A couple of weeks ago myself, Tom and our Frenchie, Marlin packed our bags (yes she actually has her own travel bag with an array of nappies to fit her daily mood which includes flamingos, duckies and even cactus! she can be a tad prickly on occasions!), and we all set off to London for our little adventure to check out Hotel nhow, a dog friendly hotel in the heart of London.
Although Marlin has travelled to Scotland, Wales and even climbed the Yorkshire 3 peaks, London has been one place where she had yet to visit and we were slightly apprehensive. Marlin has a few health issues which has caused incontinence, (hence the nappies) and we didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable with any public accidents. However, we were really chuffed with how well she travelled. She slept the whole way on the train from Leeds to Kings Cross and since we only needed to take one stop on the underground to reach the nhow London hotel, it couldn’t have been any easier.
Our one stop was to Angel tube station and from there the hotel was just a chilled 10-minute walk away, so we all trotted in unison taking in all of the sights of the bustling city before we arrived at our destination.
Walking into reception we were blown away by the unique aesthetics, like the amazing ‘Big Ben’ rocket which was a sight to behold. The hotel lobby was packed full of statement pieces, loads of colour and unique furniture that made us stop and stare in awe. They had stunning works of art hanging from the ceiling as well as 60’s style Beatles-esque jackets which doubled up as light shades, seeing these unbelievable lights I just knew nhow would be a ‘bit of us’.
Check-in was simple, and the staff were super friendly and informative and before we knew it, we found ourselves walking along a corridor to find our room. We passed rooms with brightly coloured illuminated doors, (like something from Alice in Wonderland) each one more beautiful and mesmerising than the last. When we got the end of the corridor, we found ourselves in front of our very own colourful door which led to the penthouse…YES, the ACTUAL penthouse.Marlin couldn’t believe her paws when we walked into a 79 sqm space, which had a dining table, living area, the biggest bed I’ve ever seen, a rainfall shower, a stand-alone bath, plus a mini bar, flat screen TV’s and a royal dog bed with bowls so Marlin could eat and drink like a queen, to say we felt special was an understatement. We took our time to really take in the room and the wonderful details, like the vintage radio which we could hook up to our phone via Bluetooth, the sound was brilliant! (apologies to all of the other residents, but we had to test it out!).
We had a little sip of wine whilst taking in the panoramic views of the city and then popped down to the restaurant for a spot of lunch, Marlin was allowed to join us and she sat spatchcocked on a gorgeous rug whilst sniffing and watching us tuck into an extremely tasty meal.
For starters I had the Wye Valley Green Asparagus, with wild garlic dressing and Tom had the Isle of White Tomato Carpaccio (this was delicious) and for mains we scoffed a healthy but tasty bowl of quinoa salad with a side of parmesan and truffle chips, (which were *chefs kiss*). It was a perfectly delicious and light lunch and just what we needed before we headed out into the city for an event later that evening.
When we returned from the event we crept upstairs and took Marlin out to the little grassy spot behind the hotel for a little wander. We all then popped back to the penthouse for a giddy run around, playing fetch and rolling around (there’s a lot of space to have fun within the penthouse!).After our frolicking we were well and truly pooped, so we threw ourselves onto the huge bed and it took us no time at all to fall into a deep comfy sleep. The sound of Marlins piggy snores told me she loved her squishy bed that nhow provided too.
We all woke refreshed in the morning after having a lovely night’s sleep, both me and Tom enjoyed a coffee whilst watching life moving by below us and then we popped downstairs to enjoy a European style breakfast, with endless supplies of croissants, toast, cheeses, eggs, juices, coffees and my favourite, blueberry muffins. It was a lovely laid back buffet style breakfast and it set us up for our morning sunny stroll around the canal, which we were allowed to enjoy for longer since we had a laid back 12pm checkout, blooming lovely.
We ADORED our stay at the nhow hotel and although it was only a fleeting visit, we desperately want to come back and enjoy for it for longer.
If you’re looking for a fun, beautiful dog friendly hotel in London or maybe you’re looking for a lovely get away for your partners or friends, nhow should definitely been on your list to check out. It has everything you need to make your stay perfection, plus delicious food, drink and lovely helpful staff which made our stay even more wonderful.We really couldn’t recommend nhow London highly enough and with a full paw star’s from marlin as well- you have no excuse!Check them out here.
Review and images by Luke Williams @stanleydru
Feature image and doors and breakfast images courtesy of nhow
