonus, my colleague’s breakfast was also given to her free of charge thanks to the friendly woman on the till. I went for the full cooked breakfast, while my colleague went for a sensible bagel, but she just charged us for mine.
Pros & cons
Pros
- Innovative high-tech design elements
- Cool aesthetic design
- Friendly and personable staff
- Comfortable bed
- Free films
- Relaxed open environment
Cons
- Bathroom small
- Inevitable wet floor
- Breakfast pretty pricey (even for London)
Summary
I’ve stayed in a fair few nice hotels over the years (#sorrynotsorry) but this is the first one I genuinely loved. The high-tech gizmos were fun, easy-to-use and genuinely added something extra to my stay. The comfortable bed was just what I needed and the free films were an added bonus. In fact, the Sunday evening watching a film in bed felt like a relaxing night in at home, rather than a night in London on business.
I don’t ever want to stay in another hotel in London. I am Citizen John.
Author note: this review was not endorsed by CitizenM, nor was the stay provided by the brand. Images: Richard Powers.