One Aldwych

I came here to meet a former colleague for a drink, prior to heading to Covent Garden for a meal. I was really impressed with the Lobby Bar. It was large, light and spacious. The tables were far enough apart that you really could not be overheard, so it was great for a catch up.
The service was very attentive, and the staff were pleasant and discrete. We were offered a bowl of olives and nuts with our drinks. I had a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which at £9 a glass was not a bad price considering our surroundings. In fact it was an ideal place to meet up, as most pubs and bars in the area are usually rammed with crowds, especially just before Christmas.
I would definately come here again, as I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, décor, service and surroundings. I would love to try the afternoon tea, as I’ve heard really good things about it. It’s worth noting though, that they also add an additional 12 and ½ service charge to your bill.

I love this hotel. It’s a classic hotel experience, lovely staff that are so well trained. Comfortable beds, the pool is a great way to recover from a long flight.

Dans la catégorie des afternoon tea time à l’anglaise je pense bien avoir trouvé une perle!
Après avoir fait la réservation (bien en amont) je me rends compte que je me suis trompée sur la date. L’équipe nous trouve tout de même une jolie table dans la partie bar de l’hôtel. J’ai aimé les grands espaces, les fauteuils moelleux et confortables, et la déco minimaliste.
Quant aux assiettes, que de bonnes surprises!
Le tea time est sur le thème de Charlie et la Chocolaterie, on nous amèné des menus à l’effigie de chaque famille du film.
Tout est à volonté, il suffit de redemander ce qu’on aime pour qu’on se le voit servi de suite! Mais attention à garder de la place car c’est déjà bien copieux!
La partie salée est composée de petits sandwichs et tartes, le tout accompagné de quatre choix de thés aussi bon les uns que les autres!
La partie sucrée est vraiment la surprise du tea time, très original et très «charlie»!
Une barbe à papa maison au caramel au beurre salé, un petit lait choco, des financiers, scones et j’en passé de gourmandises !
L’addition est salée mais ça vaut le coup, à faire au loins une fois entre copines !

Have had a couple of afternoon teas here– never ceases to amaze me how much food you get given. I’m always worried that afternoon tea will leave me hungry, with those puny sandwiches and tiny cakes. Wrong here– they offered me more sandwiches when I finished (no extra charge) and i couldn’t move afterwards. I went for the Charlie and the chocolate factory special and a regular sitting, both were great.

Took my bf here for Charlie and chocolate factory afternoon tea for his birthday
Friendly staff
Got drinks and savoury sandwiches asap
More savoury offered and is free of charge. All were good, tasty but nothing exceptional. Nice to have tart and quiche as well as bread
Cocktail Charlie was amazing — fun and tasty
Tea selection was also good
Sweets came — looked amazing but didn’t taste as good as it looked
Scones were bland and clammy texture
Apple compote good
Chocolate financiers were delish
Homemade candy floss fun and impressive
Was a nice afternoon but wouldn’t return

After waiting for over a month, I finally tried out the Afternoon Tea Inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, at One Aldwych.
Making our way down the stairs, we were then shown to our cosy little table at the far end, the back of our menus with a different picture of the different characters from the classic tale — mine had the Teevee Family, whilst he got the more gluttonous Gloop Family.
We both ordered the Cocktail Charlie, made with Dalmore whisky mixed with Luxardo Cherry Sangue Morlacco, chocolate bitters, grapefruit juice and cherry syrup. And then topped with champagne — because everything tastes better with champagne…
These came served in transparent glass teapots, a bright pink liquid bubbling away with a magical cloud of vapour above it.
They also had a selection of award-​winning loose leaf teas and infusions from Covent Garden’s Tea Palace, from which we both went for the Jewelled Apple — a black tea with wild strawberry leaves, caramel and real apple pieces.
The first dish to arrive was a plate of sandwiches and savoury bites. I really liked the smoked salmon sandwich, but my favourite amongst them was most probably the roast beef with grain mustard mayonnaise. The bread was a really dark brown, that it did look like some sort of chocolate cake/​bread! His favourite was the leek and stilton quiche tart, which was rich and creamy with a crisp pastry case.
I smiled with excitement as the array of sweet treats were laid before us.
We started off with the scones whilst they were still nice and warm, followed by the petite cocoa bean financiers (coated in gold glitter dust!). There were also a couple of blueberry brioche that I did find a bit dry.
We picked away on our sticks of candy floss, which brought back some sweet childhood memories of eating candy floss at funfairs. Eton mess is always a favourite crowd-​pleasing dessert, which was light and sweet. We were quite full towards the end, but just about managed to scoop up the final mouthfuls of creamy vanilla cheesecake, took a few nibbles of the chocolate egg, and washed it all down with the chocolate caramel milk.
Overall, it was indeed a sweet and fun afternoon tea experience, and definitely one for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fans out there.
Check out my blog for the full post with photos x

I had wanted to try an afternoon tea in London for a very long time. Somebody recommended this place to me and I have to say this is a good compromise between a quality afternoon tea and a still somewhat affordable place.
However, please make sure to book your table a few days before your arrival, or even maybe a few weeks as the weekend can be quite packed.
What I liked most about it? The Charlie and the Chocolate factory theme with homemade candy floss.
The tea and fresh scones were delicious too. Actually everything was so good. The service is also part of the experience. And you can top it up with a glass of champagne if you feel like it.
This is definitely a place I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to get a taste of the afternoon tea experience !

Our deluxe King room was well decorated with one eye to modern and one to the history of the building. The bed was luxuriously comfortable. Breakfast was a treat, notably the hash browns. Service was polite, quick and friendly.
The large fitness facility had a variety of aerobic equipment, free weights and machines. I was especially glad to see a TRX system with plenty of room for yoga with the mat area. The facility is open 24 hours a days which was very convenient.

Incredible but pricy stay, beautiful hotel rooms and the cocktails at the bar are delicious. Guaranteed — the best Old Fashioneds are made at One Aldwych. Warning — each one takes ages to make because they hand-​chisel each ice ball.

Beautiful hotel with exceptional service and wonderful food. Great location — walking distance close to most sights. Pricey… but its London, what did you expect?

Great location in Central London. The rooms are pretty modern and have large windows. Even in dreary rainy London the place feels bright and welcoming!
The bathroom is very nice with a large deep tub to soak in if that floats your boat or a really powerful shower if you prefer to be physically attacked by water as you shower! The toilets are efficient, using less water for flushes so if you are concerned for the environment this makes the guilt of spending so long in the shower a little easier!
Staff are warm and welcoming, only negative; having tried to call for a massage, left a voicemail to arrange a time but my call was never returned. Other than this it was a great stay and would highly recommend this hotel to anyone wanting to be in a great location in London.

As I sit here in the bar sipping a delightful cocktail in the bar that stays open for guests 24 hours, I couldn’t help but marvel at this hotel. Well put together rooms, a good fitness center, a great bar and an astounding room service menu.
But there are a lot of nice hotels out there. What really impresses me here is the literally unparalleled service. Work late and order room a room service dinner at 2 am. They’ve got you covered. Knowing your name when you arrive in a car they arranged from Heathrow. Covered. Leaving a bottle of wine in the room to thank you for staying. Covered.
One
of, probably the, best hotel I’ve stayed at. I cannot wait to come back.

for a midday coffee… because you are jet lagged and do not want to fall asleep, this place is perfect. great lobby, seemed like a wonderful cocktail menu… and though they put chocolate sprinkles on the cappachino automatically, and my friend is allergic to chocolate… the place was pretty yummy. The ambiance is sleek and modern… the bar area spacious and inviting… the nuts, warm and the biscuits ok… ill be back for a coffee in the middle of the day… if i happen to be walking by and have a few minutes to spare…

The service here has been outstanding in every way, from the bellman, to the check in staff and wait staff. The lounge is a wonderful place to relax. This is an excellent place to stay for the theatre. The only negative is that the rooms are small. They are very comfortable though.

I first stayed here when it had just opened. You could get a double for £145 a night. It was a perfect escape from London life — plush surrounding, sedate bar, wonderful room service, state-​of-​the-​art gym and pool.
I’ve been back dozens of times over the years. I think the hotel changed hands recently, and with it came a hike in prices. The level of service is still there however. The staff have to be some of the smartest dressed in London. Though obviously catering for well-​to-​do guests, the service has always been friendly and welcoming.
I took my parents there recently. I had a regular room and my parents had a circular suite over looking Waterloo Bridge. Our rooms looked newly decorated, they were so clean. Room service breakfast felt indulgent — all silver covers and sparkling crockery. The full English that is served in Indigo restaurant, overlooking the lobby, is even more indulgent. We saw a movie in the hotels cinema and used the chlorine-​free pool with it’s underwater music. Whether you are a tourist or a local, the location on One Aldwych can’t be bettered. You really feel you are smack bang in the centre of London (even more so if you are in one of their three circular suites).
One night, the cocktail waiter asked us to try a new cocktail he was working on and to give our opinions. He then offered us a round of cocktails on the house by way of a thank you.
One Aldwych will always be a special place to me and remains one of my favourite London hotels.

A great place to have a light and informal meeting in regards to business as the location is modern yet comfortable, the staff attentive, the mood is slightly relaxed corporate (never thought I would put those two together), and when you order your coffee and tea you are given a delicious little plate of tasty cookies.
Although the ground floor area is lovely for these little meetings, the hotel is a great choice for both tourist and business meetings alike.

Had dinner at the Axis restaurant preceded by drinks in the Lobby Bar (didn’t stay in the hotel).
Lobby Bar has a good atmostphere and there was some live music on whilst we were there (Friday evening). Good service. The tables and seats tend to be reserved so this is not so good as a drop in place.
I’m probably out of touch/​step with London hotel drinks prices, but found the £7.50 gin and tonic a shocker. That plus an alcohol free cocktail came to over £17 including a mandatory service charge (despite going to the bar to order). Sadly that’s enough to put me off returning — I still have a small surfeit of sense over money.
Axis restaurant was very good. For me it had just the right level of buzz and noise without this ever intruding (I’m not sure the other diners will have felt quite the same as we were a quite high-​spirited table — ahem). Food is what I suppose is called modern British. I had a seafood cocktail which had lots of crab, some good firm prawns and apparently some clams (which I couldn’t see). But it was good stuff and not drowned in any overbearing dressng. Served with panache on top of a vase of crushed ice.
My shepherd’s pie main was also very good with tasty and tender slow-​roasted shoulder of lamb and a flagelot bean accompaniment (also good). Sides of spinach and chips were competent but nothing of note. We had some Gigondas with the meal which was pretty good.
Price-​wise the restaurant seemed fair value (although sides bump things up of course) — certainly compared to the bar drinks and you can judge for yourself by looking at the sample a la carte menus on their web-​site. I didn’t see the wine list prices as we were being treated. I noted for a future occasion that the set menus for lunch and dinner seemed like excellent value.
Service was splendid. Ultra-​effiicent and pleasant without any intrusiveness and with just enough warmth to make it feel like an outing.
3.5 stars for food, 4 for service. 3 for the bar.

Stayed here two weekend nights. Highlights– Bar area fun and lively, doorman very useful and friendly, and the gym is top notch. Didn’t have a chance to go into the pool but took a look at it… there’s also a steam and sauna rooms located in the same area as the pool.
Drawbacks– Checking in and out wasn’t that smooth. The front desk seems to be a little disorganized, bathroom plumbing is very loud especially when showering, and frontdesk people at the spa are awkward. There needs to be a better system for them identifying guests and non-​guests other than signing in.
Overall, great location just needs some organizing.

Excellent service, hotel bar and restaurants provided great service and food. The standard room was a little tight but, I expected that for a hotel in this area. The location is also great, plenty to do and see.
Would stay here again and again.

My wife and I agree that One Aldwych was one of the nicest overall hotels we’ve stayed in. It is fairly expensive, and the rooms aren’t large (we stayed in a slightly larger Executive room, which was a comfortable size and I would say worth the extra money).
What we loved was the sense of style — the modern décor, stylish and impressive without being cold; and the public art throughout. The overall design felt like something we would choose if we were talented designers (sleek but low key, hip but not overbearing), even though we are not. The staff was also unfailingly polite and helpful. A testament to good recruiting and good training.
Apart from the potential room size vs price issue, which I didn’t personally find to be a problem, I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed with staying here. Really a special place, and a quality establishment. We thought it was an experience unto itself, and we will return happily anytime we are in London.

Elegant and comfortable hotel in a fantastic location!
Things I loved about my stay: fresh fruit and flowers in my room daily, bathtub so deep I was afraid I would drown (hey, I’m petite!), friendly & helpful non-​pretentious staff, TV in the bathroom…
In-​room dining: I had room service at least a couple times and the service was always quick, the food was just alright. nothing to boast about.
Lobby bar: Always packed in the evening. Good cocktail list and the couple drinks I tried were yummy.
Spa: I had the most expensive manicure in my life here but I don’t think my hands have gotten such attention before. The treatment was done in a private dimly lit room with soft calming music. While that was nice, I have to say it got a little awkward as I ran out of things to stare at during my hour long manicure and the sweet manicurist wasn’t the most talkative person.
I’m really sad I didn’t take the time to swim in the beautiful pool (with underwater music!).