It’s not often you find a hotel with such a perfect view of a London icon like Tower Bridge, but book the right room at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City and you’ll certainly be rewarded.
Next to Fenchurch Street station, minutes from the Tower of London, this 4-star is perfectly located for easy access to the city and London’s best sights. The vibe is modern luxury, with 317 rooms ranging from Superior Twin or King up to a Suite, with some spectacular views.
Downstairs guests will find a welcoming lobby and two dining options - Corvo bar and restaurants brings the food from the continent to Tower Hill with casual dining light bites and great coffee. Leo’s Bar and Restaurant not only serves up a brilliant breakfast spread in the mornings, but an all day dining a la carte menu, also available via room service. Bar snacks include the rather delicious sounding braised beef bon bons with blue cheese dip and woodland mushroom gnocchi bites with chive and truffle crème fraiche, small plates like carpaccio of beetroot with goat’s cheese mousse and honey truffle and hearty big plates like confit duck leg with fondant potato and braised red cabbage, pecorino and honey tortellini and braised lamb shank with spiced polenta and roasted root vegetables. Leave space for pudding mind, we can confirmed the winter spiced sticky toffee with butterscotch sauce is the one.
We checked into one of the suites for a night of R&R and loved the view from the floor to ceiling windows of the glittering Tower Bridge. With decor in elegant teal velvet, a dazzling chandelier and a handy kitchenette with breakfast bar, it’s an indulgent space, complete with luxurious White Company Noir toiletries and a fluffy robe to curl up in after a bubble bath. It’s a beautiful space to pretend you live in a glorious-viewed London property for a night, despite the slightly unpleasant oversight from housekeeping which meant discovering the previous guest’s leftover pizza boxes in a kitchen cupboard.
The gorgeous room and great F&B however isn’t all this place has going for it. Downstairs guests will find a heated indoor pool, sauna, steam room, gym and spa with a menu of treatments like facials, massages, a detox body wrap and a range of Signature Treatments; we love the sounds of the Marine Experience, with a Hebridean salt and oil body scrub, tailored back massage and express facial, using products from Scottish brand Isgha which harnesses the nutrients found in seaweed. It’s worth keeping an eye on the website for deals on spa days and package stays.
Despite the housekeeping fail, the Leonardo Royal City Hotel was a brilliant night away. With two other properties in the city - one just around the corner at Tower Bridge and one at St. Paul’s - each with a slightly different personality, it’s the perfect spot to base yourself for a weekend of festive indulgence with Christmas shopping season looming ahead.
