"Set the scene.Inside a glass-fronted, six-story building that peeks out at the Thames next to the towering One Blackfriars is a miniature MoMA-style furl of white concrete, racks of bleached pottery, reclining Scandi-angled chairs, and Old Master paintings customized with skateboards and afro combs. Could this be a new, under-the-radar gallery that’s sprung up unnoticed in the orbit of Tate Modern? What’s the story?The Bankside Hotel is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection but is independently owned. L.A.-based Dayna Lee, a former film-set designer (Spaced Invaders, Dances with Wolves) has conjured bright, multi-textured interiors that reflect the hotel’s proximity to all that South Bank artiness—Sixties-style wooden room dividers like abacuses, angular teak carvings, jangle-geometry blue floor tiles, pixellated rugs. A mezzanine space leading to a summer terrace showcases teetering designs made from books and easels. There’s even a maker in residence, curated by Contemporary Collective, with workshops that guests can take part in. What can we expect from our bedroom?A photographic print of a Corbusier tower block, acid-washed yellow rugs, sweatshirt-grey bathrobes, a nice box of pencils for scribbling at the desk, stripped-back bathrooms with just the right amount of clobber. We’ll be honest: The views of the river aren’t front row, but from some rooms (407 is a favorite, but also consider the American-style double queen rooms for families or groups) you can see its marble-grey waters and St. Paul’s. What you won’t find are any plastic water bottles; there’s a water station on each floor instead (sparkling is an option). Key cards are made from paper, bathroom potions are organic, bees will soon be swarming on the rooftop, and the hotel has a zero-to-landfill policy. How about the food and drink?The open-plan restaurant and bar is set to the rear, with its own entrance, and slung with a film-set tangle of spotlights—a ceramic mural depicting the area’s history, from Vikings to the Great Fire, runs along one wall. Chef Lee Streeton came here from 45 Jermyn Street, and poaches market ingredients for a likable menu that taps into various trends without over-egging them—English-made burrata, barbecued cuttlefish with squid-ink spelt, a sea-salty pizzette with mussels, bone marrow for dipping flatbread into, a bubbling pot of monkfish cataplana. The bar staff have fun with the cocktails: you’ll be steered towards a Bicyclette (Campari, wine and soda), but start with a glass of the Hampshire fizz, and try the honey-washed Negroni. Weekend brunch (baked polenta with field mushrooms and wild garlic; smoked haddock hash and sea beets) is picking up steam. Who comes here?Thirty-something Europeans, mid-century moderns in Folk wear and statement glasses, weekend art hounds. How does it fit into the neighborhood?Remember the scene in Four Weddings and a Funeral when Charles tells Carrie about David Cassidy as they stroll past the National Film Theatre? Not many people about, were there? That was 1994. Now this stretch of riverfront is an ongoing festival, livelier than chucking-out time at an Elizabethan theater. Staying here puts you near Tate Modern, the National, the Globe, Borough Market. It would be remiss not to mention the larger Sea Containers hotel across the road, whose rooftop and Thames-side bars are adept at drawing a fizzy, local party crowd, or the fun, help-yourself CitizenM Bankside. Bankside Hotel feels a little more tucked away, though, a des-res rendezvous in one of the city’s most easy-going, enjoyable areas. Anything to say about the service?Clad in denim aprons, good-natured and naturally chatty—if a little slow on the uptake at breakfast. Anything we missed?Probably the vintage bagatelle collection in the basement. But not the vending machines on each floor, dispensing Charlotte Tilbury face masks and Tom Ford sunglasses. (And sparkly pants.) Is it worth it, and if so, why?This is a smart, likable, decent-value hotel, which goes above and beyond in its commitment to sustainability. At weekends you get to appreciate that refreshing, eye-of-the-storm calm of central London without the worker ants." - Rick Jordan
