The hotel that specialises in thoughtfulness.

The London Bridge Hotel delivers friendly, efficient service in a congenial, understated manner according to our reviewer Marie-Hélène

They say it’s impossible to please everyone all of the time.  But it seems that the London Bridge Hotel is doing its best to rise to this challenge.

Without any over-the-top “have a nice day” fake feeling service, they managed to make every element of the hotel service work to give me an absolutely faultless stay when I spent a night there recently.

When I arrived at reception, I was struck initially by how “new” it felt given that most central London hotels – let’s face it – have been around for a while and you usually get a sense of how worn in they are.  At the same time, the London Bridge Hotel also felt cosy and welcoming with its comfy sofas, complimentary reading material and fireplace.

Someone was already being served at reception when I arrived so it was impressive that a colleague was effortlessly summoned as I walked in, just to avoid making me wait.  The efficient check-in was completed in a matter of seconds and the receptionist (Barbara) had a lovely genuine smile.

Usually, when arriving at a hotel after a long journey, I have a look around, dump my bags and then go out and buy myself a big bottle of water.

Travel and air-conditioned hotel rooms have a habit of dehydrating you.  But the London Bridge Hotel had already thought of that and left a large bottle of complimentary mineral water on the sideboard.  Not only that, they had also left me a big bowl of fresh fruit and a box of chocolates.  I can confirm that the fruit wasn’t just for show and was actually tasty!

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The London Bridge Hotel's public areas are stylish - it's clearly building a niche as an independent hotel which delivers a consistent and friendly experience, without the monotony of a chain hotel

I also discovered a lovely personalised note from the manager wishing me a pleasant stay.  The note was handwritten and the writer had actually spelt my name correctly – that’s Marie-Hélène with all the right accents!

But they had me jumping with joy when I opened the wardrobe and saw an iron and ironing board.  I’m not usually that pleased to see housework-related items, but when is the last time you stayed in a hotel with an iron and ironing board provided in the room?

No waiting, no calling house-keeping, no being obliged to use the laundry service.  Just waiting there ready to use.  Suitcases do after all crumple clothes!  And we can’t all afford our own butlers at the Lanesborough…

The absence of an iron and ironing board is one of my biggest hotel pet hates.  I have heard excuses ranging from “somebody else has already borrowed it” – as in “it” SINGULAR – to “we don’t allow them for health and safety reasons”.  Now if I can’t be trusted with an iron, I probably can’t be trusted with a window or hot water either can I?

It’s nice to at last see some common sense from a hotel!

The hotel is located right by London Bridge station which makes it ideal for guests looking to use public transport during their stay.  But despite this being one of London’s main travel hubs, it really is surprisingly quiet.  In fact my room was completely silent and also the perfect temperature.

I was also pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the bed was.  Its size, feel, the duvet and the pillow were all absolutely perfect.  It was as comfortable as my bed at home and I know how many years of trying out different combinations that’s taken!

The bathroom was black and white and the room was all creams and browns.  I tend to look out for mismatched décor and highly patterned (as in “stain camouflaging”!) floors and throws and will always check room photos on websites before booking to avoid staying in a hotel with unattractive décor.  The London Bridge Hotel’s décor was totally inoffensive and you could also see that the room and bathroom were spotless.

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Rooms at the London Bridge Hotel have the feel of a boutique hotel but are very functional too - with the fully-operational windows and ironing board being prime examples!

The television in the room was a 26” Philips and I also noticed that this is a free WiFi London hotel.  Paying for internet access is another of my hotel pet hates.  I just don’t know how anyone can justify charging for wi-fi.

The call charges were also very transparent.  In fact, if you were coming from abroad and needed to call a UK land line, it was cheaper to use the hotel phone to make the call than your own mobile.

The bath towels were nice and big and fluffy and the “White Company” body lotion was pretty good.  You didn’t have to look twice to make sure you hadn’t used the shower gel by mistake!

One of the other great aspects was that the window actually opened!  It’s such a treat to get some fresh air when you wake up in the morning.

The breakfast was well presented and tasty.  They make your coffee or tea and toast to order and there is a good selection of options for people wanting either a full English or continental breakfast.  I also appreciated the complimentary newspapers and the Time Out magazine.

After breakfast I fancied walking through Borough Market to the Tate Modern but I had a big worry.  I really needed to find out the time of an exam I had the following day.  I had spent several days trying to find this out and hadn’t been able to get hold of anyone who could tell me.

The London Bridge Hotel is perfect for making the most of Borough Market (5 minutes walk away) - a true foodie's paradise!

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It occurred to me that, even though it wasn’t technically his job, the hotel concierge could possibly help.  And indeed he could. He took on the task with creativity and gusto and by the time I got back from the Tate, Paul had found out the time of my exam!

Finally, the location is ideal for a bunch of super historic London pubs including the George Inn (which claims to be the oldest in London and one of the city’s last remaining galleried inns).  It’s also a few minutes walk from the myriad cultural attractions of the South Bank.

Though not officially a 5 star hotel, the London Bridge Hotel for me delivered luxury in the sense of an apparently effortless ability to anticipate the guest’s needs.  All in all, it was a job well done!

The London Bridge Hotel is currently ranked number 28 out of more than 1000 London hotels on TripAdvisor, with consistently good user reviews.

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Photo credits: London Bridge Hotel.

Disclosure: Marie-Hélène was a guest of the London Bridge Hotel.

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