I love staying in hotels. One of the best things about being away from home is that ‘wow’ moment. You know when you walk into the lobby and get that flutter of excitement to go up to your hotel room? After staying in a load of cheap guesthouses over the last year, I’d been sorely lacking in this feeling but as I walked into Dorsett Shepherds Bush in a rush of cold, crisp air, it came flooding back. And with a bar area like this, who wouldn’t be impressed?
Quick disclaimer: the hotel photos have kindly been provided by Dorsett. I spent a good chunk of time taking photos when we first arrived – time that could have been spent starfishing on that gorgeous bed – but my camera skills have seriously gone down the toilet lately. The slightly blurred, yellowy photos just weren’t selling the dream so hey, you can’t blame me for pressing delete pretty rapidly. On a side note, if anybody could recommend some good blog posts / courses to help me get my photography back on track, that would be amazing.
I’d never had a hotel experience like this in London before, given that my usual way of booking a room consists of ordering ‘price: low to high’ on Booking.com. This time however, our upgrade to a suite had me running around the room opening every single drawer and cupboard in excitement! Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this…? Honestly though, the room was lovely and the location at the corner of the hotel gave it an unusual, curved shape that made it feel really spacious.
My favourite things about the studio suite? Firstly, the amazing bathroom complete with power shower and double sinks – I’m a sucker for a good bathroom counter. And secondly, the travel buddy. Nope, not another human: this travel buddy was a mobile phone with free data and calls so that international travellers can navigate London like it’s home. This is a really great offering in my opinion and while we felt super paranoid about taking it out and about with us, it helped us out a lot around the city!
Now, let’s talk about Pictures restaurant. While a three course dinner was included in our stay, we’d eaten a huge lunch so it was with heavy stomachs that we walked down to the restaurant! Nevertheless, we managed to eat a decent amount of our meals. The starter of smoked beetroot and goat’s cheese to start and mains of pumpkin risotto were tasty enough, although a little more seasoning would have been welcome. I even managed to stretch to a chocolate marquise for dessert – it’s a hard life! – where the rich chocolate was well balanced with a blood-orange gel.
Our original plan was to head out after dinner but the food coma well and truly kicked in so we headed back upstairs for a relaxing evening before a jam-packed two days of exploring London. Let’s just say that I’ve got a magical few posts coming up for you next…
Laura x
Disclaimer: we were invited to stay by the Dorsett team who provided one night of our stay complimentary.
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