There’s usually a moment, when recommending an affordable hotel, when you have to hedge your bets: it’s good, but… Not so for CitizenM. It’s well designed, with the ground floor comprising a stylish café-bar and lounging area, as well as the DIY check-in (if you’re a newbie, there are staff on hand to help – and offer upgrades when available). The tiny rooms pack in everything you need, from tech to proper drench showers.
The best hotels on the South Bank are, with a couple of exceptions, new. Though some 14 million people a year have been strolling the riverside between the London Eye and Tower Bridge since it took off as a tourist destination in the noughties – having welcomed Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe, Borough Market and the Millennium Bridge – it was another decade before the hotels caught up. One of the newer additions, the Mondrian, provides good food and excellent cocktails, but there are good café-restaurants at Tate Modern, the BFI Southbank, the National Theatre and Southbank Centre too. London Bridge or Waterloo stations give access to either end of the promenade, while Southwark or Blackfriars are best for the Tate. Read on to discover five of the best hotels on the South Bank.
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