Why it’s good for business
In London where getting about can be time consuming and stressful, you want a
hotel as near to your meetings as possible. If you are working in the City
then the hotel choices are not extensive. The location of this Crowne Plaza
on the edge of the financial district, but also within reach of Covent
Garden, Fleet Street and right next to Blackfriars tube and railway
stations, makes it is a good option. The former bank building, with a Grade
II listed facade, was converted just a few years ago and it still feels
fresh and bright. The lobby is a big open space from which you can access
the bar, the restaurants and the lifts to the rooms. Just across the river
are the Tate Modern and the Oxo Tower.
The room
The room is well designed without being edgy and the super-comfy beds come
with mattress toppers that make you feel like you are sleeping on a cloud -
slightly disconcerting. Individual temperature gauges quickly adapted the
temperature. Bathrooms come with Molton Brown toiletries in Club rooms and
White Company in others. The hotel also makes that useful offer that if you
have left anything out of your toilet bag, they can help. In the bathrooms,
there is good water pressure, oodles of hot water, deep tubs – some with
jets – and large towels. Club rooms have their own check in and check out
which can be handy to avoid queues. Complimentary breakfast is served in the
club lounge on weekdays.
A place to meet
The hotel has five meeting rooms with the biggest having a maximum capacity of
160 for a theatre-style session. Facilities such as a conference hotphone
and stationery kit for the meeting organiser, and individual air
conditioning can make a big difference. All meeting rooms come with wi-fi
access, and the Executive Boardroom, with its modern take on traditional, is
ideal for that small group roundtable. For the post-meeting conflab the low
lit, smooth style of the house bar Nineteen Below makes a good staging post.
Service is smart and quick, with staff keen to look after you, in this
stylish 1950s meets modern-day establishment. Finding a quiet corner early
evening is no problem, though it gets busy later.
Technology credentials
Free high-speed wired internet access in all but standard rooms, but no wi-fi
yet in rooms. Wi-fi is available in the public spaces for £15.45 for 24
hours. CD players and a CD library is offered to those deluxe and club
rooms, while in suites ipods are available to borrow. Music can be loaded by
the club floor lounge team. Flat-screen televisions have internet access and
keyboards.
Fed and watered
With its warm atmosphere, immaculate décor and friendly ambience, Giorgio
Locatelli's Refettorio serves high quality but simple Italian food. Low
hanging lights and open layout means it works for solo diners as well as
groups. Service is spot on and the food is delicious. The olive oil is so
exceptional that it's not surprising that waiting staff are constantly being
asked if it is possible to buy it (answer: you can't) and don't even try and
leave without tasting the homemade ice cream. You can go for a three-course
dinner or just opt for a sharing platter – themed – so duck, Tuscan, pork,
are all options. Pan-fried venison with radicchio (£15.75), Hazelnut and
cappuccino cream brulee (£7) and digestives around £6. Warm and relaxed, a
restaurant you would recommend to Londoners, not just hotel guests.
In the know
An on-the-ball concierge desk recommended two spot-on pubs that fitted the
traditional feel I was looking for. Right across the road, The Blackfriars,
built on the site of a monastery, has an Art Nouveau interior with lots of
nooks and crannies to cuddle a pint in, while five minutes away the Olde
Cheshire Cheese at 145 Fleet Street was famously favoured by the journalist
crowd before all the newspapers moved out of this area. It has a great
old-fashioned bar, interesting vaults and a fireplace. Good places to chill
out.
Business class
Excellent service and facilities, within walking distance of the City.
Business farce
Thumbs down to the 0871 number for the hotel, why on earth should potential
guests pay a high-rate charge? Time to swap to 0800, or local rate please.
The bottom line
Midweek room prices from £215 (including breakfast, but excluding VAT),
executive boardroom for up to 14 from £350 room hire, inclusive of VAT. Room
service: fresh mint/ginger tea (£6). Minibar: Fentiman Orange (£3); Smirnoff
Vodka (£6). Laundry: blouses/shirts (£7.75).
Need to know
Crowne
Plaza Hotel London - The City, 19 New Bridge Street, London, EC4V 6DB,
tel 0871 423 4931. Check-in 2pm, check out 12 noon.
