I was invited to spend the weekend with Roomzzz near Stratford centre in London. I was hugely excited to stay at Roomzzz because I’d read other bloggers reviews and they were all so lovely.
The Roomzzz London Stratford just opened at the beginning of July and it is the first Roomzzz down South. (All the other Roomzzz locations are up North (with other locations in Leeds, Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and a location in York being built as we speak).
As a former London dweller, it’s always fun to go back to the capital as a tourist because it feels so very different. We used to have family in Walthamstow so we were frequently in London Stratford but we’d never stayed in a hotel there.
The area is very vibrant, and I think an estate agent would probably call it “up and coming”. There wasn’t much there when I first moved to London, but because London Stratford is where the 2012 London Olympics was located, the area underwent huge regeneration and has kept it up since then. I completely understand why Roomzzz would want to get in on the market in that area.
Once you touch down in Stratford, if you nip through the Stratford Centre, Roomzzz Stratford is just 5 minutes further down the road. You could go from the Westfield Centre to the hotel in about 10 minutes.
The staff at the building was absolutely lovely, particular Roger, the manager on duty when we were there. You could tell that the hotel had just opened – everything was very new and clean; you could practically smell the fresh paint. I was offered the Dezign Studio which featured an amazing super king bed and interesting walls and art that separated the space into two massive rooms (one for sleeping and one for living – complete with sitting area and kitchen.) Both areas had tellys and at one point in time, Sam and I had both tellies on at the same time, mostly as a joke. (‘Gladiator’ was on that evening and Sam insisted on watching every minute of it.)
The most amazing feature of the room was the incredible rooftop balcony. You’re on the top floor when you’re in the studios and the entire floor is outfitted with gorgeous wrap-around balconies. From ours we could see the Shard, the O2, the London Eye, Canary Wharf, the Walkie Talkie and all the other famous features of the London skyline.
My second favourite aspect of the room was the wonderful rain shower, complete with White Company toiletries in the bathroom. But the fact that they had some Yorkshire crisps, Hackney juices and Harrogate water when I arrived as a special treat was a great touch.
There’s a small but well-equipped cafe downstairs, but wonderfully, Roomzzz offers a complimentary Grab-and-Go breakfast to patrons. The Grab-and-Go was filled with pastries, muffins, fruits, coffee and juice. It was a wonderful addition and it came as a surprise when we checked in to the hotel.
After we checked in and I photographed everything, I will hold my hand up and admit that I promptly climbed into bed and took a nap. Hey – it was during the heatwave and the train from York to London was about 1 million degrees. You can quote me on that. Please, I was on a weekend break. And weekend breaks are for ultimate relaxing.
I took a quick and wonderfully refreshing post-nap shower before heading out again. Because when in Stratford, you have to go to Westfield. It’s practically the law. Westfield Stratford Centre was one of London’s first US-style malls and it opened shortly before the Olympics in 2011. I still remember how reasonably exciting that was. (It has the honour of being the largest shopping centre in Europe.) I dragged Sam into & Other Stories, and many other favourites.
After our Westfield jaunt, we headed over to the Olympic Park for wandering, snacking, and admiring. One of my favourite things that happened to the area post Olympics is that the Athletes Village has been turned into flats, restaurants and shops. The area is now known as East Village London and there are definitely some lovely brunching options there!
Sam and I hopped onto the overground for a few stops to head for dinner at the Temple of Seitan, Hackney. For those of you who aren’t in the know, seitan is a vegan meat substitute that people swear by. The Temple of Seitan does fried “chicken” and vegan mac ‘n’ cheese. We ordered loads of things to split between the two of us. We shard the spicy Temple burger, two original fillets, a regular fries, and a mac and cheese.
The spicy Temple burger was delicious. A piece of seitan was battered and fried to emulate the fried chicken and topped with a vegan chipotle mayo, coleslaw, vegan cheese, jalapenos and Sriracha. It was an insanely delicious “chicken” burger but it was messy. Fork, knives and tons of napkins were needed. The “fillets” were less delicious; and it showed that seitan does need to be dressed up a bit to be an enjoyable meat substitute. I wish we had gotten the spicy “wings” to split instead. The fries were lovely, but the real star of the whole entire show was the vegan mac ‘n’ cheese. I believe they made their “cheese” with cashews and it was so, so, so good. I enjoyed their mac ‘n’ cheese more than many “proper” mac ‘n’ cheeses that I had in the past.
After dinner, we jumped back on the Overground to Stratford and went up the lift in the Stratford Centre to the wonderful world of Rooftop East for a few drinks. Formerly an empty carpark, Rooftop East is now filled with bars, activities (like mini-golf and bowls), and an outdoor cinema. If you’re there on a Saturday morning, they do rooftop yoga as well.
London Stratford isn’t typically a place that you’d go to as a tourist in London, but there are so many interesting things to eat, drink and do. My top recommendation for the area, for a unique thing to do would be to ride the ArcelorMital Orbit slide that was built into the UK’s largest sculpture: the picturesque symbol of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the London 2012 Olympics. The slide starts 80 m up, is 178 m long and takes 40 seconds to go down the slide. (Through 12 different twists and turns). Awesome right?
So have I sold you on London Stratford? If so, I highly recommend Roomzzz for your stay!
***I was a guest of Roomzzz, but all thoughts and opinions are forever my own.***
