A Georgian townhouse on St John's Square decorated as though a wealthy, eccentric great-aunt had furnished every room with her lifetime collection of curiosities — taxidermy, antique typewriters, velvet armchairs, framed insects, and the general aesthetic of a Victorian collector who traveled widely and kept everything. The cocktail bar in the ground-floor parlour is one of the best hotel bars in London, intimate and atmospheric with a drinks menu that matches the decor's ambition. The rooms continue the eccentric-aunt theme: every one is different, all are comfortable, and the effect is of sleeping in a house rather than a hotel. Clerkenwell provides the neighbourhood: St John (the restaurant) is across the square.
Location
Clerkenwell, London
Insider Intel
A cocktail in the parlour bar before anything else — the room sets the tone for the whole hotel. Request a room with a freestanding bath. The larger rooms have the best collections of curiosities.
Autumn/winter when the parlour bar glows with candlelight and the eccentric decor feels like a refuge. Clerkenwell is excellent year-round: Exmouth Market, St John, Smithfield.
49-50 St John's Square, Clerkenwell. Farringdon tube. The cocktail bar is open to non-guests and worth visiting independently. 13 rooms, each different. Rooms from £220. No gym or pool. The sister property (Zetter Hotel, across the square) is more modern. Clerkenwell location means St John restaurant, Exmouth Market, and the Barbican are all walkable.