The previous adage to “never judge a book by its cover” couldn’t be extra true on the subject of Aptel East, an aparthotel within the East London borough of Tower Hamlets. Flanked on both aspect by shuttered retailers coated with graffiti, you may be forgiven for not realising that right here lies one of many space’s most luxurious locations to remain, for inside this constructing there are round 30 trendy and fully-serviced flats that go by the title of Aptel East.
Take no discover of the instant neighborhood – critiques of Tripadvisor say issues like “I wondered what on earth my wife had booked. Inside though was the complete opposite.” and I might think about this can be a frequent sentiment as friends’ preliminary alarm shortly turns into sudden delight as soon as inside.
The welcome
Check-in on arrival was actually slick. I acquired an electronic mail from Aptel East the day earlier than I used to be because of arrive, inviting me to a quicker on-line check-in. Through a single click on, I confirmed my particulars and checked in with assistance from a digital registration resolution referred to as VisitorStay, a seamless contact-free expertise offered by Guestline®️.
This meant that, once I arrived, I didn’t want to make use of any of the registration terminals within the lobby. Despite reaching the resort fairly late within the night, I merely rang the bell (there’s a 24-hour concierge), gave my title and was given my key. The entire course of took lower than 10 seconds earlier than I used to be taking the elevate as much as my house.
The room
I stayed in room 33 on the fifth and uppermost flooring of this sustainable constructing with its inexperienced roof and high-tech vitality environment friendly methods all through.
This trendy and fully-serviced trendy house sleeps two folks with a luxurious king dimension mattress (with hypoallergenic bedding that has been made completely for Aptel East) in a spacious room with a black-out blind, along with the curtain that you simply see. The view from the house appears out over Tower Hamlets, with The Shard seen within the distance to the best.
The air-conditioned room is spacious, with a laminate wood-effect flooring, wall-mounted 43-inch TV, secure, seating space and kitchenette within the nook.
The rest room
The brightly-lit, clean-cut and trendy rest room with its monsoon bathe, basin and WC, has light-coloured wall tiles that distinction with the darkish flooring tiles and self-importance items.
Gowns and fluffy towels and flannels are offered, in addition to travel-sized toiletries and cleaning soap from DAMANA®, specialists in unique facilities for the resort commerce.
The services
The kitchenette is supplied with a kettle, toaster and microwave, in addition to a miniature sink.
There’s additionally crockery, cutlery, glasses and a small fridge – basically all the pieces you would want to have some cereal or toast within the morning, rustle up a sandwich through the day, and even repair your self a microwave meal within the night.
For severe foodies on the lookout for one thing extra, there are a number of Michelin-starred eating places only a brief cab experience away, with Behind Restaurant (one star), City Social (one star), Lyle’s (one star), Sollip (one star), St. John Restaurant (one star) and The Clove Club (two stars) all inside a 10-15 minute drive.
The lodging additionally comes with a non-public super-fast 5G web.
Being an house inside a resort, you actually have all the pieces you want for a cushty residence away from residence for a brief keep within the metropolis. Should you want something, although, the 24-hour concierge is readily available and will be contacted by way of your cell phone, plus a housekeeping service is on the market for longer stays.
Location
The lodging is situated near the Royal London Hospital, inside strolling distance of a few of London’s most iconic locations together with Spitalfields, Shoreditch, Tower Bridge, St Katherine Docks and Hackney that are all simply accessible by way of public transport and inside strolling distance. Shadwell (on the DLR and London overground) and Whitechapel (on the District, Elizabeth, and Hammersmith and City traces, in addition to the London overground) and are every only a brief stroll away, as are Liverpool Street, Aldgate East and Tower Hill tube stations.
During my keep, I attended the World Travel Market at ExCel London, which was really easy to entry with Custom House only a hadnful stops away alongside the brand new Elizabeth line.
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Other good touches
A welcome notice and a few drinks and crisps, in addition to a fridge stocked with bottled water, had been amongst some good little extras. Non-intrusive communication by way of WhatsApp was additionally nice and really handy, and got here with an assurance on arrival that the crew is on the market 24 hours a day and more than pleased to help with something, together with the WiFi password. They additionally used this to inform me when an Amazon parcel I’d ordered had arrived, and to ask me whether or not my room wanted to be refreshed once I forgot to place out my door hanger to inform them.
Cost
Standard suites at Aptel East begin from simply £109 per evening.
The greatest bit
For the value, I can’t consider higher worth high quality lodging wherever in London. You can end up paying lower than you’ll for a Premier Inn room, but getting a lot extra when it comes to high quality, house and in-room services.
The closing verdict
For me, Aptel East’s lodging was an excellent base for a piece journey, with wonderful entry to my convention venue, however it might serve equally nicely for leisure breaks. It can also be very handy for anybody from exterior the town who ought to occur to be visiting sufferers at The Royal London Hospital.
Finally, it’s exceptionally well-priced for high quality lodging in London which is notoriously far more costly and, on the few events that I had any want to talk to the concierge crew, they had been at all times charming and couldn’t be extra blissful to assist.
Disclosure: Our keep was sponsored by Aptel East.