Contributor/ Saffron Powell Brown
Best Known For
The Hospital Club is better known as a private members club and an innovative creative hub for media and arty types in Covent Garden. Now they have bedrooms too!
The Good Stuff
The Hospital Club have basically converted some old offices into fifteen bedrooms all designed by Russell Sage studios. Oh, and you don’t have to be a member to stay! Although it helps if you are as you can save 20%. There’s small, medium, large and larger (the suites), but size isn’t everything of course. Even the small ones are packed with great features and each bedroom features the works of up-and-coming contemporary artists.
We stayed in one of the enormous eccentric 70’s style super-cool suites packed full of wonder. It featured a crescent-shaped orange velvet sofa, dark wood panelling, a beautiful Buster & Punch cocktail cabinet aptly named the Rockstar with pre-mixed bottles and tools to make your own cocktail. It’s all a bit plush and OTT but in a good way. The best bit? A guy with a cocktail trolley even comes to your door at 7pm to mix you a complimentary drink. This was the part I was most looking forward to, but unfortunately, despite being back in our rooms in time, eagerly anticipating his arrival, he didn’t show. However, there were macarons on our bed from the turn down service and School of Life cards with inspiring quotes, ours said ‘The only people we can think of as normal are those we don’t know very well’ – Sigmund Freud. The man spoke sense.
The Vibe
The vibe is pretty cool, most of the customers looked like media types, we even spotted a father and daughter enjoying a cocktail and an ice cream at the bar, what a life she must lead! It’s relaxed, laid back and welcoming, we felt at ease and certainly not like we were in a private members club. The founders are Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, by the way.
Inside the hotel – 9/10
There’s several floors of fun at the Hospital Club, from the lobby to the bars and restaurants. The rooms are sandwiched in between but aren’t affected by any of the noise and partying going on by folks much younger than me. The corridors are lined with moulds of hospital equipment/skeletons by Solomon&Wu, which sound pretty creepy but looked very cool.
There’s Ren products in the bathroom, two TVs, the obligatory Nespresso machine, a kinky erotic mini bar by Holloway Smith Noir (we didn’t go near this by the way). One of the best touches for me was a hot water bottle. The bedroom can be screened off from the lounge area if need be and there’s a sizeable private terrace if you’re lucky enough for the sun to come out. All bedroom guests have full access to the facilities of the Club including the production and screening facilities too. Food in the restaurant is a casual affair – you can dine at the table or in the bar, plus of course there’s room service. Breakfast was great, who knew I’d love a kale and avocado smoothie so much? The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the fact the floor moved slightly too much under my feet as I walked across the suite, fears of coming crashing through the ceiling when taking a dip in the roll top bath crossed my mind more than once.
Outside the hotel – 10/10
You’re bang in the centre of Covent Garden, it doesn’t get much better! We didn’t eat til late in the hotel so we were tempted to retire to bed early but instead popped out, we couldn’t resist. We only went a few doors up to the lovely 10 Cases wine bar for a glass of red wine and a spot of people watching.
Images courtesy of Richard Booth and The Hospital Club
