Yes, it was.
A while ago, I won a night in the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch simply by choosing a good seat at the Women's Room Salon. On Saturday we packed our best hipster clothes (sadly there wasn't enough time for Simon to grow a beard, buy a beanie and turn up his best dark jeans) and went in search of Shoreditch style.
The place oozes it. The hotel is full of attention to detail, textures and interesting materials. Concrete, cork, denim, wood, poems on walls, newspapers everywhere, serious coffee, and beautiful hipster people on beautiful mid-century modern furniture. It's a photoshoot without a camera, a hymn to styling, and not a spot of pink or purple or orange anywhere. It's all very 'curated' and it works.
It's humming (buzzing would be too energetic for hipsters, I imagine) and the huge social area in the lobby is packed. The rooms are incredibly tasteful, too, and we loved the way they are like apartments rather than sterile transitory places.
And even though we are not exactly target market age group we did not feel uncomfortable or even out of place without a beard between us. The staff couldn't be nicer, and the relaxed atmosphere extends to all guests who are actually a pretty mixed bunch. (This is as it should be, but it doesn't always happen in cool/smart/posh hotels.)
Tom, Alice and Phoebe joined us in the evening. We had pizzas and and they took photos in the photobooth in the hotel lobby, inspected the room and used the hotel stationery, and disappeared into the night.
We had a wonderful twenty four hours in Shoreditch, but the real highlight was the hotel. Thanks very much to the Ace for their generosity, and to Jane and Amanda at The Women's Room for making it happen.
[ I took this article about the hotel's design to read in situ. It made me appreciate the incredible amount of thought and planning that goes into creating a place like the Ace.]
Dou you have any recommendations on what to see in Shoreditch or Barbican areas of London?
Posted by: Nicky | January 27, 2014 at 20:10
No comment sorry, except it felt rude to be excluded from your blog as if we were worthless, when it was your readers who supported your work and made your career possible. But just as you moved on from us, I also moved on. From what I can see from your comments restarting again, not even a welcome and hello!
Posted by: Nelly | January 29, 2014 at 00:29
The real highlight was the hotel!? Not seeing your beautiful offspring!?!?!?!?!?! mwah xxx
Posted by: Vladimir Putin | January 31, 2014 at 13:17
Coincidentally we also stayed it the Ace Hotel on Saturday night! We are now nearer 70 than 60 & were also made to feel very welcome; the staff were really helpful & friendly. Loved the urban chic decor. Downside was that it was incredibly noisy overnight as our room was at the front, albeit on the 5th floor, so we thought might have made it quieter. Also the bar is very small & we couldn't get a drink at 9pm as the crush was 10 deep.
Despite these details would certainly stay there again.
Didn't eat there but at the Princess of Shoreditch just 5 mins walk away. Fabulous meal.
Posted by: Jacqueline | February 05, 2014 at 06:11