This design-led Dalston aparthotel ticks all our boxes for stress-free east London overnighters.
19 November, 2021
The
fifth London-based address from aparthotel group Locke, the
Kingsland outpost is a pastel-hued Hackney hangout we have a lot of
time for. Offering a new kind of hotel approach, it attracts a cool
clique of young business travellers with its industrial-chic
interiors and handy co-working café, its self-contained apartments
providing a space to truly make your own in one of London’s
trendiest neighbourhoods.
Right opposite Dalston’s famed Rio Cinema, the property is
accessed from Kingsland High Street, through a white-tiled entryway
and leafy reception area. Once inside, either head over to the
hotel’s bluey-hued co-working space (rumoured to serve up the best
coffee in this neck of the woods) or skip the caffeine hit and make
a beeline straight for the on-site microbrewery or gin distillery.
Yep. See what we mean when we say “new kind of hotel”?
Kingsland Locke’s 124 apartments are kitted out with uber-swish
designer kitchens and sumptuous sofas, with – dare we say it – the
comfiest king-size beds we’ve ever slept in. There’s really no need
to leave your room – designed to be “lived in, not just slept in” –
at all, really, unless the siren call of a craft cocktail from the
downstairs bar overwhelms you, of course.
Whatever takes your fancy, if you make it from your apartment’s
kitchen, although if a café breakfast is more your style, you’ll be
spoilt for choice with the likes of freshly squeezed orange juice,
locally roasted coffee and top-drawer pastries at Shaman, the
hotel’s ground-floor all-day café.
Again, the menu here is yours for the making if whipped up in
your own kitchen. Otherwise, grab kebabs cooked on a
wood-and-charcoal-filled robata from the underground restaurant, or
posh pre-party snacks from the bar upstairs.
Very good. This is a space that was built from the ground up
with the environment in mind: recycled materials and eco products
abound throughout, and the property’s on-site distillery and
microbrewery have reduced its carbon footprint by 75 per cent.
You’ll find a well-equipped workout studio – The Locker –
available for all guests to use free of charge during their stay,
as well as plenty of street-level bike storage.
Everything and anything. This is Dalston – a gloriously loud
mishmash of cultures, colours and things to do. You’ll find
numerous shops, pubs, pop-ups and bars within a five-minute walk,
and the busy market stalls and coffee shops of London Fields within
a 20-minute stroll.
Thanks to its handy location a stone’s throw from the epicentre
of Hackney’s nightlife, the property also attracts partygoers and
pleasure-seekers seeking a “party crash pad” (the new nickname for
Kingsland Locke’s ground-floor apartments). Book a studio on one of
the upper levels if you’re staying on business.
