Pic: Double Room at Town Hall Hotel in East London (Mar 2014)
For my Friday night stay in London, I used last-minute booking app HotelTonight which had Town Hall Hotel in hip East London on offer for €156. Thanks to the promo codes I published in February (+ referral credits), my stay was free. Unfortunately, most promo codes are no longer valid, but you can still get €20 or $25 discount on your first booking using my referral code BLAPERS. I expect more HotelTonight promo codes to surface in the next months, so make sure to follow my blog, twitter account and TravelMagic Facebook page for instant updates.
Pic: Swimming Pool at Town Hall Hotel in East London (Mar 2014)
As points & miles addicts, we tend to stay at chain hotels most of the time. The beauty of alternative booking apps like HotelTonight and Airbnb is the fact you often end-up with independent hotels and B&Bs what can result in surprising experiences… Town Hall Hotel was one of them. What an amazing Art Deco property!
Pic: The Pool at Town Hall Hotel in East London (Mar 2014)
Did you know only 64 out of 1069 hotels in London have a pool? Well, Town Hall Hotel is one of them and gosh is it beautiful!
Pic: Corner Room at Town Hall Hotel in London (Mar 2014)
Another exceptional venue at the Town Hall Hotel is their restaurant ‘Corner Room‘ where I had an excellent breakfast served (menu) in a great atmosphere on Saturday morning.
Pic: Breakfast at the Corner Room, Town Hall Hotel London (Mar 2014)
Pic: Poached Eggs with Streaky Bacon at the Corner Room, Town Hall Hotel London
Pic: Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard in London (Mar 2014)
A visit to The Shard was on my todo list for a while now, as it will be hosting the much hyped Shangri-La The Shard hotel on floors 34 to 52 offering beautiful views of The City. The hotel will officially open on May 6, but don’t get too excited as rooms start at £450 (€540) per night! Lets hope HotelTonight adds it to its portfolio. 😉 Anyway, you don’t need to stay at the Shangri-La to enjoy The View from The Shard. You can access viewing platforms on the 69th and 72nd floor (244m) for £29 (bloody expensive!). Make sure to make advance reservations (e.g. early morning on the day of your visit) as sunset hours tend to sell out fast.
Pic: Tower Bridge as seen from View from The Shard in London (Mar 2014)
More nice venues I discovered during my weekend trip:
Bistrotheque (Dinner, walking distance from Town Hall Hotel)
Elliot’s Cafe (Borough Market, walking distance from The Shard)
I had dinner at both venues seated at the bar (I was by myself) and really loved the suggestions made the bartender at Elliot’s Cafe (menu). Make sure to try the Pig Head Kromeski with tartare sauce and the Sweetbreads, Black Pudding & Caramelized Apple!
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Bart Lapers 
In january I stayed in Indigo Earl’s court.
Had a fabulous stay and got an upgrade as Platinum member.
It is not in the center but very close to Earl’s Court tube station.
Was not a big room(as usual in London) but very comfortbale and with free items in minibar.
Thanks for sharing your London hotel experience Geert!
do u have a any discount codes to stay at the shard its my honeymoon and well thought it would be nice to stay there
Hi Lubz, I don’t have discount codes for the Shard. I can only recommend to monitor the rates via aggregators like and Trivago, to sign-up for the Shard Shangri-La newsletter and to follow their facebook page. More tips in my “How to book Hotels” blog post. Good luck and congrats with the wedding!
@Bart, I thought you stayed at the Intercontinental London as well? Nothing about that?
@PJ Correct, you seem to pay close attention to my twitter and/or FB page. 😉 I didn’t write about the IC Westminster as it was quite a disappointing stay. Maybe I should have done some more research in advance, but I hate it when I get a room assigned which has a tiny window with almost no natural light coming in. I asked for a different room, but got exactly the same type of room. They said they couldn’t offer anything better as it was ‘a very old building’ and hoped their service level would compensate for the small room and lack of proper windows. After a wonderful Friday night at the Town Hall hotel, the move to IC Westminster was quite a downer. @InterConHotels didn’t seem to care, as I didn’t get any response from them on Twitter. In general, I don’t write about negative experiences on my blog, most of my frustrations are vented via Twitter. 🙂
I was looking to stay there one of the follow months so I remembered your check-in ;). Good to know!
If you’re looking for an IHG hotel to stay at in London you might want to try:
Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill
https://travel.bart.la/2012/08/04/hotel-indigo-london-tower-hill-london-2012-olympic-games/
Hotel Indigo London Paddington
https://travel.bart.la/2011/09/12/hotel-indigo-london-paddington/
InterContinental London Park Lane
https://travel.bart.la/2011/05/26/intercontinental-london-park-lane-studio-suite/
Or a nice Hilton alternative: Hilton London Tower Bridge
https://travel.bart.la/2012/06/16/stopover-at-hilton-london-tower-bridge/