Scrap the humble pillow chocolate, it’s all about tart at the new Page8 hotel in London.
On walking into my spacious deluxe double corner room on the third floor of the centrally located hotel, I was surprised to find a slice of chocolate tart waiting for me.
But this is just one of the ways, Page8 – which has 138 rooms spanning five floors – is looking to make its mark.
Other quirky features include large windows to let in natural light, an artisanal coffee bar in the lobby instead of a stuffy breakfast room and Swedish-designed air purifiers to ‘help guests breathe as nature intended’.
After taking a nibble of the pretty deliciously-rich tart I checked out some of the room’s other features.
There was a cool Bluetooth Marshall speaker next to the bedside, USB charger sockets, a concise complimentary minibar with snacks, wine and prosecco and teabags with compostable wrappers.
In the smart dark wood closet, there was robes and slippers, while in the bathroom there were lavender and peppermint wash products from New York brand C.O. Bigelow in large fixed containers instead of disposable minis to reduce plastic waste.
There was quite a bit of action required before getting into bed, as I had to pull all of the many window blinds down by hand.
Finally, I got all of the window coverings down and slumped into the large comfortable bed.
Maybe it was the soft sheets or the Swedish air purifier that aided my slumber but I hadn’t slept that well in a while.
On finally waking up, I indulged in a leisurely morning before the generous 11am checkout.
I took a shower using the refreshing C.O. Bigelow products, had another cheeky nibble of cake and ventured down the extremely long corridor back to the lobby to the coffee bar for breakfast.
The place has a breakfast counter to order from and an informal seating area with large windows looking out on to the rainy streets of London and the National Portrait Gallery over the road.
Looking at the coffee menu, I discovered it was indeed artisanal.
I could choose from four different coffee beans, deciding if I wanted to travel to the wilds of Kenya, Guatemala, Colombia or Panama through sipping my breakfast brew.
With a bit of deliberation, I opted to hop to Colombia.
On the food front, there is a nice concise spread at Page8, catering to the on-the-go tourist or the ‘urban explorer’ as the hotel group likes to refer to its target client.
If you’re feeling really frivolous you can stick your fork into more tart, with triangles of chocolate, lemon, pecan or salted caramel to tickle your fancy.
Feeling in the mood for something a little cleaner I opted for avocado on toast with smoked salmon and a poached egg with a fresh fruit granola mix on the side.
The salmon comes highly recommended and I was surprised they managed to rustle up such a lovely-tasting morsel given the tiny kitchen space.
All in all, Page8 is definitely a spot I would recommend and return to.
It’s cool, unfussy, with friendly staff and the price point is amazing given its location.
So start your London story in style by skipping to Page8, hopefully, I’ve served as the missed introduction…
Page8, London, is located at 8 St. Martin’s Place, WC2N 4JH
Prices start from £220 for a double room on a room only basis. Guests also get complimentary tickets to the David Hockney exhibition running at the National Portrait Gallery until June 28.
To book a stay call +44 203 879 9400 or visit pagehotels.com
