East London’s best new hotels
The capital’s coolest quarter has countless places to stay, from converted courtrooms to homely houseboats
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More than a decade in the making, Spitalfield’s latest accommodation offering is packed full of genuine antique furniture and fittings to match the Georgian building. No surprise, given that the men behind the property are Peter McKay and Douglas Blain, founders of the Spitalfields Trust, which is dedicated to the restoration of old buildings. The hotel’s namesake, landscape designer and architect Batty Langley (1696 – 1741), published handbooks designed to help people decorate their houses and gardens “in the most Grand Taste”. Here, the ground floor rooms include a parlour, tapestry room and library; 3,500 books are dotted around the property. Bedrooms are over-the-top, period affairs, and although bathrooms didn’t exist in the 18th century, they do at Batty Langley's, including one with a huge marble bath that was craned in before the roof was repaired.
12 Folgate St, London E1 6BX (020 7377 4390; battylangleys.com). Doubles from £250, room only.
Courthouse Hotel, Shoreditch
Opened earlier this summer, the Courthouse Hotel sits within the former Old Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station – a Grade II-listed baroque-style gem. As well as 128 rooms and suites, there is a rooftop bar with panoramic views of the city, a two-lane bowling alley, a screening room and a luxury spa, pool and gym. Five of the original cells have been transformed into another of the hotel’s three bars, so guests can have a drink where East End gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray were held ahead of their court hearing in 1965. Bedrooms are decorated in a modern style with a slightly Seventies feel, thanks to plenty of geometric prints.
335-337 Old Street, EC1V 9LL (020 3310 5555; shoreditch.courthouse-hotel.com). Doubles from £120, room only.
Leman Locke
A new design-led aparthotel in Aldgate, with accommodation that combines the space of an Airbnb rental with the facilities of a hotel – ideal for those staying in the capital a little longer than a couple of nights. There are 168 apartments – each with a bedroom, kitchen and living area – decked out in a Scandinavian-inspired style, featuring pastel shades and blonde wood furniture. There is also a gym, coffee shop, bar, restaurant and co-working space.
15 Leman Street, London, E1 8EN (033 0202 0900; www.lockeliving.com). Apartments from £120, self-catering.
M by Montcalm Shoreditch
Spread over 18 floors of a shiny new building in Tech City (also known as Old Street), the M by Montcalm has 269 suitably hi-tech rooms, kitted out with tablet-controlled curtains, sound and lighting, along with Bose speakers. The 17th-floor restaurant, Urban Coterie, is headed up by chef-patron Anthony Demetre (formerly of Arbutus) and serves up a modern European menu alongside first-rate city views. There is also an ila spa and members’ club.
151-157 City Road, London, EC1V 1JH. Doubles from £85, room only.
Hoxton Boutique House Boats, Hoxton
There’s something about compact living (no more than you want, no less than you need) that is utterly compelling, and at Hoxton Boutique Houseboats they’ve captured it perfectly – with added cool design to boot. The two boats, moored on Regent’s Canal, have high thread-count sheets, a well-stocked honesty bar and a wood burner. Furniture has been picked up from vintage markets – think sheepskin rugs, copper-lined lamps and brass tableware. The canal slices right through this vibrant part of London, so you can walk along it to the bars of Hoxton, or further up, to London Fields.
Gainsborough Wharf, Wiltshire Row, London N1 5EZ; booked through i-escape (0117 946 7072; i-escape.com). From £160 per night, self-catering.
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