EnglandLDNlifestylereviewtravel
48 hours in London with citizenM.
16.12.16
W A K I N G U P by the Tower of London.
Fresh off a flight from Hong Kong and thrown headfirst into the glorious task of Christmas shopping, my boyfriend and I opted to spend the weekend just gone in London and soak up some of the city’s infamous festivity. Isn’t it funny that spending a month in tropical cities and on tropical beaches will leave you feeling as though you’ve accidentally stepped from the height of summer to the very depths of a quiet winter? ;)
After an afternoon of whipping around the shops solo, hastily picking up all manner of Liberty’s signature chocolate coins and other secret gifts, I headed on over to citizenM’s Tower of London hotel where I’d been invited to stay the night. Just the evening before, I had the worst panic attack ever on a train and, surprised I even made the journey there, I committed to spend the night overdosing on Korean food and rewatching Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Nailed it.
citizenM Tower of London is their newest hotel and it’s probably one of the best I’ve stayed in. Beautifully unique from every angle, the hotel comprises a stunning lobby lined with bookcases and perfectly curated shelves. There’s a 24-hour bar, a to-die-for coffee house and a breakfast kitchen. Oh the breakfast kitchen!
But we’ll get onto that later.
Check-in is self service and ridiculously easy, although there are concierge staff on hand to help and show you around. Once inside, despite its chilled vibes, the hotel is pretty damn secure and you use your keycard to navigate the building.
Our room was just perfect. I planned on using my solo hours to watch Netflix and work on some blog posts but it was just SO much fun to play on their moodPad, a branded iPad that controls the lights, entertainment system, blinds, heating and more for your room. The king-size bed was ridiculously comfortable and the rain shower even better - I probably could have happily spent my evening darting between the two! You can even AirPlay and ChromeCast to the TV!
When Harvey arrived, we headed upstairs to cloudM, the hotel’s bar, home to some of the best views of the Tower of London, the City and the Thames. A.k.a. the perfect place to enjoy a little red wine with my partner-in-crime on a Saturday night. The bar is family friendly and incredibly well-decorated, we could’ve spent hours there if I hadn’t been feeling so iffy!
In the morning, we headed right downstairs for our complimentary coffee and breakfast at the kitchen downstairs. Whilst the coffee was delicious, breakfast even more so (plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options available!), the standout just had to be the staff’s helpfulness and how nice everybody was. How rare is that in London?!
We left at 11am - check-out time - for a Sunday stroll around the city, catching Pokemon and grabbing more paper cupfuls of great coffee. We couldn’t stop chattering about how much we simply loved the hotel and how we’d be recommending it to anybody we knew staying in the City soon. Truly the most perfect weekend welcome back to England.
