Our stay was provided to us on a complimentary basis in return for an honest review.
The buzz of London can be quite intoxicating, and we were keen to experience the city again at a more leisurely pace this year after our whistle stop tour back in September 2018. The endless amount of hotels can be quite hard to choose from! Ordinarily I do love my luxury hotels that have personality, that are quirky and stand out from the crowd, the Academy Hotel in London is exactly that and I’m so pleased we got to experience this unassuming hotel in Bloomsbury for a long weekend in the city. Here is my the Academy Hotel London review!
Part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group, The Academy is actually the smallest property in their portfolio with just over 50 rooms. The hotel is set in 5 town houses on a beautifully lined street in Bloomsbury that were converted in to one hotel. Here you won’t find a lift, so if you do struggle with mobility issues I would suggest that this hotel would not be for you. The small but handsome lobby, was always attended to by polite and helpful staff who were on hand to check us in and organise for our luggage to be kept in storage as we explored the city. The details of the wallpaper to the colour scheme, and even the coffee table books were all thoughtfully dotted around for some easy reading made me feel quite at home at this impressive yet unobtrusive hotel.
We were fortuitous enough to be put up in a Bloomsbury Suite during our stay, the largest type of room you can book. The suite itself looked out on to the main road, but it was extremely quiet to say we were central London – it was a perfect spot to feel like you were away from it all but not too far from the hustle and bustle.
The room itself had a lovely sitting area with a big sofa, chairs and table along with a huge TV and a free mini bar complete with soft drinks and water which were complimentary during our stay which is a nice touch. The Nespresso machine also helped wake up in the morning with a short blast of caffeine for a day of trawling round the big smoke.
The nice touch of a bottle of Bloomsbury Sparkling Wine (fit for the Queen I will have you know!) was a rather lovely touch to celebrate our little weekend away.
Where do I start with the rather large bed? It was huge and extremely comfy. Plus, turndown service was also provided which made getting in to bed that evening all the more sweeter!
The main plus to the room itself was the sheer size of it, I could have easily stayed in it for a week, plus I loved the understated yet funky interiors of the room. An Instagrammable hotel is always a huge plus for me as a very visual person.
My only criticism of the room was that the lights outside of the room seemed to be motion censored and activated what felt like every 5 minutes through the night, I seemed to wake up a lot to the light switching on an off through the crack under the door, and with being quite light sensitive when I sleep it made my nights slumber not quite as enjoyable as I would have liked. If we had been there for more than one night I would have spoken with the reception team to see if there was something they could have done.
I checked to see how much you could book a night for, and it did range from £260 for the standard rooms upwards, if you booked in advance, if you were looking for a week later it was over and above £400.
As part of our stay we got to indulge in the hotels very own themed afternoon tea – Mr Ma’s Afternoon Tea experience. The hotel have based what is usually a quintessential English fare on a book that was written about a gentleman from China who moved to Bloomsbury many years ago and set about finding work and friends in London, a place so very far away from his own home.
We got another chance to sip on the Ridgeview Bloomsbury Sparkling Wine which was what the Queen drank for her birthday celebrations just gone and I can clarify that it is one of the tastiest drinks I have tried – I enjoyed it far more than Prosecco and it’s apple-y taste helped swill down the extensive treats during our afternoon tea!
It included the usual delicacies of little sandwiches, which were extremely tasty (the egg mayo was surprisingly my favourite!) followed by Chinese delicacies such as an egg tart (again really enjoyed it!) The scones were ginger so I sat those out as it just didn’t appeal to me and then I delved in to the little sweet treats such as the macaroons and little cakes!
We also tried Oolong tea which we were pleasantly surprised with! Sateesh our host was wonderfully knowledgeable about the hotel and the afternoon tea experience.
We took ours in the library on our own which was really quite lovely, however, the outdoor terrace would have been perfect on a balmy, summers afternoon as it was.
Moving on to breakfast, as with the rest of the hotel, the interiors really are spectacular here. The dining area was simply beautiful. The bold colours and the furniture really made this place a pleasure to be in.
Now, as far as the food goes, here is a completely honest opinion. I feel that for a hotel that charges over £200 a night, a cooked breakfast should be included. Sadly, The Academy does not offer such a thing, which for me, was a huge disappointment.
Don’t get me wrong, the continental breakfast was a lovely and very fresh and good quality, there’s just something to be said when staying at a luxury hotel and having a lovely cooked brekkie.
With the Continental Breakfast there’s the usual offerings of yoghurts, cereals, hams, cheeses, toast plus lovely fresh smoked salmon.
We got to experience some of Sateesh’s amazing cocktails during our stay, which included a yummy rhubarb, Alkemist gin concoction that if I was to die on a hill, that is the drink I would take with me. Period.
All areas have been designed with such impeccable taste, it’s super quirky and it just suited me down to the ground with how everything looked.
The outdoor terrace is a perfect spot for those sunny days (and in Winter too with the outdoor heaters blaring) and it provides some peace and tranquility in what is a very busy city.
You could easily while away the hours in either of the hotels communal areas, sipping on one of the amazing cocktails on offer, without a care in the world.
We’d like to thank The Academy Hotel for inviting us to stay at their gorgeous hotel. It really is an Instagrammers dream and would thoroughly recommend this place if you are looking for somewhere a little bit cooler to stay in London!
Bee
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