I stayed in London's best boutique hotel – this is why it's better than all the rest
SO SUITE I stayed in London's best boutique hotel – this is why it's better than all the rest
THE best boutique hotel in London have been revealed - and I stayed at the winner.
Artist Residence in Pimlico was named the best by Muddy Stilettos in this year's London Awards.
Advertisement
4
Artist Residence in London has been name the top boutique hotel in the city
Credit: Artist Residence
4
I was lucky enough to stay and the restaurant food was enough to sell me on the hotel
Credit: Artist Residence
Along with hotels in Bristol, Oxfordshire, Brighton and Cornwall, the London hotel was the first I'd stayed in.
My biggest bugbear with a hotel is when the rooms feel too sterile and uniform, making it feel not very cosy.
Yet Artist Residence are made to feel like you are staying at your eccentric auntie's house, who loves trinkets and unique artwork.
The London hotel has just 10 rooms, and is around five minutes from Victoria Station so is extremely centrally located.
Advertisement
The most basic room is the Small Room which still have king size beds and rainfall shower bathrooms, as well as space for an armchair and writing desks.
I stayed in the Club Suite, the second largest in the hotel with a grand Super King bed with velvet scalloped headboard.
Not only does it have amazing views over Cambridge Street, but it has a beautiful roll top bath.
However, it is tucked down a quiet side-street so don't expect much noise at night.
Advertisement
When walking inside, it is full of brightly coloured curated artwork,
This includes free breakfast as well as a bottle of rose in the room.
Trendy English seaside town has rooftop bar that 'feels like the Med'
The Cambridge Street restaurant is one of the best hotel restaurants I've been to, and even rivals some top London restaurants as well.
The breakfast has all of the classics, from Full English to pastries but the chili fried egg and bacon brioche is a stela option to choose.
Advertisement
But the dinner shines with everything with the insanely delicious asparagus and pea gnocchi for vegetarians or the Med-inspired Sumac roast chicken .
I'm also still dreaming of their rich chocolate mousse, complete with fresh English strawberries and whipped cream.
4
The rooms are made to feel like a cosy family home
Credit: Artist Residence
4
Even the smaller rooms have vintage furniture and curated artwork
Credit: Artist Residence
Advertisement
The cocktail list is just as extensive, with the Artist No. 15's lychee and elderflower my favourite.
It's not just me saying that - one woman wrote on Tripadvisor that is was one of "the most delicious meals of our trip," with a second adding: "Best kept secret (restaurant) in London."
Another said the hotel feels like their "second home" and another wrote: "Felt more like staying at a friends stylish home than in a hotel".
To celebrate the win, Artist Residence is offering a free "two-night treat" for anyone who books a stay up to June 5.
Advertisement
Other events coming up include Sip & Paint night which costs £35 on June 16.
Rooms start from £250 a night.
We've rounded up some of our favourite UK hotels to visit this year.
And here are some of our other hotel reviews.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
The London hotel with a ‘secret garden in the sky' and indoor swimming pool
There are also family and accessible rooms at the hotel IN THE CLOUDS The London hotel with a 'secret garden in the sky' and indoor swimming pool Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE Leonardo Royal Hotel Tower London is in a prime spot with a rooftop bar overlooking the capital. But what is the food like and how comfy are the beds? Read on to find out. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Here's everything you need to know about staying at Leonardo Royal Hotel Tower London Credit: 4 There are some amazing views from the hotel Credit: Where is the hotel? This smart hotel has a great location – it's right by St. Paul's Cathedral and just a ten-minute walk from the River Thames and Southbank, with cultural draws including the Tate Modern and National Theatre. The nearest tube stations are Aldgate and Tower Hill, both under ten minutes walk away. What are the rooms like at the hotel? The 459 rooms have all the mod cons you'd expect too - spacious, with big, comfy beds and crisp white linen. The style is contemporary, with brightly coloured armchairs and modern art on the walls. Some rooms offer glimpses of St Paul's dome and all have flat-screen TVs, Nespresso machines and high-speed Wi-Fi. Self-catering studio apartments, 100 metres from the main building, are also available. After a night here I felt rejuvenated and like I'd had a proper mini-break. One night's B&B costs from £269, based on two people sharing. Click here to book. What is there to eat and drink there? The laid-back Leo's Restaurant serves everything from traditional full English breakfasts to Mediterranean dishes. On the seventh floor, Sabine's Rooftop Bar and Restaurant is a chic hangout. This secret garden up in the sky features a cool glass roof, a menu of funky cocktails and amazing vistas. It's open until 2am at weekends so you can settle in with a drink to watch the sunset, and then keep the party going. The bar snacks are delicious, particularly the mac and cheese bonbons. What is there to do at the hotel? Make sure take a quick dip in the hotel swimming pool inside. Otherwise you can take a guided tour of St Paul's, do some shopping and grab lunch by the river – all within a ten-minute stroll from your base. Is the hotel family friendly? Yes, the restaurant is family-friendly and you can book a room with two queen-sized beds. Is there access for guests with disabilities? Yes, there are accessible rooms and lifts for wheelchair users. 4 The pool is available for all guests Credit:
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
The Quiet Ear, by Raymond Antrobus review: 'a book about "betweenness"'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Subtitled 'An Investigation of Missing Sound', poet Raymond Antrobus's first work of non-fiction prose, about deafness and creativity, signals its originality with an absence. It would be a cliché to pay homage to Beethoven as the Great Deaf Genius, and it is a stereotype Antrobus wisely forgoes; not just in that it makes Beethoven's specific form of hearing loss (noticeable reduction in his late twenties, complete deafness by 45) a metonym for all deafness, but it makes the Tortured Maestro the icon for all artists. Antrobus is markedly different: vulnerable, patiently understanding, curiously seeking out other elective ancestors. Raymond Antrobus | Suki Dhanda The book is really about 'betweenness'. Antrobus had a white English mother and a black Jamaican father, and his early life is one of being variously categorised. He experiences the kind of racism you might expect, but is also vilified as a 'white devil' by his father. In terms of hearing, coping strategies can be mistaken as not being 'truly' deaf. Even within D/deaf communities there are gradations: he is not, for example fluent in American Sign Language. He writes eloquently about 'internal deaf dilemma', using the image of a broken shop sign that (now) read 'THE I NG OF FALAFEL', finding the aporia as a metaphor that 'externalised the language of that internal space'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Antrobus writes movingly of a feeling of betrayal on coming across the poem 'Deaf School' by Ted Hughes, and his own erasure as reclamation of it in his own collection 'The Perseverance'. Likewise, he provides a good introduction to David Wright and his ambiguities, especially how even parental voices become 'projections of habit and memory'. But Antrobus find himself in the problematic position of both acknowledging and chafing against the perpetual 'deaf' adjective (in the way black and woman and gay are deployed almost as qualifiers: never just 'poet'.) As a reader I both respect the decision and wish he had written more about the specific aesthetic decisions and solutions. The idea of signing a poet as a form of parallel choreography to the uttered, or the phonic effects of mishearing, mumbling and whispering are fascinating. In addition to the poets, Antrobus has small sections on the deaf painter Seymour Redmond and the singer Johnnie Ray (intriguing about the 'performative' nature of deafness, and Ray's strange 'outsider' whiteness), as well as personal memoir. The path to poetry owed as much to Busta Rhymes as William Wordsworth, seeking the answer to a question posed by a therapist (not a speech therapist): 'Have you found a new language for yourself?' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Antrobus poises himself with precision between his younger self who confides 'being deaf doesn't suit me' to the mature adult wrestling with the privative 'hearing loss' versus 'deaf gain'. One mild regret: given the musical background, I wonder what on earth he makes of Morrissey and the infamous hearing aid as victim chic? The Quiet Ear, by Raymond Antrobus, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £16.99. Raymond Antrobus is appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 24 August
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Corrie's Todd Grimshaw trapped in dark spiral as horrifying Theo twist revealed
Exclusive: Coronation Street actor Gareth Pierce, who plays Todd Grimshaw, is stepping into one of his darkest storylines so far, and his family can hardly bear to watch Instead of lapping up his latest dramatic storyline, Corrie actor Gareth Pierce says his family can hardly bear to watch it. Likewise, fans who originally championed the romance between his character, Todd Grimshaw and hunky scaffolder Theo Silverton, have warned him to steer clear of his new love. Tortured Theo (James Cartwright), left his wife and kids after falling for undertaker Todd, having suppressed his homosexuality since undergoing conversion therapy at the hands of Noah Hedley (Richard Winsor), a church clerk, who is now dating his ex. And in a shocking twist, viewers will see Theo becoming increasingly abusive towards Todd - isolating him from his family and friends, before turning to violence. Gareth, who has played Todd for five years, tells the Mirror: "My wife and daughter dip into Coronation Street occasionally and they're hugely supportive, but this story will be a very uncomfortable watch for any family member of mine. "Even my parents may find moments that they don't really enjoy watching. Todd is in danger. Theo's behaviour is becoming increasingly controlling, and there's a moment coming up where it becomes physically abusive for the first time. There's a line that has definitely been crossed; it will be hard to watch.' The relationship will turn violent next month, after Theo makes Todd promise not to speak to vicar Billy Mayhew - his ex-boyfriend-turned close friend - anymore. When Theo returns home one evening to find the place empty, he is furious to discover that Todd is in the pub with Billy, and so downs a bottle of brandy before violently confronting the undertaker on his return. Revealing the reaction of Corrie fans, Gareth says: 'When I'm out doing my shopping, people come up and say, 'That Theo's no good, you want to get out!' I'll reply,' You might be right, we'll have to see, but I do as I'm told, I'm not the writer!'' Gareth, 44, was born in Pwllheli, north Wales, where he lived until he was nine. 'My dad was in the military, so we moved around quite a lot as a family after that – not just in the UK, but also in Europe. I speak fluent Welsh and English, and my French, German and Italian are pretty good too,' he says. A bit of a class joker, he says this encouraged his teachers to put him on stage when he was 11. 'I really lived for making my mates laugh,' he recalls. 'It occurred to the school to stick me on stage. Once I had this outlet for that side of my personality, I calmed down.' At 16, he was accepted into the National Youth Theatre in London, before studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. His first TV role was in 2002 in the BBC Wales series First Degree. He was also in the S4C series Caerdydd for four years, saying: 'I started out playing a lot of geeks, but I then played a soldier coming back from Iraq in the feature film Cymru Fach, which was the first more hard-edged character. I was able to root that quite a lot in my childhood, growing up in a military family. On the back of that, I was in a series called Y Pris, playing a sociopathic skinhead – he was horrible.' In turn, he says this landed him a year-long role as Lenny Mac, an abusive drug dealer and jailbird in Stella, which had an all-star cast led by Ruth Jones. He also enjoyed theatre work, including a stint at London's Globe Theatre and in 2020 joined the cast of Radio 4's The Archers as Gavin, the son of Philip Moss. Later that year, he joined Corrie, playing Todd, replacing Bruno Langley, who had left the show. 'I knew there were going to be plenty of eyes on the re-cast and whether it was going to work or not,' Gareth acknowledges. 'But I saw it as a great opportunity to play a character who was established and complex and had these rich shared histories with other characters. 'I watched the previous actor's depiction, so I could zone in on some of his key traits, but then it became about building my own performance and focusing on things that came more naturally to me as a performer, rather than trying to match the previous depiction.' And Todd's character has come full circle, starting as a sneaky schemer and now revealing his vulnerable side after meeting Theo. Gareth warns that the couple's relationship will become increasingly abusive over the coming weeks and months, revealing: 'It's emotional control and body image. Theo has already tried to get Todd on a fitness kick, and he starts to make the odd comment about Todd's body. Theo is fighting on a few fronts to chip away at Todd's self-esteem. 'Further down the road, there's financial control. It's very frustrating for the audience. They just want to shout, 'run!' I think that's quite close to real life. We can be objective about other people's relationships sooner than we can be about our own. 'So, the audience is a little further ahead than Todd in recognising what's going on. The audience is also party to a couple of occasional sadistic glances from Theo that Todd doesn't see.' James Cartwright and Gareth - who were both in The Archers - have found the storyline intense at times. 'Between scenes we get a cuppa together and have a good laugh,' Gareth says. 'You need that when the story is quite dark. James is a genuinely lovely guy in real life, so it can't be easy playing such a sadistic character.' In real life, Gareth loves keeping fit and unwinds from work with endurance sports, including cycling, swimming, hiking, trail running and triathlons. 'I'll always try to put that into my day if I can,' he says. 'I try to organise at least one charity event a year. This year, I've done a Cardiff to Tenby 100-mile bike ride to raise money for Noah's Ark Children's Hospital in Cardiff. I also partner with Age UK, and two years ago, I did the SAS Fan Dance, which is based on part of the SAS selection course.' Gareth is also a talented singer and musician. He's been in several bands over the years, including the indie group Hafaliadau = Equations, which released a Welsh-speaking album in 2008. Also the drummer in two heavy metal bands – Survivalists and Brandyman - he says: 'We had quite a cult following. I had a Freddie Mercury moustache and wore sleeveless tops. 'I've always been into heavy metal, punk and hardcore, and I worked for Rock Sound magazine for quite a few years. I miss it; I'm planning to get an electronic drum kit soon.' Eagle-eyed Corrie fans noticed in a recent episode two tattoos on Todd's calves, which he had done during his heavy metal days. 'There was always a part of me that wanted tattoos, but another part of me thought they weren't great for an actor, because they can get you typecast,' he says. 'I waited until eight years ago and decided to get them on my legs, so they're not always visible. There are a few different bits, but primarily there's a stag with a rising sun and an owl with a moon. They do have some significance, but I also just like that neo-traditional style. 'We've always shot around them on screen. Then, more recently, we decided that there was no real reason that Todd couldn't have explored some tattoo culture off-screen during his London years!'
