That places a lot of culture and food within walking distance. St Martin’s Lane is one of the best locations in London, a hop away from Covent Garden, Soho, the Strand or the Thames, and five minutes’ walk from the South Bank. No space.Īfter steamy-hot showers with Original Source shower gel (provided), we want to eat, but not the snacks and sarnies on sale in the hotel’s funky deli-cum-cafe. But a lot of the aesthetic is about what’s lacking. I actually like the design: minimal, a bit sci-fi, smooth and clean. When she arrives with her smaller weekend case, we have to laugh at our cramped conditions.

There’s a nifty slide-out desk and some useful under-bed storage, which is just as well because – though these rooms are targeted at singletons – I’ve made the fatal mistake of inviting my girlfriend. There’s a small chair, but not much of a window to sit beside – and that window is, of course, sealed tight against carbon monoxide/traffic noise/my committing suicide. There’s a narrow, alfresco slit for hanging up a coat and maybe a shirt. I’ve got a large suitcase, as I’m flying overseas in the morning, but dare not open it. From the glass-walled loo, to the small bed against the wall, to the blinding whiteness of the décor, I’m in a wholly functional space. It’s considered cutting-edge to regard a hotel as chiefly a bed, because – it’s implied – we’re too busy consuming the city to stay in.īut is this true? If that lower-case name were not proof enough, my room confirms that the designers of hub by Premier Inn have done their research. We’re meant to congratulate ourselves on being low-impact, no-frills, no-fuss, and cheap. For over a decade, hoteliers in cities like Berlin and Amsterdam, aping their Tokyo sleep-in-a-tube precursors, have been selling us tiny cells as if they were a contemporary lifestyle decision. As I walk down the long corridor, passing a door every couple of steps – it’s quite a warren – it’s clear what Premier Inn owner Whitbread is up to.

Premier inn hub tower of london