One Hundred Shoreditch hotel review: ‘The perfect introduction to East London’

Words: Hollie Hilton; Images: Supplied

After a short walk from Old Street station, I find myself at One Hundred; a newly-renovated hotel that can be described as a refuge from the hustle and bustle of Shoreditch High Street. It is Monday morning and I’ve arrived way too early to check in. However, as the friendly front desk face tells me, I’m welcome to set up my laptop to do some work at a large communal wooden table that sits centrally in the lobby.

As I sit down and set up my workspace for a morning meeting, I can’t help but feel like I’ve just stepped into my Pinterest ‘Future Home’ mood board. The lobby is kitted out with all of the things the algorithm has taught me to like: chubby vases, large ceramic lamps, geometric abstract paintings and an eclectic mix of cult-status chairs and sofas. I count eight separate spaces that offer a variety of low, comfy, and serious sitting spots to meet a colleague, grab a coffee or hang out on a Teams meeting. It’s understandable then why the lobby quickly fills up with laptops and creative types, not necessarily guests of the hotel but locals who reappropriate the space for co-working means – a use that seems to be welcomed by the hotel staff who mill around with coffee menus and Wi-Fi passwords.

One Hundred Shoreditch Lobby Bar

After a few hours of gawking at the deadstock trainers of my dreams and a couple in matching vintage tailored suits drinking cold brew, I am told my room is ready. I’m staying in a Studio Loft, which has a sliding double door view out to Shoreditch High Street, just high enough to peruse the rooftops of neighbouring buildings. The room feels light and airy, with neutral tones throughout – a slightly calmer space than the lobby and bars of the hotel. Another vase, like the ones I’d seen earlier, atop a chest of drawers which holds all the appliances I would ever need – plus lots of boutique snacks. In the corner of the bedroom is a medium-sized table and two more of those cult-chairs I had seen in the lobby. An abstract blue and white painting hangs confidently aside this, taking up a large portion of wall space – I discover later these were all designed and painted by the hotel’s Creative Director, Jacu Strauss.

Studio Room

There are some great small touches in the room that I can’t help but feel accommodated by, such as the umbrella and tote bag that hang by the door, or the extension chord wrapped up in the draw that I immediately use to charge all my devices, even the mini-fridge is stocked with some of my favourite drinks… hello pocket negroni.

One Hundred Shoreditch boasts six bars and restaurants in total, enough to keep you from needing to leave the site for at least a week. But my favourite space within this ‘space of spaces’ is the Seed Library, named after the tapestry which graces its walls. If you didn’t know it existed, you might never find it. Hidden deep in the basement, after following a dark staircase into a velvet-walled entrance I’m greeted with a curious painting of an extremely fluffy cat, perhaps a reference to the creator’s sister ‘Lyon Bar’ or perhaps just a whimsical décor choice. Either way, it is smile-inducing. This cocktail bar feels like a 1970s lounge, not unlike the constantly reshared Pinterest images of mid-century conversational couches, complete with timber walls and a plush, low, beige sofa that snakes around the room. A pinewood sculpted DJ booth, that wouldn’t look out of place in ‘Almost Famous’, sits casually in front of a library of vinyls, asking to be touched and sifted through.

My personal tour guide Sirio interjects whilst I fantasise about hiring out the space for an upcoming birthday, to let me know that the service in the bar is a personalised one, and I can, in theory, throw random words like ‘smoky’, ‘coffee’ and ‘citrus’ at the mixologists to order a cocktail instead of perusing an actual menu. Unfortunately, as I’ve arrived on a Monday (Seed Library is open Wednesday to Sunday), I don’t get to try out this hypothesis.

Goddard & Gibbs

However, later that evening I do sit down with a local friend to try out the reputable Goddard & Gibbs, a resplendent restaurant that takes inspiration from childhood visits to the beach, complete with sand art on the walls, and an elaborate reinterpretation of those pebble sculptures you may have spent hours balancing. The restaurant is known for its extensive British seafood offering, but also has vegetarian and vegan options if that suits.

We begin with the Raw Bar’s Sea Bream Ceviche and Citrus Cured Chalk Stream Trout, both fresh and plentiful enough to constitute an actual starter. From there we try the Smoked Salmon starter, as well as the Crab and end with a Seafood Stew and Squid Ink Linguine – a feast worthy enough for Poseidon himself.

As I muster up the last bite of my three-course meal, I am reminded of the hotel’s sustainability efforts, which include locally sourcing the majority of the ingredients for this meal from Billingsgate Market, just four miles from the hotel. These efforts have been noticeable throughout my stay, from the plastic-free rooms, where instead of water bottles you are equipped with a glass carafe and directed out into the lobby to refill at water taps; to the sustainably sourced wooden sculptures designed by Jan Hendzel Studio that permeate the entrance and lobby. Even the coffee beans in the café are supplied by a locally founded coffee company.

It is apparent that One Hundred gets Shoreditch. The hotel and its ethos are quintessentially East London.

Book direct at onehundredshoreditch.com.