Looking to stay in London with a healthy budget to swing a luxury penthouse stay? With spectacular high city views, extra space and perks, alongside the added peace and quiet, the photographic nhow London is just for you.
LOCATION
Your nhow penthouse home is located a ten-minute walk away from Old Street underground station between the hustle and bustle of Hoxton, Islington and Shoreditch. East London is known as a cultural melting pot. With such a diverse range of activities to explore in the area, nhow London brings together the culture from the local neighbourhood, as well as packing various experiences from the extensive art collection, to the British food that’s served in the hotel restaurant.
NHOW
Nhow was brought to life through the architectural work of Sir Norman Foster’s as part of the 250 City Road development, the interior design by James Soane of Project Orange and the artwork on display from various artists of the Jealous Gallery (who help transform young artists into more established artists). Altogether, this has helped to achieve a hotel that is iconic, bold and immersive.
The open plan lobby area creates a space utilised for working, socialising and all-day dining. This area of the hotel oozes with colour from the objects and works of art that are scattered across the floor, ceiling and walls. A sloping Big Ben tower sculpted into the shape of a rocket that’s taking off stands boastfully in the centre. Street art lined over each pillar; bright bold colours and shapes collaborate, to bring the type of visual graffiti you see across the London streets, to the inside of nhow.
Even the furniture is brought to life across this spacious lobby. Traditional porter chairs by William Morris and a chaise lounge created by a young British designer; both lined with luxury fabrics from House of Hackney. Tom Dixon spun tables shine grandly in gold, red and black soldier chairs by Rhubarb Chairs, mimic the royal show you will so often find performed by the guards outside of Buckingham Palace. The light features vary from jacket lights that hang above the reception desk, designed by a student from the local fashion college, to Paul Smith lights, Victorian lamps and chandeliers. Each area of the lounge has a pixelated carpet rolled out under your feet, whilst you relax and unwind with a drink from the bar.
Finally, technology is incorporated into nhow’s interior design. London underground announcement boards hang on the walls displaying the words “It’s a London thing”, circuit board coffee tables, eight TVs behind the reception desk showing different films, with the main feature boasting a high-tech fireplace that is eco-friendly, using water vapour and LED lights to create the flames.
This eclectic hotel has 190 bedrooms (including seven suites and one nhow penthouse suite) overflowing with designer furniture, avant-garde artwork and all the home comforts you could ask for: A restaurant that lives up to the English saying ‘Bells and Whistles’, a central island bar with a large selection of gin, three laboratories that create modern inspirational hubs to host your next meeting in, as well as a venue to host special events with a team to ensure that everything runs smoothly on the day.
nhow has intelligently created a space where old London is reloaded. Industrial design inspired by the London culture where you will experience the connection of the past meeting the future.
THE NHOW PENTHOUSE SUITE
The variety of rooms are split across eight floors, with one suite room housed across the first seven floors and the penthouse suite naturally sitting at the top of the eighth floor. Me and my partner were staying in room number 814, also known as the nhow penthouse. Each one of the suites are positioned in the hotel building’s angled pointe, offering awesome views.
Upon arrival we were warmly greeted by the staff in the lobby, who after swiftly checking us in, guided us up to the penthouse. As we shoot up to floor eight in the elevator, we step out into a long and wide hallway, where the nhow penthouse sits right at the very end.
Walking down the hallway created an experience in itself, almost like I was going for an evening stroll along the residential streets of Islington, tones of dark green, beautiful blossom on the ground, street lamps and different coloured front doors with traditional knockers. Directly outside of the nhow penthouse, you will find some hidden themes on the wallpaper that surround the doors entrance, all linking to the work of some of the best great British creations. Look out closely for the body of work from writer C. S. Lewis, authors Lewis Carroll and J. R. R Tolkein, novelist Roald Dahl and story writer Rudyard Kipling.
Inside the nhow penthouse I step straight into my own hallway with a separate loo to the left, immediately indicating the homely opportunity for me to kick my shoes off before dropping down my overnight bag. Walking through to the generously sized living room space, there are floor to ceiling glass windows with mega views, allowing the natural daylight of artistic East London to flood in. First to catch my eye is the dark green shag pile carpet, where you will find high quality garden furniture placed on top by the angled window, which made me feel as though I was in a secret garden. Interesting sculptures inhabit the space, a minibar and drinks trolley to prepare my drink of choice at, a large teak dining table to welcome guests around and a desk with an artsy book placed on top, full of illustrations of approaching artists in the music industry.
Hessian wallpaper continues through to the bedroom and en suite. A marble floor runs across this capacious room, with an energetic Christian Lacroix headboard splashed with green botanicals on. Following on, there is a huge free-standing bathtub positioned closely to a large floral painted wall, making for an elegant yet grand backdrop to relax against.
Finishing touches throughout this penthouse include shiny gold taps, a separate walk-in shower tiled in British racing green, King and Queen embroidered bathrobes, royalty monarchs on the bathroom walls, mini bath toiletries, flat screen TV’s in both the living area and the bedroom and an intelligent lighting system which automatically illuminates areas of the bedroom, to help guide you on your routinely late-night trip to the bathroom.
BAR AND RESTAURANT
After settling in and capitalising on the opportunity to take a moment of downtime in the penthouse, it was time to freshen-up and head back downstairs for dinner. Although there is The Bell and Whistle restaurant at nhow; which houses one large leather banquet sofa that snakes around the room along with bell lights to represent Whitechapel Bell factory (which is where the Big Ben bell was made), we chose to have dinner in the hotel’s lobby area.
First things first – A glass of champagne splashed with cognac and an espresso martini to kick the evening off at the bar. Currently seated on the high quality dark green leather bar stools, we enjoy our cocktails at the central island, where the under-lighting illuminates the large selection of gin bottles underneath. After finishing our drinks, we made ourselves comfortable around a table next to the high-tech fire, ready for dinner.
Hosting a quality pub-style menu, you can expect to find the likes of burgers, pizza, fish and chips and nachos. I decided to go straight in for the nhow burger; dry aged angus beef burger, smoked bacon, lettuce, mature cheddar and all of the relish and toppings to be expected for a pub-style burger. My partner opted for a sourdough pizza; Parma ham, tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil. We rounded up the evening by sharing nhow’s sharing British cheese board; carrot cake brioche bread, piccalilli, stilton, red Leicester and Wigmore.
BREAKFAST
After a very satisfying nights sleep, it only felt right that we had breakfast ordered to our penthouse suite and boy did it deliver. Granola, Greek yogurt and raspberry compote to fire up the mornings metabolism, followed by a traditional full English breakfast, all arriving on large trays with cloches. Additionally, there were cute small pastries, fruit salads, hot beverages and fresh juices. With our belly’s full and ready for the new day ahead, it was time for us to prepare for check-out (which isn’t until 12pm… bonus!).
IN A NUTSHELL
The nhow penthouse is one of those rooms you don’t want to leave in a hurry! It was like an oasis which was all ours. With hotels also in Amsterdam, Berlin, Marseille, Milan and Rotterdam; nhow is modern, cool, funky and traditionally British.
To discover more, visit: nhow-hotels.com
All imagery courtesy of nhow
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