Having fallen in love with The Zetter Marylebone, I was excited to try their grown-up sister The Zetter Clerkenwell, located on the historic St John Square and offering guests an even more Bohemian feel thanks to the melting-pot character of the area. Larger hotels might offer more in the way of ‘facilities’, but personally I never find that a state-of-the-art gymnasium competes with what smaller hotels offer in the way of a uniquely intimate atmosphere, with a front of house team whose rapport with one another is translated into a warm and welcoming environment.
With an eccentric and wonderfully haphazard Victorian-style décor by interior designer Russell Sage, think of stepping into a set for an adaptation of a Dickens novel and you’ll understand why the weeks leading up to Christmas offer guests of The Zetter Clerkenwell an extra sprinkling of fairy dust the moment you pass under the festively-adorned and fairy-lit foliage arch and through the garlanded ice blue front door which opens straight onto The Parlour, an Aladdin’s cave of a lounge and bar welcoming residents and non from morn until night.
The plush twin sofas by the hearth are a favourite spot, with a well-attended log fire granting the fragrance of wood smoke that makes your nostrils twitch happily. It’s fully in keeping to read your Penguin Classic, immersing yourself in the charms of the capital in days gone by, when Muffin Men tempted the hungry around practically every street corner and a warming cup of punch refuelled the weary traveller.
Each of the 13 rooms and suites at The Zetter Clerkenwell is individually designed, but it’s worth splashing out on a premium room for an even more memorable stay. Our flamboyantly-decorated Junior Suite was located on the top floor of the graceful Georgian townhouse and offered lovely views over one of London’s oldest squares, with twin sash windows set into a sloping ceiling made even more striking with Gainsborough striped fabric curtains. The décor was reminiscent of the circus scenes in Tim Burton’s ‘Big Fish’ and fully illustrated the hotel’s love of fun and originality.
The wooden painted headboard looked as if it had been reclaimed from a fairground ride and hailed the luxurious Hypnos super king bed, dressed in Egyptian cotton, with a hot water bottle ready and waiting. From a convex mirror and quirky prints, to a vintage-style telephone on the desk and a velvet-upholstered armchair, beside which stands a side table topped with a stack of trendy magazines, The Zetter’s attention to detail is exceptional. My husband made a bee-line for the walk-in shower stocked with Verden products before dinner, allowing me to enjoy the in-bedroom showpiece bath, surrounded by gold mosaic tiles which glistened decadently on that bright November day.
The hotel is not only well placed for Sadler’s Wells and the foodie destination Exmouth Market, but there is much to discover on the doorstep such as the St John’s Gate Museum located opposite, where a tour of the 12th Century Crypt includes tales of the Priory Knights. It was a perfect afternoon for exploring, however, now that I’ve described our suite, I’m confident that you can forgive me wanting to make the most of such a beautiful room. Just as the hotel’s interior design is maximalist, we intended to max out on The Zetter’s joyful eccentricities by spending the evening in The Parlour, where live jazz, cocktails and sharing plates was the order of the day. The hotel’s Wednesday and Thursday speakeasy-style evenings attract locals in the know, from couples to groups of friends and business colleagues keen to take up a cosseting armchair or cushion-piled sofa.
It only takes one expertly-made cocktail by The Zetter’s award-winning mixologists for guests to find themselves swaying to the beat, even if you opt for an alcohol free version like myself! The cocktail menu is amusingly entitled ‘Bucket List’, with potent and inventive tipples inspired by glamorous destinations such as Rome, Tokyo, New York and Paris, while the Oscar Wilde quote on the opening page is there to inspire you to make a more daring choice: “Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret.” Singer Hetty Loxston, covering standards we all know and love, from Nina Simone to Amy Winehouse, effortlessly helped to transform The Parlour into a Bohemian house party.
If you do wish to dine out, the historic public house, The Fox and Anchor, which has been serving the butchers of Smithfield Market for over two hundred years, is just a short walk on Charterhouse Street and, with its 1898 Art Nouveau exterior and cosy polished wood-panelled bar and dining room, is an excellent choice for hearty British pub classics that won’t break the spell of Dickensian cheer conjured up by The Zetter. Come the morning, enjoy a comforting breakfast of porridge, eggs benedict or a full English in The Parlour before a further taste of Victorian magic at the nearby Charles Dickens Museum on Doughty Street.
If you favour the cosy and nurturing over the stark and impersonal, The Zetter Clerkenwell is straight out of the pages of a Christmas story you’ll want to revisit year after year. Taking advantage of the 21st luxury that is online shopping, yet which never seems to reduce the crowds of frantic shoppers in overheated department stores, I was able to forgo the nightmare of Oxford and Regent Street and discover the true charm of Christmas in Old London.
The Zetter Clerkenwell, 49-50 St John’s Square. Room rates from £350 per night not including breakfast. For more information please visit the website.
