One Hundred Shoreditch opened its doors earlier this year, replacing the landmark Ace Hotel that sadly didn’t make it through the pandemic. Luckily, the game-changing Lore Group was quick to snap it up and within a speedy five months, a second London hotel joined its portfolio, which includes Sea Containers London, Pulitzer Amsterdam and Riggs Washington DC.
The Shoreditch High Street hotel certainly feels more grown-up than its predecessor with an elevated look and a brand new concept for its six restaurants and bars. I’ve stayed in this property a few times over the years (anyone remember when it was the Saint Gregory?), so I was excited to see how it had changed.
Arrival
We visited during the first heatwave of the summer and were blasted with delightfully glacial air-conditioning on arrival (well, it was 35 degrees, after all). The friendly, efficient staff made check-in a breeze and kindly gave us a welcome postcard offering three complimentary food and drink options for each guest. We could choose from a glass of wine in the restaurant, coffee and cake at the coffee shop or a pizza in the lobby.
Since it was already midday, we took the time to explore the open-plan lobby and enjoy some cooling drinks with two hearty stone-baked pizzas served straight to our sofa – what could be better than that? By the time we had finished lunch, our room was ready and we took the rather atmospheric blood red lifts up to the sixth floor.
The Studio
Our Studio on the sixth floor was huge and designed in soft shades with a luxurious wool carpet, large paper pendant light and an exposed concrete ceiling. This natural palette was punctuated by a floor-to-ceiling woven tapestry and bespoke artwork in the most striking blue shades by Jacu Strauss, creative director of Lore Group.
I also loved the plush white linen sofa spanning the entire width of the room and the decorative vases filled with eucalyptus and dried flowers.
Room features include a dining table, large TV, tea and coffee facilites, free wifi and plenty of plugs and USB ports. There’s also a luxury minibar stocked with east London treats and stylish glassware, including carafes that you can fill with unlimited still and sparkling water from the station next to the lift on each floor. We really appreciated being able to grab our own filtered water, especially in the scorching heat – hopefully more London hotels will follow this green initiative.
The king-size bed was absolutely heavenly with a white linen headboard, top quality cotton sheets and lots of plump pillows.
The Bathroom
The white tiled bathroom was simple and modern with a large bath and shower, wooden stool, fluffy towels, bathrobes and a full set of products by New York-based perfumers D.S & DURGA in the signature Debaser scent.
They are my holy grail of luxury hotel toiletries (just beating Byredo at Miss Clara Stockholm), as I have a few of their candles at home and the body range is actually quite hard to find in the UK. It was a real treat to try out these products and they were even more fabulous than I’d imagined.
Dinner at Goddard & Gibbs
That evening, we enjoyed dinner downstairs at Goddard & Gibbs, the hotel’s buzzing seafood restaurant inspired by fishing villages and coastal towns around the country. The wood-panelled walls from its days as Hoi Polloi remain and the space has been given an upgrade with a new adjoining wine bar, terrazzo tables and bold artwork in maritime yellow. Not much has really changed though, as it’s still an east London fashion spot, having hosted a number of parties and events already this year.
Head chef Tom Moore’s varied menu features dishes such as Maldon oysters, Soused red mullet, Hake Kyiv, Fish and Chips and a signature Angus beef burger. While the fish options were tempting, we were swayed by the steak on the very well-priced set menu (two courses £23/three courses £27).
Beef onglet (cooked medium rare) was so tender and juicy, served with punchy salsa verde and a silver cone of hot, crispy French fries. We also loved the freshly-baked Sourdough milk buns with cultured butter – perfect for mopping up the sauce.
G&G’s dessert game is strong, so be sure to leave plenty of room. The Insta-worthy Fried doughnut with malt ice cream, miso caramel and peanut dust was truly decadent with rich umami flavour from the miso. Surprisingly though, my favourite was the velvety Honey and sesame tart with zesty grapefruit and luscious salted milk ice sorbet.
The Rooftop Terrace
After dinner, we checked out the dreamy, Palm Springs-inspired rooftop bar, decorated with touches of pink marble, rose gold lamps, succulents and hanging plants. It was absolutely packed with Londoners making the most of the balmy weather and panoramic views of the city over plates of tacos, fried chicken and crab burgers, washed down with margaritas.
For a more intimate nightcap, there’s also the downstairs Seed Library by London cocktail guru Mr Lyan. The hotel has a lot of eating and drinking spaces to try, so you could easily stay local for a relaxing weekend stay.
Breakfast
In the morning, we headed back down to Goddard & Gibbs for a hearty breakfast. We’d expected to order dishes like pancakes and Eggs Royale from the menu, but were told the breakfast offering had recently changed to a self-service buffet on weekends.
It all worked out fine though, as we made up our own superb Full English breakfasts with extra sausages and enjoyed the array of home-made pastries, yoghurt, muesli and cured meats and cheeses, washed down with excellent coffee, a pot of strong Good and Proper Tea and orange juice freshly-squeezed to order.
Everything was exceptionally high quality and tasty, but there could have been a few more items available like waffles, muffins or chia pudding to make it more interesting.
Location
One Hundred Shoreditch has an unbeatable location for exploring East London, within walking distance of Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Columbia Road Flower Market. Just around the corner is design-led Redchurch Street with hotspots such as Earl of East, Reformation, A.P.C, BAO Noodle Shop, Jolene bakery and Allpress Coffee. It’s also worth walking down to Liverpool Street for quick links to the city centre via the Elizabeth Line and of course gourmet Italian treats at EATALY London
One Hundred Shoreditch is a stunning hotel with equal measures of style and comfort, but it’s the welcoming, experienced staff that take it to the next level. It marks a new chapter for Shoreditch and is set to be the place to be this summer – I can’t wait to go back!
For more information and booking, visit: www.onehundredshoreditch.com
All photos by Cherie City
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