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Zetter Townhouse shines bright in Clerkenwell.
The vintage Union Jack Club Room is one of the showcase rooms within the recently-opened Zetter Townhouse - a small and quirky hotel with a great bar
Across the cobblestones of St. Johns Square in Clerkenwell and a mere 21 steps from the original Zetter Hotel is the latest addition to the family: the Zetter Townhouse. The 13-bedroom Georgian hotel and cocktail bar opened its doors in April 2011 and its cosy Club rooms are already coveted.
Designed by the fantastic mind of Russell Sage, the Townhouse is home to an organised jumble of exotic and repurposed antiques. Sage has done away with the expected reception desk and guests are instead immediately welcomed into a plush Moroccan-brown cocktail lounge.
Decorated with butterflies, bulldogs, crystal candlesticks, a stuffed cockatoo and well-worn Arabian rugs, the cocktail lounge is a comfy mix of bohemian cultures near and far – refreshingly different to most London hotels.
House cocktails include their signature ‘Twinkle’ – a blend of Wyborowa vodka, elderflower cordial and Perrier Jouet Champagne. Homemade cordials are another speciality, with rhubarb incorporated into a deliciously sweet but dry Kir Royal. It’s sure to become a barman’s favourite bar.
Small plates of charcuterie, supper bowls and desserts can be ordered but larger meals can be found across the square at the celebrated Bistrot Bruno Loubet. Mouth-wateringly original fare such as Mauricette Snails and Meatballs and Crispy Confit Piglet with lemon jam glaze tempt in hotel guests and passers-by alike.
Each floor in the Zetter Townhouse has its own story to tell. Two different artists were invited to paint designs of their choosing onto the external lift doors and hallway artwork is hung at a slant or sometimes upside down. Each door opens into a quiet, colourful bedroom – each a unique tableau.
The Union Jack Club, so named for the four-poster bed draped in bunting, may be the most memorable, but each room has its own star attraction. In some, dark wood hatches allow daylight to travel from bedroom to bathroom and in others, reconditioned radios fitted with iPod docks allow guests to provide a personal soundtrack to their stay.
Other modern conveniences include free Wi-Fi, flat screen digital TVs, laptop-sized safes and mist-free bathroom mirrors. There’s also no compromise when it comes to hotel luxury: guests are treated to 200 thread count linen, a library of classic novels, antique furnishings, fluffy bathrobes and lovingly hand-knitted cosies for the bed’s hot water bottle.
The attention to detail extends into what is usually the least interesting space in a building – the stairwell. The Townhouse staircase features a collage of hundreds of newspaper sheets, each one hand-plastered onto the walls with not an inch left uncovered. The pages make for interesting reading on the walk down and when you reach the bottom level, the Games Room awaits with its full size Ping-Pong table. If there is one guarantee for guests of the Zetter Townhouse, they’ll never get bored!
It looks set to join the elite of the best townhouse hotels in London.
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Photo credits: The Zetter Townhouse Hotel.
Sara Revell is a freelance writer based in North London.
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