citizenM London Shoreditch Review: Why We Keep Staying Here

One of the nicest things about staying here is that you don’t have to travel into the centre of London to feel you’ve arrived somewhere interesting. Shoreditch has a different atmosphere from the grand shopping streets of the West End. Around the hotel, you have street art, food, shops and places to stop for a drink or dinner.

Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane are within easy reach, and Shoreditch High Street station is very close to the hotel. It’s a good location if you enjoy exploring neighbourhoods rather than spending every day moving between the most famous landmarks. And for us, that matters.

We usually travel to London by Eurostar from Rotterdam, arriving at St Pancras. Once we have checked in and put our bags down, I like being able to start enjoying the city without a complicated plan.

One honest trade-off: Shoreditch is not the doorstep of Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden or Harrods. If your entire trip is centred around those places, you will be using public transport or taxis more often. We don’t mind that. Other travellers might.

Let’s address the obvious point first. The rooms are small. citizenM’s standard Shoreditch rooms are roughly 14 square metres, and that makes a difference if you’re travelling with large suitcases or want plenty of floor space.

What the hotel does well is use the available space intelligently. There is a very large bed, electronic blackout blinds, mood lighting and controls for the room’s functions. The hotel describes tablet-controlled lighting, temperature, blinds and television, alongside a powerful shower.

For us, the combination works. We have somewhere comfortable to return to, and we don’t feel as though we are paying for an enormous room we will scarcely use. But a compact room remains a compact room, however clever the design.

If you like spreading out your clothes, need a large desk or want generous space for two people to get ready at once, make sure you’ve looked carefully at the room photographs and dimensions before booking. A smart design cannot create extra square metres.

The bed is one of the hotel’s defining features. It is an XL king-size design, and the blackout blinds and lighting controls help create a very different feeling from a traditional London hotel bedroom.

I especially like the idea behind the room: a place to come back to, draw the blinds and have a proper break before going out again. Our London visits can be busy. Museums, shopping, markets, lunch, walking and then more walking.

Sometimes we return to the hotel for an hour during the afternoon. Shoes off, a little rest, perhaps a coffee, and then we go out again later. I don’t consider that an hour wasted. It means we actually enjoy the evening rather than reaching it feeling completely exhausted.

That is what I want from a city-break hotel: somewhere that supports the trip instead of demanding that the hotel itself become the entire event.

The hotel uses a modern, space-conscious bathroom arrangement with a shower rather than a large traditional bathroom with a separate bath. That fits the overall concept. It is practical and designed around a short stay, but not an obvious choice for someone looking for a luxurious bathing ritual or a huge dressing area.

I would look particularly carefully at the official room photographs if bathroom layout and privacy are important to you. Room features and accessible configurations can differ, and I would rather you check than arrive with a completely different expectation.

There is an on-site canteenM bar and restaurant, which the hotel currently advertises as open around the clock. The hotel also offers a breakfast buffet. Its official dining page says breakfast is available for a fee and describes a mixture of hot and cold items; whether it is included depends on the rate you book.

I can’t give you an honest ranking of the breakfast based on a specific meal we haven’t documented here, so I won’t pretend it is the reason we return. Instead, my advice is to check the total room price with and without breakfast, particularly if you enjoy trying cafés in the neighbourhood.

There are communal spaces too, with the modern, playful citizenM style rather than the formality of a grand hotel lobby.

You are close to Shoreditch High Street station, and the neighbourhood is particularly convenient for Spitalfields and Brick Lane. For other parts of London, public transport is part of the plan.

Personally, I enjoy that. We use London transport constantly when we visit, and staying in Shoreditch doesn’t make the West End or South Bank inaccessible. It simply means planning your days in sensible geographical groups.

I’d spend one part of a day in East London, rather than travelling from Shoreditch to Piccadilly and back several times. On another day, I’d make Covent Garden, Fortnum & Mason and the West End the focus. The best London itinerary isn’t necessarily the one with the most famous attractions squeezed into a morning. It’s the one that leaves you with enough energy to enjoy the city.

Not for the way we travel. But “central” depends on what you want to do. If your London wishlist is almost entirely made up of the West End’s shops, theatre district and classic landmarks, it may be more convenient to stay nearer those areas. If you like exploring East London, markets and food spots, Shoreditch is an interesting base in its own right.

I wouldn’t choose a neighbourhood because somebody on the internet says it is the best area to stay in London. I’d choose it because it suits the trip you’re planning.

I haven’t included a fixed nightly rate because London hotel prices change significantly with the dates, events, room type and booking conditions. Instead, I would compare the total cost for your exact dates, including breakfast if you want it and the cancellation terms that suit you.

Then I’d compare that figure with a hotel closer to the areas you plan to visit. If the price difference is small and you want to spend every day in the West End, a more central-for-you hotel could be the better choice. If you like Shoreditch and want a smart, comfortable base, citizenM may be worth paying for.

One of the things I appreciate about returning to a familiar hotel is knowing what type of stay we’re booking. That familiarity has value too.

I would recommend citizenM Shoreditch to couples who: prefer a modern, efficient room to a traditional grand hotel; value a very large bed, blackout blinds and useful in-room technology; enjoy having markets, cafés and shops around their hotel; spend most of their days exploring London and want a comfortable base to return to; and are comfortable using public transport to reach the West End and other neighbourhoods.

I would hesitate to recommend it if you: want a spacious suite or a room with plenty of floor space; prefer a traditional, luxurious hotel with a big bathroom and extensive room service; want to step directly outside into the heart of the West End; or need a very specific bathroom or accessibility arrangement without first confirming the available room type.

There is nothing wrong with those preferences. They’re simply a different kind of trip.

Address: 6 Holywell Lane, London EC2A 3ET.

Check-in and check-out: The official hotel listing currently states check-in from 2 pm and check-out at 11 am. Check your booking confirmation for the applicable terms.

Breakfast: Available, usually for a fee unless your booked rate includes it.

Parking: No on-site parking is listed by the hotel.

Pets: The hotel currently says pets are not allowed.

All hotel policies, facilities, room configurations and prices should be rechecked before travel.