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I had just over 24 hours in London, as I was landing at London City Airport before 7AM, and departing from London Heathrow Airport the next day just after 10AM.
London is a city where I don’t have any hotels I love. I’m sure there are some great independent luxury hotels, but the reality is that I’m not willing to pay for a nice hotel in a city the same way I might be willing to pay for a nice hotel in a secluded location, since I spend little time in the room.
So over the years I’ve primarily chosen the most convenient points option for a group with which I have status, which has typically been with Hyatt or Starwood. I’ve actually never returned to the same Hyatt or Starwood hotel more than once, which should give you a sense of how little love I have for these hotels.
While I’m generally not a fan of Marriott’s takeover of Starwood, I do welcome having access to more hotels in London. For this particular stay I decided to check out what’s generally regarded as the best Marriott option in London, which is the London EDITION.
Rates were really high the night I was staying in London — about 625GBP — so I decided to redeem points. The hotel was bookable for 60,000 points, which was a bargain by comparison.
The London EDITION is located in Fitzrovia, on the edge of Soho, and already looks really awesome from the outside. As I walked in I was welcomed by the bellmen and walked to reception.
The EDITION London exterior
The EDITION London entryway
The hotel’s lobby was huge and so beautiful. I’m not sure if the pictures do justice to it, because the pictures almost make it look a bit outdated, but it’s most definitely not. This is easily one of the coolest city hotel lobbies I’ve seen.
The EDITION London lobby
The EDITION London lobby
The EDITION London lobby
The EDITION London lobby
In addition to couches with tons of seating, there’s also a beautiful lobby bar along the far wall.
The EDITION London lobby bar
Reception is located between the lobby pillars and to the left.
The EDITION London lobby
There I was assisted by a really friendly front office agent, Claudia, who welcomed me and thanked me for being a Platinum member. It was only about 8AM at this point, and she explained that my room wasn’t quite ready yet, but that it should be within a few hours.
She took down my number and encouraged me to have breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant.
The EDITION London reception
First I sat in the lobby a bit working. Even early in the morning the lobby bar was open and staffed, and I ordered a delicious cappuccino.
The London EDITION cappuccino
At around 10AM I decided to go to Berners Tavern for breakfast, which is the hotel’s main restaurant, located just off the lobby. It’s such a pretty restaurant.
Berners Tavern London EDITION
The breakfast menu read as follows:
Note that EDITION is one of the few Marriott brands where Platinum members don’t receive complimentary breakfast, not that I would have received breakfast the morning of my arrival anyway.
The menu looked tasty, and I ordered the baked eggs, tomato and harissa, yoghurt, spiced nuts and seeds, and bread. Mmmm…
Berners Tavern breakfast — baked eggs
As the meal concluded the same front desk agent who checked me in came to find me in the restaurant and told me that my room was ready. So I finished up, and then she escorted me to my room, located on the sixth floor.
The elevators were located past reception and to the right.
The London EDITION elevators
The hallways felt more generic, which is a bit different than the lobby.
The London EDITION hallway
I had been upgraded to a loft room, #603.
The London EDITION room exterior
The London EDITION floorplan
This room was so cute. It featured an entryway with the bathroom straight ahead, and then the rest of the room to the right.
The London EDITION loft room
The room featured a king size bed.
The London EDITION loft room
While I get that the throw is a signature EDITION thing, am I the only who wonders how often they wash it? Is it actually washed between stays, or…?
The London EDITION loft room living area
Near the entrance was a sitting area with a loveseat and a seat next to it, along with a coffee table.
The London EDITION loft room living area
On the opposite end of the room was a desk, and above it was the TV.
The London EDITION desk area
The room had a nice view looking out over nearby buildings. Obviously this isn’t a high-rise, so you don’t exactly have sweeping views.
The London EDITION view
The minibar, including the complimentary Nespresso machine, were back towards the entrance.
The London EDITION minibar
Iced coffee and Krug — talk about a minibar designed for me (though not at those prices). 😉
The London EDITION minibar
The London EDITION minibar
The minibar price list read as follows:
The bathroom was also back near the entrance, and was nice and large. It featured a sink, toilet, and walk-in shower, with both a rainforest showerhead and a handheld one.
The London EDITION loft bathroom
The London EDITION loft shower
Toiletries were from Le Labo, and were specially branded for the hotel.
The London EDITION Le Labo toiletries
Overall I thought the room was top notch, without a doubt the nicest room I’ve stayed at in London. In general I love the EDITION decor style — it’s modern without being boring.
My one criticism is that the sound insulation wasn’t great. While I couldn’t hear anything from outside the hotel, I repeatedly heard doors closing in the hotel.
I ended up napping, working a bit, meeting a friend for drinks, and then late in the evening I decided to order room service dinner (I know, London has a lot of options, but it was the most practical option since I had work I wanted to get done before the next day, when I’d have an eight hour flight without Wi-Fi)).
The room service menu read as follows:
I decided to order from the “create your own home style meal” section, and ordered roasted cauliflower steak, which came with my choice of two (huge) sides.
The London EDITION room service
They also brought me some sweet treats that they said they tried to deliver me earlier (but I had my “do not disturb” sign on).
The London EDITION sweet treats
While I didn’t have a chance to visit it, the hotel is also known for the Punch Room, which is the hotel’s reservations-only bar located just off the lobby. As the name suggests, they have about 30 specialty punches. Going to a bar that requires reservations alone just doesn’t sound fun, so I guess I’ll return sometime with someone else, because I am really curious.
The hotel’s only other real amenity is the gym, located on the basement level. It’s fairly basic, though has all the necessities.
The London EDITION gym
The London EDITION gym
The London EDITION gym
After a solid night of sleep I headed to the airport really early the next morning.
The London EDITION bottom line
I have a new favorite hotel in London. Sure, EDITION isn’t the best brand for Marriott elite recognition (they don’t offer Platinum members complimentary breakfast), but this is a beautiful hotel that I actually enjoyed staying at.
The hotel’s design is lovely, the food I had was excellent, and I was particularly impressed by the service, in spite of my fairly limited interactions.
I plan on returning to this hotel, and highly recommend it.
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