The best and coolest place to stay in London

If you are looking for the best and coolest place to stay while visiting London, look no further than Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green/Shoreditch. We stayed 5 days: We did London, The Cotswolds & a charming seaside town to really get a well-rounded experience.

Where we Stayed: Town Hall Hotel

We chose Town Hall Hotel after searching our favorite hotel website, Tablet Hotels. We have been booking through Tablet Hotels for probably the last 10+ years. We have never been disappointed with a Tablet Hotel.

What Makes Tablet® Hotels Unique?

I think Tablet Hotels find the best hotels in the best areas. Even when we’ve been a little uncertain about booking a hotel because we maybe didn’t know the city well, it has always been in the best possible area. This is one of their many strengths. We trust Tablet and have yet to be disappointed. The amenities are excellent.

Tablet Hotels create a meaningful experience and when we travel, that’s exactly what we are searching for. I love home and the way I feel when I’m enjoying my home, But I also love to travel. So when we do travel, it must be an unforgettable experience that’s even better than staying home. The thing about Tablet Hotels is that only guests are permitted to write reviews, so you know they can be trusted. If a hotel isn’t meeting the Tablet standards, it’s removed. It’s that simple and that is why we always trust Tablet Hotels. You can read more about this on their About Page.

Do you need a membership to make a reservation with a Tablet Hotel?

No, you don’t, but you can create a free account. There are several advantages to becoming a Tablet Plus member for $99 a year. You will more than make up for the membership cost with just one Tablet Hotel stay.

What are some of the benefits of becoming a Tablet Plus Member?

It depends on each hotel, but you’ll know once you book, what you can expect. The room upgrade is based on availability, so there are no guarantees. But we have been pretty lucky!

• Upgraded room
• Bottle of wine and sprakling water
• Complimentary breakfast

Town Hall Hotel

Town Hall Hotel is in the Shoreditch/Bethnal Green area of London. We could not have been happier with the location. Transporation was right outside the hotel. Both the Underground and the bus stops were within a block. But what we loved most about this area is that there was so much cool stuff within walking distance of the hotel.

What we loved about Town Hall Hotel (aside from the excellent location)

We loved that it is in a historic building and that they have kept many parts of it intact. Like the council chamber room and the hallways, and the beautiful lobby. The Town Hall Hotel has hosted many film productions and fashion shoots. Once you see the hotel, it’s easy to see why.

The front desk staff was extremely helpful with all kinds of questions beyond the hotel-related questions. They helped us with restaurant recommendations, the local area, and even tips on parking the rental car that we rented for two days for our day trips to The Cotswolds and to the seashore.

The Pool at the Town Hall Hotel

We are always thrilled when a hotel has a pool. When we arrived we were able to check in a little early. We dropped our bags and headed straight for the indoor pool. It’s gorgeous and warm! I think it was 88 F degrees in March!

Our Room

We were very happy with our room. We booked a regular room and at check-in, we were upgraded to a suite. The suite included a living room, which included a small dining table, a pretty well-equipped efficiency kitchen, and a separate bedroom with a desk.

Each day we received two large bottles of water (one flat and one sparkling) and a small bottle of milk in our refrigerator.

The Corner Room for Breakfast

The Corner Room is a beautiful light-filled cafe located on the first floor of the hotel. We enjoyed coffee and breakfast each morning of our stay. As Americans, of course, our coffee consumption is more than some guests. It took only a day before they brought us each our own pot of French Press Coffee. We ordered the yogurt, granola, honey most days, but the pancakes with blueberry compote and maple syrup looked so delicious that I had to try it!

The Town Hotel also has a two-star Micheline restaurant. We didn’t get the chance to dine at da Tera this time.

The Local Area -Bethnal Green/Shoreditch/Hackney

We really loved the area. I can’t emphasize that enough. Not really knowing London, we’ve been a few times, but only for a day or two each time, so not a lot of time to explore other parts of London. Previous trips with our kids when they were young meant a lot more touristy stuff, this time we got to explore like locals.

Columbia Road Flower Market

We first discovered Columbia Road on a weekday and of course had to go back on Sunday when the road closes to cars and it becomes a huge flower market. It was killing me that I didn’t buy any flowers, but we were leaving the next day!

Where we ate in and around London

We had the best food everywhere we went.

Borough Market

We walked through Borough Market to see all the food stalls and then went straight back to Turnips where we had mushroom risotto made right in front of us on a huge pan. It was so good! I saw on their website that they sell a mushroom risotto kit so that you can make it at home.

Campania

Campania is a lovely little Southern Italian restaurant that we discovered while walking around Columbia Road. It’s down a quiet lane but within view of the main road. It’s so charming that when you see it, you must go check it out. We made a reservation and as soon as we sat down at our cozy table, we instantly realized it was one of the restaurants featured on the hotel guide playing on the hotel television. The guide had a list, but it did not specifically tell you which restaurant was which, so it was by complete coincidence that we ended up sitting at the exact table featured in the photo. The homemade pasta was delicious followed by the most amazing tiramisu for dessert.

Lily Vanilli

Lily Vanilli is in a pretty little courtyard behind a gate, adjacent to Campania, just off Columbia Road. It is the most lovely cafe with coffee, sweets, and beautiful cakes.

Dishoom

Dishoom was on our list, but all reservations were booked. We decided to give it a try to get a seat at the bar for a late-night dinner. We arrived and had the chance to wait about 45 minutes for a table or just sit in the bar. We chose the bar and ordered several small plates. It was perfect! Since we don’t drink, we were thrilled with an entire drink menu devoted to no or low alcohol drinks.

Poppies Fish & Chips

You can’t go to London and not have fish and chips. We enjoyed a delicious platter of fish and chips that we shared on a Saturday afternoon at the Spitalfields Market location. This was a recommendation from Hand Luggage Only and it was spot on! The lines were long, but somehow we got lucky and landed a table for two by the window. Some were not so lucky, but luckily they have to-go boxes and a bench!

Humble Crumble

Where do I even begin to describe this amazing concoction? There are only two store locations and both had long lines (or I guess I should say queues), but all I am going to say is that it was 100 percent worth the wait. We had been walking about 13 miles per day, so when my husband asked if I wanted to share…uhhhh, no, no thank you!

What is Humble Crumble?

It’s apple or apple/rhubarb pie filling topped with a shortbread cookie crumble and then topped with warm vanilla custard. Then you can add things like meringue chips, dried rose petals, torched marshmallows, or a hot fudge sauce. After doing a little digging, I did read that the shortbread crumble is twice-baked shortbread. And you can actually buy it and the vanilla custard to take home. Good thing I did not realize this! Look for a copycat recipe of Humble Crumble very soon!

So many pretty shops in London

Avoman Grocery

Avoman Grocery has two locations, but this is the one we saw and they were just opening. It’s the loveliest little corner grocery store. It’s more like a film set! It’s that beautiful! You feel like you’re in a Nancy Meyers movie. If you are in the area of 245 Hackney Road, stop by and see what I mean. If only all little grocery stores were this gorgeous!

The Shops of Columbia Road

There are so many pretty shops on Columbia Road. We made a few purchases at In Bloom and In Habit. Several pretty home stores and coffee shops too!

Straw

Straw is a lovely home shop that carries Japanese Garden Snips, Flower Frogs and other things. Greeting cards, baskets, and hand-painted beeswax candles to name a few things that caught my eye!

In Bloom & In Habit

In Bloom & In Habit share an Instagram account. Plants, pots, ceramic flowers, candles, candle holders, baskets, bags and all kinds of lovely things in both shops! @inbloom152

Pavilion Bakery

Pavilion is a wonderful bakery with excellent coffee and pastries, bread, delicious sandwiches, and bags of granola.

Grace & Thorn

We discovered this shop by way of the restaurant at our hotel. There was a sign that flowers and plants were by Grace & Thorn and after breakfast one morning, we ended up walking right by. It’s filled with dried flowers, gorgeous fresh flowers, and tons of unusual plants.

Labour & Wait

This was a shop that I knew I wanted to check out and as luck would have it, we walked right by, a couple of times. It’s a lovely shop with beautiful, useful items that every household needs. Some items may be those things you use every day and then there are things that you didn’t know you needed. Every piece is sourced for the best quality, like Riess enamelware.

My small purchase was a little jar of Magic Balls for cleaning vases, decanters, etc.

The Cotswolds

The White Horse in Shere

When you think of The Cotswolds, do you think of the charming 2006 Nancy Meyers film, “The Holiday”? Me too! How could you not? We have a habit of seeking out film locations when we travel. We even stayed at the hotel in Tuscany where “Letters to Juliet” was filmed. But I digress…The Cotwolds turned out to be just as charming as we had hoped. And yes, the pub where Cameron Diaz’s character Amanda meets Graham (Jude Law) for a drink, does in fact exist. The White Horse is in the beautiful village of Shere. The White Horse is in a 15th-century farmhouse. Several movies have been filmed in the idyllic pub.

Day trip to the Cotswolds

Visting The Cotswolds was a nice day trip. It’s about two hours, maybe a little more, by car outside the city. Since it was a Saturday when we visited, the locals were out walking the trails nearby. We would have loved to do this, but you almost need a pair of Wellies or an extra pair of shoes that you don’t mind getting very very muddy.

Walton-on-the-naze

Wherever we go, if it’s reasonable to go to the sea or the ocean, we do! When searching for seaside towns to visit near London, we chose Walton-on-the-Naze for their colorful beach huts. In March as you would expect, it was very quiet. A lot of businesses were closed, but we did take a long beach walk and it was so beautiful. We collected our sand as we always do and we found quite a bit of sea glass. We have a collection of sand that we display on a shelf from the beaches we’ve visited around the world. As you can imagine, it brings back wonderful memories. We can’t wait for our next trip! Where are you going next?