There are literally thousands of hotels in the capital, choosing is often a case of weighing the price against the location and the facilities and hoping for the best.
What if I told you that you can also make a conscious choice of an eco-friendly London hotel?
Recently I was invited to stay at The Corner London City Hotel in East London with my 12-year-old son, Mack. We were in London for the weekend visiting a few attractions in the run up to Christmas and looking for somewhere central and well-connected (my requirement), and cool (Mack’s only stipulation!)
This hotel is in a fantastic location in Aldgate, right across the green from Aldgate East tube and only a few minutes’ walk to Whitechapel Station which is huge and has been pretty much rebuilt as part of Crossrail. (It’s also on the brand-new Elizabeth line, so we were able to tick that off the list.)
So yes, it’s incredibly well connected and central. As for cool, the hotel itself has a great vibe, really funky interiors and super cool artwork and installations everywhere. Out of everything, Mack was enthralled by the humidifier that was stationed in the lobby to keep the plants in good condition, it’s so strange sometimes the things that he picks up on!
Throughout your stay at the hotel, they make you aware that you have made a good choice for the environment. For example, if you are staying for more than one night and you hang the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your door to forgo a room clean, you get a little thank you note under your door with a £5 voucher for the bar, that’s a win-win.
The hotel displays its story proudly on the walls in the lobby. The green credentials here are very strong. Electrical consumption at The Corner is 8% less than industry standard. They use solar panels to generate some of their power and the display unit on the wall declares the energy generation currently, the running total, and the saving of CO2 so far. That’s amazing! Perhaps most amazing of all is the level of water consumption at The Corner which is 41% less than other hotels! That’s four Olympic sized swimming pools! I love it!
As well as being such a green choice, The Corner really is a good hotel. It’s young, trendy and fun. The restaurant area has a ping pong table and plenty of different seating areas to facilitate private dining, or even to let you watch TV while you eat. Which might seem odd, but we were staying during the World Cup, so it made for a great atmosphere. Plenty of vegan options on the menu too.
The rooms are comfortable, the beds are built into pods with the lighting and TV all part of the same structure and with some really fun artwork as a backdrop. Very importantly, the bed was incredibly comfortable, the windows kept things nice and quiet, the curtains were blackout and the temperature control was easy to understand and worked brilliantly.
Each night we both managed a good night’s sleep before breakfast, which is always Macks favourite part of a hotel stay. He feels that a hotel can be judged on its breakfast, well, more specifically, it’s pancakes. Do they offer them? Are they fresh? Are they American style or crepe? Do they have chocolate spread or maple syrup?
I’m happy to tell you that yes, they offer them, yes, they are fresh, in fact the mix is already in a machine, you select how many you want and it cooks them in front of you! Crepe style and with a range of toppings including maple syrup – he was a happy boy!
We were both quite sad to leave The Corner, it had been our little base for our London adventure and we had had a lovely stay. When I asked Mack if he’d like to come back again, he said ‘Can we, please?’ which just about says it all.
If you want to stay in a hotel that offers a great night’s sleep and a better future for the planet, check out The Corner London City Hotel next time you are in London.
Reviewed and written by Sally Bendall – @girlaboutleeds
