Sea Containers London

Sea Containers London sits on the South Bank between Blackfriars Bridge and the Oxo Tower, in a building whose shipping-container-inspired design was overseen by Tom Dixon, all bold metallic finishes and a nautical theme that runs through the public spaces without tipping into gimmick.

The hotel’s location is a genuine strength: close enough to Southwark and Blackfriars stations for easy access, but calm enough once inside that the energy of the South Bank outside feels like it belongs to a different postcode. An in-house Curzon cinema is an unusual and welcome addition for a hotel of this size, and the rooftop bar, with river views and a regular DJ programme, is one of the better reasons to visit even if you are not staying overnight.

Rooms are comfortable and well finished rather than especially large, in keeping with the site’s riverside constraints, and the design throughout favours warm materials and curved lines over anything too stark.

Dining and drinking options are a genuine draw, the ground-floor restaurant and the rooftop bar both have a following independent of hotel guests, which says something about how well the food and drink side of the operation has been executed relative to the rooms themselves.

It is a lifestyle hotel first and a purely luxury one second, so anyone expecting the formality of a Belgravia grand hotel will find the tone here more relaxed, closer to a well-designed boutique property than a traditional five-star. For a stylish, well-located South Bank base with genuinely good bars attached, it holds up well.

The hotel opened in 2014 as part of what was originally a Morgans Hotel Group project, and it later passed to Lore Group, which has continued to invest in the bars and restaurants rather than letting them coast on the original design. Rooms range from compact to genuinely spacious suites, so it is worth checking the category carefully when booking, as pricing varies considerably across that range. Its position between the City and the South Bank’s cultural venues makes it a sensible base for a weekend that mixes sightseeing with good food and drink.