CitizenM, London Review

God knows I’ve come to appreciate the value of a night’s sleep in a hotel room since Elfie and Hux arrived. For a start there’s something so beautifully clean and sterile about hotels that the Monica Gellar in me can’t get enough of; all those polished surfaces really get me going.

Then there are the sheets. The crisp white sheets that, if you are lucky, are some humongous thread count and wrap you up like a huge big kiss. The mattress can’t be forgotten, I’m happy as long as there’s one there but Will enjoys a good firm one, preferably with a feather topper.

I’m always delighted with a bath but really it’s a good rainforest shower I crave in a hotel. You know, the ones that make you feel like you’re drowning when you stand underneath them? I could happily spend half an hour just standing in one of those showers, thinking about nothing but the big beautiful bed I’m about to dive into.

Oh yes, we like our hotels.

Last weekend I journeyed into London for a night and took full advantage of the hotel room on offer to me at CitizenM, London, a new hotel in Southwark. CitizenM, London is a fairly new hotel that seem to offer amenities I enjoy when staying at a hotel: technology, big beds and an interesting vibe. They’re a little out the way for the real tourist trail but I like that.

The hotel lobby is pretty cool: self-checkin is promoted with touch-screen units (help is on hand also) and it’s a really quick process to find your hotel room, book into it  and programme your key card.

The technology vibe continues in the rooms with a tablet PC (Samsung I think) controlling all aspects of the room: lighting, blinds, music and TV. For me this was AWESOME but I can imagine my mum getting totally flummoxed by it all. The ‘mood lighting’ options are a really nice touch.

Speaking of the rooms they are what one might call ‘bijou’. At first I felt a little claustrophobic (and wondered if it was slightly reminiscent of an EasyHotel room) but actually, there was everything there I needed, just without the extra floorspace. The bed is a pretty phenominal size (2 metres if I recall correctly) and spans the whole width of the window which allows amazing views to a London skyline.

There’s a well-lit area for makeup next to the sink which is in the room, lots of surfaces for cluttering up with your bits and pieces and a decent-wattage hairdryer. Don’t expect extras like robes or slippers, however. The bathroom is a small capsule-type affair which contains the loo and a dishplate-sized Hansgrohe shower (heaven) as well as a bog-standard sized shower head. It is contained by frosted glass so at no point feels claustrophobic but again is rather small.

Thanks to my late bedtime (I purchased a late checkout – 3pm – for around £30) we missed out on breakfast so I can’t comment, though drinks in the bar the night before were absolutely fabulous. I believe CitizenM is a Dutch brand and therefore there were plenty of gorgeous young Europeans flitting around the area looking terribly cultured and well-travelled. It was a really fun and energetic vibe.

Would I stay again? Definitely, though only to use the hotel as a bolthole. In terms of room comfort it’s no Dean Street Townhouse or Berkeley, but is great value for south-of-the-river activities. Rooms start at around £130/night.