Setting the Standard
The Standard London means modern luxury and ultra-cool entertainment, says
There have been times when I have travelled to London by train for a hotel stay, but arriving at King’s Cross has only marked the beginning of a complex, stress-inducing adventure across the city, lugging my suitcase up and down escalators on various Tube lines, before wandering around examining Google maps with a puzzled expression on my face.
That is, thankfully, absolutely not the case with The Standard, London, which could only be handier for King’s Cross if it were in the train station itself. The property is extremely easy to identify, with its red “pill” lift on the exterior of the beige building that was formerly the Camden Town Hall Annex. The 1974 Brutalist building is reached by a mere walk across the pedestrianised square outside King’s Cross, and then crossing the main road. I arrive chilled out rather than strung out.
The hotel is in fact The Standard’s first outside America – with the brand having been founded by hotelier André Balazs in Hollywood at the tail end of the 1990s. The London outpost retains some of that laidback LA glam, and, as evidenced on Instagram, is attracting a suitably fashionable, edgy crowd, attracted by its modern luxury and ultracool entertainment spaces. Staff are evidently primed to focus their attentions on this kind of clientele.
I’m in a junior suite, a large space with not only a luxurious titaniumsteel Bette bath in the bedroom, but also a marble-topped table with seating upholstered in black and brown.
I then have a look at the room’s other amenities. These include a minibar, although “mini” doesn’t seem very accurate – there’s a full cocktail-making kit, including ice bucket, and full-sized bottles of spirits such as Bombay Sapphire. These are complemented by a minifridge wellequipped with, say, small bottles of champagne and more spirits, this time in miniature form, such as Sipsmith Gin.
I then check out the wardrobe, and I really like the fact that there are Stutterheim raincoats in racing green to borrow during your stay, while there are various toiletry items in the room such as a toothbrush and toothpaste, albeit at a considerably higher price than in the Boots across the road.
The hotel in fact has 266 rooms, ranging from the window-less Cosy Core variety to terraced suites with outdoor bathtubs. I have a wander
round the hotel that afternoon, including the The Library Lounge, which still has shelves full of books from its days as a public library.
That evening I head up to the rooftop bar, and admire the view accompanied by a Pimm’s as the sun starts to set. You can see across to King’s Cross on one side, and in another direction the London Eye, and over to St Paul’s and The Shard.
I then head back downstairs to dine in Double Standard, as glamorous, well-heeled-looking diners start to fill up the tables around me. There is a strong, deep-red colour scheme, while the chairs are covered in the same black and white checked material used on the seating in my room.
I order Padrón peppers, which offer occasional bursts of heat, followed by pink-centred steak with watercress, chips, and garlic miso butter, and followed by panna cotta with strawberries.
The next morning I do mean to take advantage of junior suite guests being able to borrow a Peloton bike, especially handy just now if you want to avoid any germs in a communal hotel gym. However, I
have London to see. I also try out the hotel’s tenth-floor restaurant, Decimo, which showcases Michelinstarred chef Peter Sanchez-iglesias’ cuisine that fuses Spanish and Mexican influences. I try the Spanish tortilla and the “gambas rojas” – four flavoursome prawns. But I’m surprised that the tomato salad is the dish I enjoy the most, like a portal to lunch in a Spanish village, with the dial on the tomato flavour turned up to 11 in masterful style.
The restaurant also has one of the best, most panoramic views I’ve ever seen of London, albeit from the sinks in the toilets. A waitress describes the decor far better than I can, saying it looks like something out of a Quentin Tarantino film, and indeed it is – with more suitably blood-red furnishings. The Standard is tailor made for those that want to party from dusk till dawn – but has much for those that want to remain in the background rather than be centre stage.
It looks like something out of a Quentin Tarantino film
Rooms at The Standard, London, start at £199 per night excluding breakfast. Current offers include “Stay for Three, Pay for Two” – three nights for the price of two. The Standard, London, 10 Argyle St, London WC1H 8EG, tel: 0203 981 8888, www.standardhotels. com/london/properties/london