An impromptu weekend to the capital LA LA LA LANDAN is always fun, especially when you manage to catch the weather when the sun is shining rather than having to battle along Oxford Street using your umbrella as a jousting weapon.
Dan and I headed down to the big smoke to do all of the “person from up norf in London” type things: a bit of a touristy tour around the monumental buildings, Ben’s big clock, Lizzie’s big house, that big fairground wheel and an aimless wander around Covent Garden feasting on Shake Shack and watching street performers in the sun. Ah, bliss.
Our home for the evening? Citizen M Bankside.
Firstly, does this place leave you wandering around the city in a sweaty mess as you drag your belongings from beneath the feet of Londoners and tourists alike? Not really (I’ll admit, we had to fire up Google Maps). Citizen M is located slap bang between Southwark and London Bridge tube stations so you’re spoilt for choice for which way you arrive.
Citizen M has future proofed it’s hotels and now offers the self service till alternative to checking in to your hotel room. You’re greeted when you arrive by interior decor to make you want to head to B&Q to kit out your home and a bank of touchscreen computers that guide you through the very simple check in procedure. Name? Booking number? Give us your money! All look ok? GREAT – here’s a swipe card to access your crib for the night. Of course, there’s a lovely member of staff hovering around the area incase you’re a bit computer phobic and need a bit of guidance but if you’re tech savvy and the thought of speaking to an actual human in public worries you then you’re golden.
After check in an ogling the decor a little more, an elevator ride and a few floors up leads you to your Bankside view of the city. If you’ve heard of Citizen M before you’ll be familiar with their “pod” style hotel rooms with the en suite sectioned off by a frosted screen – perfect for some sexy silhouette style showing as you scrub off the smog of the city under a waterfall shower complete with mood lighting. That not enough for you? How about a bed big enough to home the Walton family for their evening nap?
The rooms at Citizen M are cutely compact, but as the saying goes “the best things come in small packages” and this hotel room is a testament to that. Ultra white and ultra modern with a bed to ceiling window which overlooks the city. You have all the usual suspects, bed, toilet, shower, sink, TV, lighting system controlled by an iPad…. Back it up there. A lighting system controlled by an iPad? Yep. And it isn’t just the lighting system which is controlled by the all singing, all dancing iPad, the blinds, lighting and TV are all accessible via a handy little tablet. What’s more is that the TV comes pre loaded with a variety of films for your viewing pleasure, all free of charge (including the movies of a more adult nature – OOHER).
As you can see from the bed, it was like something out of the Princess and the Pea and I thought I may need a footy just to climb up onto it. Once I was up there it seemed to go on forever and I’m sure Dan and I didn’t cross paths or legs at any point throughout the night.
This was the life. A giant bed, movies on demand, a view of the city from where I lay, send me a pizza and I’d be in hotel heaven. Alas, there was a city to be explored and what a lot of city there is.
Interesting. I keep walking past the new place they’re building at Tower Hill and it’s going up so quickly. It’s nice to get a look inside the Bankside one.
looks gorgeous!!