1 week Ago
So as soon as I arrived at the Hilton London Bankside hotel, I was confident my stay was going to be amazing. Firstly, I was catapulted straight into stay cay mode and the first pictures of the day were taken by the Bankside sign and the extremely Instagrammable hotel entrance to the hotel. The lobby at the Hilton Bankside (Image: Supplied) And then the most impressive first impression – the greeting at the reception desk.
The check-in was super-smooth, professional, informative and friendly – faultless. Within minutes my partner and I were settling into our suite, checking out the amazing bathroom and raiding the snacks. A deluxe suite (Image: Supplied) We have a Hilton Honours loyalty card that gives us access to executive lounges and the Bankside offering is now right up there as one of our favourites.
We loved the stunning décor and the well-stocked bar plus a delightful selection of nibbles including sandwiches, nuts, olives, cheese and much, much more. I didn’t overindulge and resisted temptation as we had a table booked in the hotel’s The Distillery which is its destination bar. The Distillery (Image: Supplied) And that proved to be a good decision as the food was incredible.
Exquisite is the only word suitable to describe my starter of smoked salmon and squid ink cracker with pickled watermelon radish, avruga caviar and sour cream. The fabulousness continued with a main course of seabass fillet, miso broth, shiitake mushrooms, edamame beans complemented with flavours of lemongrass, chilli, lime and coriander. The vibe in the bar is sophisticated without being stuffy and a super-cool choice for any time of the day or night.
The Distillery is renowned for its collection of around 100 gins or if cocktails are your thing you’ll soon become a regular. I can vouch for the Negroni (Bankside London Dry Gin, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, Campari) and I channelled a bit of Carrie Bradshaw with a Cosmopolitan (Absolut Citron Vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, lime juice) Other must-tries from the mouthwatering menu include a Manhattan (Bulleit Rye or bourbon, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters) and a Moscow Mule (Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka, The King's Ginger, Angostura and orange bitters, lime juice, Fever-Tree Ginger Beer) and I’m definitely coming back for the Bankside Iced Tea (Vanilla syrup, lemon juice, caramel syrup, English breakfast tea, dash of Tonka Bean bitters). The Distillery has a fascinating history as it used to be a renowned essence factory - the Stevenson & Howell’s Standard Works - which distilled essential oils and manufactured essences, flavourings and garnishes during the 1800s.
This history has inspired some of the cocktails with homemade syrups, aromatics, infusions and bitters. I’m more of a cocktail drinker than gin but you can’t help but be impressed by the flavours and brands with gins from Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Japan. OXBO Bankside (Image: Supplied) We didn’t get a chance to visit OXBO Bankside during out stay to try out the local sourced seasonal menu that draws inspiration for British, French and Eastern flavours, so it’s on my to-do list next visit to try the famous bottomless weekend brunch.
We were staying in a luxurious suite with separate lounge and enjoyed chilling out with a spot of TV before bed. The room offerings at Hilton Bankside are amazing – there’s even a bedroom with a Peloton Bike or one featuring only vegan materials. The external entrance to OXBO Bankside (Image: Supplied) After the soundest of sleeps, we returned to the exec lounge for breakfast and enjoyed the silkiest scrambled eggs on toast with plenty of coffee to set us up for our sight-seeing day.
I intended to make good use of all the hotel facilities and had a workout in the fitness centre which features state-of-the-art cardio and weight equipment then a lovely, leisurely dip in the heated indoor pool and a chill in the whirlpool. It was then into one of the treatment rooms for a Signature Sleep Well Massage. The Bankside swimming pool (Image: Supplied) I asked for firm pressure as I like to feel a massage has helped relieve the tension in areas impacted by hours at a laptop.
This proved to be an excellent choice as there weren’t any knots remaining in my back and shoulders after an hour of sheer bliss. This left me tourist-ready for an afternoon of sight-seeing. One of the many advantages of staying at Bankside, on London’s South Bank, is the vibrant location and ease of exploring sights within walking distance of the hotel or you can jump on the Underground at Southwark station to be easily transported to other areas of central London.
The side of the Bankside hotel (Image: Supplied) Shakespeare's Globe, the Millenium Bridge, and the Tate Modern art gallery are all just minutes to walk to. Our tourist experience of choice was a mooch around Borough Market followed by a champagne visit to The Shard – well it was my birthday. Armed with scores on photographs of iconic London attractions, plus a couple of keyrings and souvenir chocolate we headed back to the hotel to collect our luggage.
Our first impressions of the hotel were impeccable and our lasting impressions were equally as exceptional. The design-led hotel is a flagship Hilton and most definitely lives up to its expected level of service-delivery and reputation. We were greeted immediately, with a member of the team remembering we’d stored our luggage.
Securing a couple of complimentary snacks from the sweet station at the side of the reception desk, we reluctantly started our journey back to Cumbria with definite plans to return to this hotel and location that ticked all our boxes. For more information about Hilton London Bankside, visit the website www.hilton.
com/en/hotels/lonsbhi-hilton-london-bankside or email [email protected].
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