Hyatt Place London City East review: Some of London’s best views alongside five-star service
Between its breathtaking vistas, Sicilian restaurant and fabulous rooftop bar, you'll never want to leave, writes Attitude's Dale Fox
By Dale Fox
You know you’ve picked the right hotel when you don’t want to leave the building, despite being practically in the heart of London. That was this reviewer’s experience of a recent overnight stay at the spectacular Hyatt Place London City East in Whitechapel.
Following a friendly and welcomingly brief check in, my husband and I make our way to the ninth floor (the hotel’s highest) to our king room with terrace. These rooms are the hotel’s best – and it shows.
Entering our room, we’re greeted by not only a lovely note and some chocolates for us, but also an even lovelier note and gifts of treats and toys for our two chihuahuas. The staff has even provided two fluffy beds and some water bowls for them, offering the VIP treatment even to those on four legs. This is a four star hotel, yet the service is a firm five.
Though the room itself is relatively small, that’s instantly forgotten the moment we step out onto the terrace. The huge, open space has the most breathtaking view of the City of London skyline, as well as a sun lounger and chairs to soak it up all from.
“We lounge about imagining we’re secret billionaires enjoying the ultimate city view from our penthouse”
We’re famished and looking forward to dinner, though we decide it’s more important that we sit and wait for the sun to set over the Gherkin, Cheesegrater, Walkie Talkie, and whatever other funnily-nicknamed buildings are among the iconic view. We can even see Canary Wharf at the other side of our sprawling terrace, as we lounge about imagining we’re secret billionaires enjoying the ultimate city view from our penthouse.
Sun down, we head to the lower-ground floor for dinner at the hotel’s Zoom East Kitchen & Bar. Seated in an intimate corner, we take in the Sicilian restaurant’s kitschy and colourful interior while enjoying the campy Italian music as we make our selections from the (extremely reasonably priced) menu.
We start with a selection of antipasti. There’s fresh seafood tempura, carnaroli rice balls with a saffron aioli, and a caponata on our table – all recommended by our waiter and all polished off within minutes.
For our main courses, we go for the costolette di agnello (lamb cutlets and lamb croquettes) and a beef ribeye, both of which barely leave us with room for dessert – though we soldier on in the name of journalism. Dessert is three scoops of Hackney Gelato, made by an Italian-born duo in – you guessed it – Hackney.
PocketSquare rooftop bar offers stunning panoramic views
Before heading to the comfort of our super king bed, we stop in to the PocketSquare to admire this London rooftop bar’s stunning wrap-around terraces. We have an even better vantage point of Canary Wharf than from our room too. This hotel is all about the views, after all, and we’re already planning to head back to the PocketSquare for sunset cocktails during the warmer summer months.
Waking the next morning ready to explore the city, we head to breakfast before checking out. It’s a buffet but the quality of the food says otherwise – you’d swear the Full English were freshly cooked to order.
Checking out of the hotel is as effortless as checking in, with the smiling member of the concierge wishing us a pleasant day as we leave. We walk out the door with smiles of our own, thinking about the exceptional service, mesmerising views, and superb cuisine that have made our stay at the Hyatt Place London City East truly unforgettable.
Rooms at the Hyatt Place London City East start from £149. Visit its website to book by clicking here.